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The 20th final of ÖØ¿ÚζSM's Bright Ideas competition saw £9,500 worth of prize money won by entrepreneurial students who pitched their business ideas in a Dragons' Den-style format.

The landmark event was held in the courtyard of the University's award-winning Town House building and was attended by hundreds of staff, students and industry expert judges as winners across various categories were unveiled.

The audience then got to vote on their overall favourite idea with Health Maintenance IT, a preventive healthcare solution, winning the people's choice award.

The idea was developed by Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management BSc (Hons) student Andrew Crosbie after one of his mum's friends got diagnosed with cancer, which was the result of a preventable health condition. Health Maintenance IT allows you to keep track of your health through various measurements with creator Andrew describing it as being an MOT for your health.

He described his feeling of winning: "I really didn't expect to win – I couldn't believe it. The idea definitely resonates with a lot of people. Bright Ideas is a great way to meet people and develop your skills."

The keynote speaker at the event was Marie Palmer, Chief Customer Officer at tech company 1E, who were this year's Bright Ideas headline sponsors. She said: "The ideas I have heard have blown me away. The innovation and creativity used to solve real-world problems is so impressive and the confidence of the students is fantastic."

The Bright Ideas competition takes place over several months and is open to students across all disciplines at ÖØ¿ÚζSM. The competition champions future skills such as problem solving and communication.

Hundreds of innovations were pitched before being narrowed down for the grand final. The winner in each of the seven categories received £1,000 while the runner-up was rewarded with £250. There were also prizes for the best social media pitch, run on the University's Instagram and a golden ticket prize awarded for successful networking on the day.

The winner of the social media prize was BRZRK, a spray-on chalk product designed to give you better grip at the gym and while playing sports, without the mess of normal chalk. Team leader and design marketing student Ben Coleman said: "We developed a lot of teamworking skills through Bright Ideas. All of us were friends before the competition but running a business really helped us develop our professionalism and overcome challenges as a team."

Head of Enterprise Education Martha Mador, who runs the competition, said "Bright Ideas helps students develop a variety of skills important for their futures careers. Through in-curricular or extra-curricular activity our students learn how to confidently present ideas with support from illustrious volunteers."

The winners of the Bright Ideas competition 2025 were:

• Business and Social Sciences + People's Choice: Health Maintenance IT
• Computer Science: Voquent
• Engineering 1: E-Luminate
• Engineering 2: Solar Powered portable compact UVC sterilisation Kit
• Health, Science, Social Care and Education: AromaRest
• Kingston School of Art + Social Media Winner: BRZRK
• Sustainability: Tag, you're it!
• Golden Ticket Networking: Surthrive
• Wild Card: Whisk Around

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