IDEAFEST Final 2023

The IDEAFEST Student Business Idea Competition is an annual initiative that seeks to find the Henley Business School or University of Reading student with the best idea for a business. From over 15 submissions, five teams of students have been selected to present their ideas at the IDEAFEST Final to our panel of judges.

The IDEAFEST Final 2023 will be held on 26 April in room G15 of the Henley Business School building, Whiteknights campus. For those unable to attend in person, there is also the option to dial in remotely via Microsoft Teams. Once you have signed up you will be sent the link to dial in.

The winner of IDEAFEST will be awarded a cash prize of £1,000 to spend on developing their business idea, with the additional prize of mentoring from business experts. There are also cash prizes for second and third places, with an additional cash prize for the best innovative idea. On top of this, there is a special bursary for the best idea capable of being commercialised in China. This bursary is sponsored by Savio Kwan, the former President and Chief Operating Officer of Alibaba.

All University of Reading and Henley Business school students and staff are encouraged to be part of the audience to support the finalists as they pitch. Friends and family members of the finalists are also welcome!

The finalists are as follows:

- BloodMatch, led by MSc Data Science and Advanced Computing student Nor El Islam Messedad, is a health-tech platform that connects compatible blood donors with patients in need of a match

- Fit Cookie AI, led by BA Entrepreneurship and Management student Rosen Georgiev, is an application programming interface that uses artificial intelligence to provide personalised nutrition recommendations based on individual needs, goals, and lifestyles, partnering with supplement companies to enhance their product offerings and customer experience

- Investor Pro Academy, led by BSc Business and Management students Brandon Bradford and Jakub Siedacz, is a subscription service for an online education platform and community that teaches the fundamentals of stocks, cryptocurrencies and NFTs, aimed towards beginner and intermediate traders and investors

- Pop Lids, led by BA Business and Management student Conor McNamara, is a producer of re-usable lids that customers can use for their takeaway coffees to reduce plastic waste

- TalkieSpace, led by MSc Data Science and Advanced Computing student Maymon Subrahmanian Madathingal, is a platform where movie enthusiasts can come together and request for their favourite films to be played on big screens, connecting movie lovers with the owners of cinemas and other suitable facilities

The full schedule is outlined below:

2:00pm - Welcome and Introduction

2:15pm - BloodMatch Presentation

2:30pm - Fit Cookie AI Presentation

2:45pm - Investor Pro Academy Presentation

3:00pm - Pop Lids Presentation

3:15pm - Talkie Space Presentation

3:30pm - Break

4:30pm - Results Announced

5:00pm - Closing Remarks

5:15pm - Finish

To register to be part of the audience for this event, sign up here.

IDEAFEST is kindly sponsored by Savio Kwan, the former President and COO of Alibaba, Southern Communications Group and CBY Capital.