The Cranfield-Colworth Innovation Challenge
In partnership with:
dsm-firmenich, Pioneer Group, Symrise and Unilever
Now in its sixth year, the Cranfield-Colworth Innovation Challenge is an intensive and rewarding programme that invites participants to develop solutions to real-life challenges - this year, set by innovation-focused multinationals Unilever, dsm-firmenich and Symrise, together with Pioneer Group, owners of Colworth Science Park.
The theme this year is ‘innovation to tackle climate change, reduce waste, and support the transition to net zero’.
You are invited to form multi-disciplinary teams with both technical and entrepreneurial skills to develop and present your solutions to one of three challenges. The winning team from each challenge will be awarded a prize of £2,000, with Cranfield providing an additional prize of £1,500 for one team which shows outstanding performance on the day.
This is a great opportunity to work with multi-national companies and, potentially, start a lasting relationship with them.
"The challenge has been one of my highlights since I joined the MSc in September. It has allowed me to apply some of the theories I have learnt to a practical setting, meet industry experts, as well as students from other courses. I would highly recommend it to future students."
The competition
Entrants must form multi-disciplinary teams and submit a brief proposal to address one of the three challenges.
Teams must consist of two to five students from at least two different schools. Each team must have at least one student from a technical school and one from SOM.
Up to nine teams will be selected to turn their proposals into fully-fledged pitches. Successful teams will receive:
- Feedback on their application with suggestions for improvement
- Training from the Bettany Centre and the Centre for Design to help shape and develop proposals
- Mentors from the Bettany Centre, Cranfield technical schools and the industry partners to keep your proposal development on track
- Support with developing your pitches as you approach the finale
All teams then participate in the competition finale, to take place at Colworth Science Park, which includes:
- The final pitch to challenge owners and senior executives from the industry partners
- Prize giving, feedback and networking
- The winning teams from each challenge will be awarded a prize of £2,000 and there will be an additional prize of £1,500 from Cranfield for one team which shows outstanding performance on the day
Who should take part and why?
dsm-firmenich, Pioneer Group, Syrmrise and Unilever are looking for students who:
- Have great ideas!
- Are interested in finding innovative solutions to real-world challenges
- Are willing to contribute to a multi-disciplinary team
Cranfield will provide support in finding appropriate team members from across the schools.
In addition to the opportunity to work on innovative solutions based on actual market need, this competition will:
- Give you a deeper understanding of how ideas can be turned into commercial application
- Help you understand how to innovate with impact through design thinking
- Allow you to gain valuable insights from global industry leaders
- Develop and improve transferable skills such as communication, time management, negotiation and team building
- Increase your commercial awareness and technology transfer knowledge
- Demonstrate your ability to think creatively and collaborate with peers and industry experts using a range of networking skills
- Enhance your CV
The industry partners see this competition as the start of a journey and are interested in building a working relationship with winning teams and standout individuals if proposals have real potential for implementation and rollout. Subsequent support may take the form of:
- The opportunity to put in a proposal for a summer thesis project with the industry partners (subject to approvals from your course supervisor and dependent on course timings)
- The opportunity for team members to jointly submit a proposal for a paid ‘Student Innovation Project’ to take your ideas further in your own time, during the summer
If you experience any issues with this link please email ulaccelerator@cranfield.ac.uk
Since you may receive confidential information during the competition, you will be asked to sign a Confidentiality Undertaking during the registration process. This should only take a few minutes, but please do not leave to the last moment!
Key dates
• Online launch: Thursday 11 January 2024, 6.00-7.45pm
• Application deadline: Wednesday 31 January 2024
• Results of shortlisted teams: Friday 9 February 2024
• Full training day: Wednesday 14 February 2024
• Pitch preparation: Friday 15 March 2024
• Finale: Tuesday 19 March 2024, 12.00pm onwards at Colworth Science Park
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