Congratulations to the 2019 Environment Young Entrepreneurs Scheme (YES) winners, James Dinsley, Jack Fleet, Owen McIntosh and Armida Gjindali from The University of Manchester.
Team Larvita, swept the boards at the YES19 Final on Tuesday, 10 December held at the Royal Society. They also won two other awards for; Best Plant, Microbial and Environmental Business (sponsored by Syngenta) and the People’s Choice Award (sponsored by Indigo).
Promoting more sustainable land-use, Larvita pitched an automated, modular, vertical insect farm; recycling food and brewery waste to produce high protein, nutrient-boosting poultry feed and a low-cost natural fertiliser.
CEO of Larvita James Dinsley said; “Participating in YES has given us an excellent opportunity to explore how science and business can work together to benefit both people and the environment. Mentoring and expert guidance from the Masood Enterprise Centre allowed us to explore and gain confidence in working with brand new areas such as finance, marketing and intellectual property. Winning the YES competition has provided us with new knowledge and skills, expanded our personal networks, and given us a flavour of the world of business."
Dr Laura Etchells, Enterprise Business Development Manager at Masood Enterprise Centre said; “We are delighted and tremendously proud of the team’s achievements winning three awards at the YES final this year. This competition opens the door for early career researchers to gain an understanding of all aspects of commercialisation and we look forward to continuing to support them through the Masood Enterprise Centre in the future.”
The Masood Enterprise Centre (MEC) actively encourages and supports entrepreneurs from across the campus to engage with external entrepreneurial activities. This in parallel to the Centre’s programme of in-house enterprise teaching, learning, business start-up support and acceleration helps entrepreneurs to capitalise on turning their real ideas into successful market opportunities.
YES is an innovative competition developed to raise awareness among postgraduate students and postdoctoral researchers on how ideas from science and engineering can be commercialised.
YES is organised jointly by The University of Nottingham’s Haydn Green Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (HGI), the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the Medical Research Council (MRC).
