WHERE THERE’S MUCK THERE’S MONEY! ‘WHAT’S THE BIG IDEA?’ AWARDS 2014

Queen’s University Students’ Union is excited to announce the winners of its ‘What’s the Big Idea?’ awards. The awards, organised by Enterprise SU, a dedicated enterprise, volunteering and employability centre in Queen’s Students’ Union, celebrated the students’ achievements and saw 10 awards and an impressive prize pot of £1,800 presented to the winners.

The aim of the competition is to encourage and support both undergraduate and postgraduate students to devise business ideas, such as a new product or service, or even a new market for an existing idea. Enterprise SU received hundreds of entries from a diverse range of students and departments across the University.

The ‘Best Overall Business Idea’ accolade and a cheque for £500, sponsored by Ormeau Business Park, was awarded to a team of five entrepreneurial students: Colum Mackle, Owen Carragher, Paul McElroy, Richard Gibson, and Richard Primrose, for their product idea ‘Slurry Safety Solutions’ - an effective and portable safety product for the agricultural sector.

The ‘Most Innovative Idea’ award, also sponsored by Ormeau Business Park, was presented to Andrew Paul, Catherine Smyth, Gregory Murray, Mark Black, and Matthew Nethercote, along with £500 for ‘H2C’ - their innovative phone case that will enable the user to charge their mobile device on the go.

This year’s winning teams are delighted to have received their awards and are positive that this will generate the exposure that they need to promote their ideas, and propel them to even greater things.

Remarking on the awards and the services that Enterprise SU provides, Lynne Weir, Enterprise & Development Officer at Queen’s Students’ Union, said, “Extracurricular activities such as this competition helps to ignite the creative spark amongst many students and it encourages and rewards entrepreneurial behaviour. We are always impressed by the quality of creative ideas that are submitted.”