This month we held an Innovation Challenge, which saw students come together from Computer Science and Engineering disciplines to collaborate and solve real-world business challenges linked to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (outlined here: THE 17 GOALS | Sustainable Development).
The Innovation Challenge is a new entrepreneurial experience for students. The event created a platform for multi-disciplinary collaboration and the opportunity to tackle real-world issues by developing ideas with sustainable impact. Across two-days, the newly formed teams developed innovative solutions before pitching their final concept. The winning team were voted as best idea of the day, receiving a cash prize and follow up support from Start-up at Sunderland to help develop the concept and validate the idea.
The winning team : City Loop
The winning team, City Loop, sought to tackle the growing issue of food waste. Their proposed solution focused on predicting capture gaps, identifying and resolving contamination hotspots, and improving waste stream efficiency to support anaerobic digestion. Their approach demonstrated both strong technical capability and clear commercial potential — exactly the kind of innovation the Challenge is designed to foster.
What Participants Said:
“I enjoyed getting to interact with different people and sharing ideas.”
“Understanding the idea from another person’s point of view was really valuable.”
How to get involved:
Whether you’ve got a provocation for a sprint – that can solve a real-world challenge for your business, have services which could benefit our founders or any other ideas – please get in touch.
Email: startup@sunderland.ac.uk
Drop in: DG101 Digital Incubator @ St Peter’s Campus
What is Digital Incubator?
The Digital Incubator is a dedicated space for students and graduates to explore digital entrepreneurship, offering coworking areas, mentoring, workshops, and networking opportunities. It is part of the University’s Start-Up at Sunderland program, which supports entrepreneurial students and graduates in developing business ideas, freelance ventures, or innovative projects.
