Cambridge Founders Matchmaking event takes new ideas to the next level
The event, held at Lucy Cavendish College, helped like-minded individuals to team up and collaborate on new ventures.
Students worked with expert mentors to develop innovative ideas and pitch for funding
The LucEnt Challenge invites Lucy Cavendish College students to combine their knowledge, skills and experience in a multi-disciplinary team to identify an enterprising solution to a problem relevant to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The teams benefit from entrepreneurial inspiration, mentor support, and have the opportunity to win a £1000 prize towards implementing their vision for a new product, service or innovation that has the potential to create significant economic or social impact.
Lucy Fellow, and LucEnt founder, Bruno Cotta, reports on the event:
“I am absolutely delighted with the success of this year’s LucEnt Challenge, which brought together so many of our most enterprising students, and their colleagues from the wider collegiate community in Cambridge. The diversity of ideas, depth of thinking, and determination through teamwork, to make a real social and economic impact was truly admirable.
The judges were so impressed, they decided to select 3 winning teams who also represent a growing population of undergraduate, postgraduate, taught and research students, all with a passion and aptitude for leadership in innovation and entrepreneurship. From empowering women-led co-operatives locally in the Middle-East, to advancing predictive risk management of wildfires in the Americas, Africa and elsewhere, to driving environmental change through cutting-edge science in the textiles industry in Europe, Asia and globally. It was a timely showcase of just the kind of highly motivated and talented students, from the UK, internationally and across all disciplines, that are attracted to Lucy’s unique ethos of achieving excellence in education, but with an enterprising mind, an empathic heart and a global outlook, collaborating with peers and addressing the needs of others.
I am hugely grateful to our President and all those staff, students, alumni, fellows and friends of the College, who came together to promote and support this initiative, in particular our team of mentors, our sponsors Cambridge Precision, and the newly formed Lucy Enterprise Society.”
The judges selected two worthy prize winners, Firesight and Dyco, and awarded both with £1000. The judges also commended Recipes for Growth and awarded the project £500. All participants have opportunities for ongoing mentorship.
*(from left to right) Firesight, Recipes for Growth, and DyCo
You can find out more about our teams and mentors by viewing the event brochure here. For more pictures of the event, see slideshow below:
Lucy Cavendish College is grateful to Cambridge Precision Ltd for supporting the LucEnt Challenge.
