A team of four PhD students from the 2017 entry cohort of the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Advanced Composites for Innovation and Science (ACCIS CDT), along with a Senior Research Associate from the Bristol Composites Institute, competed in the 2020 YES competition. The event, which was postponed from October 2020 went ahead virtually on 3 March 2021.
YES is an innovative global competition developed to raise awareness among early career researchers of how ideas from science and engineering can be commercialised. Under normal circumstances participants take part in a series of residential workshops, during which they hear presentations from leading industry experts, and then apply this knowledge to developing their own oral business plan for a company based on a hypothetical but plausible idea using real market and financial data. Teams then pitch their plan to a panel of business, financial, and academic representatives taking on the role of equity investors.
The team pitched the idea “Nextile – Using innovative design and manufacturing to transform textiles from end-of-life waste streams into multi-functional composite blocks, creating a modular, sustainable and reusable building material designed for our future indoor spaces.”
While on this occasion the team did not take home any prizes, the experience proved beneficial as they developed a wealth of new knowledge on all aspects of knowledge exchange and the commercialisation of ideas.
Imad Ouachan, ACCIS CDT student, said: “I personally found it useful, especially taking a concept we developed through to a finalised business plan and understanding what was important to potential investors rather than other academics. It covered the full process from protecting your idea, dealing with finances, and developing a marketing/growth strategy. It would have been great if it wasn’t virtual, as that would have facilitated more discussion, but through some long team meetings we were able to work well together.”
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