Student entrepreneurs
MEAN BUSINESS
A growing number of students at university aren’t just focusing on their studies or their social life, but on starting their own businesses. At Surrey we’re making sure our next generation of entrepreneurs get the support and encouragement they need to succeed.
Budding entrepreneurs have access to a range of funding and advice, including the Cube Fund, which can provide student start-ups with a business development grant of up to £1,000, and the Propeller grant, sponsored by Santander, that allows students to test their enterprise skills or entrepreneurial activities.
Students also benefit from philanthropic support such as that from the Surrey-based Wates Family Enterprise Trust, an independent grant-making foundation, which has set up a social enterprise fund to help postgraduate researchers make their ideas reality.
Students Ty Hassan, James Lynn and Divyanshi Karmani are making the most of the opportunities Surrey offers. They have set up their own business, the Wiggly Line Company, and developed Streamcare which gives care homes access to real-time data concerning the sleep quality of their
residents. A ‘smart’ mat with sensors is placed under the mattress and can detect different sleep cycles and if a resident leaves their bed in the middle of the night.
“Research has shown us that many people in care homes have fragmented rest/wake patterns and suffer from chronic sleep disturbances,” said Ty, who is studying for a Masters in Entrepreneurship. “The data Streamcare provides allows care homes to assess what factors contribute to poor or good sleep and develop personalised care for each resident.”
Their first product is already garnering a lot of interest. It is one of three finalists in the Care Innovation Challenge, a national competition to kick-start new ideas and solutions for the care sector.
The team pitched their idea to judges from government, the care home sector and the
Guardian newspaper at the Department of Health and Social Care and presented their product to the National Care Conference Forum, receiving very positive feedback. They are now working with the care sector to develop the product.
Surrey graduate Alex Ramamurthy is CEO of The Care Workers Charity and co-founder of the Care Innovation Challenge. He said: “We spotted a need for more young people and entrepreneurial talent to enter the care sector and Streamcare is a great example of this. It will be put through an intensive roadshow and mentorship programme this year through us. I’m incredibly impressed and proud of what the team has achieved in such a short space of time around their university studies.”
wigglyline.co
18
Forever Surrey 2018
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