Peel Ports Innovation Challenge 2022

Posted on: 14 November 2022 by Samantha Riella in Enterprise

Peel Ports Innovation Challenge 2022: Enhancing Port Innovation Through Inspiring Enterprising Minds.

A collaborative innovation challenge was organised by the University of Liverpool in partnership with Peel Ports Group, the second largest port group in the UK from 24th to 28th October 2022. Over 50 students from Liverpool John Moores University and University of Liverpool joined from across the Liverpool City Region to work in cross-university interdisciplinary teams, as part of our LCR Founders Project. From idea to pitch, students had only four days to tackle a real-world challenge faced by ports under the theme of sustainability - an increasingly relevant topic globally.

The challenge was designed and hosted by Alison Pountney, LCR Founders Innovation Coach and Core Enterprise and Entrepreneurship lead within Careers and Employability at the University of Liverpool. The challenge was delivered in a hybrid model, the introductory session was held at the Museum of Liverpool, providing the perfect waterfront backdrop for the session, which included an introduction to the challenge and a workshop on idea generation, and an introduction to the UN Sustainable Development Goals by James Riddick, Group Head of Supply Chain, Peel Ports Group, Lib Golding, Enterprise Educator and Lucky Ali, Enterprise and Employability Executive, University of Liverpool.

The teams were provided with mentors from University of Liverpool, Port City Innovation Hub, and Peel Ports Group. As they worked independently, they developed, refined, and finally pitched their ideas to a panel of judges at our finale event with stunning views at Merseyside Maritime Museum on Friday 28th October.

A highlight of the event was the presence of three exceptional University of Liverpool alumni who have grown from student to start-up founders; we were delighted to be joined by:

  • Alex Shakeshaft – Co-founder of Enturi Solutions, a start-up focusing on innovative green energy solutions to meet the UK’s 2050 net-zero commitments. Alex is winner of the Enterprise Fund, participant of Design Your Future and part of the LCR Founders community.
  • Rudy Parengal – Co-founder of Abjak, a FoodTech start-up, offering authentic food through their automated cloud kitchen. Rudy is start-up visa student, winner of the Enterprise Fund, participant of Design Your Future and part of the LCR Founders community.
  • Noura Qusairy – Co-founder of Yamama, a sustainable, ethical, fair fashion brand supporting refugee artisans, Noura is Start-up visa student who has just gone on to secure the Innovator Visa, winner of the Enterprise Fund, participant of Design Your Future and part of the LCR Founders Community.

Everyone delivered such outstanding pitches that selecting the winner of the £1000 provided by Peel Ports Group was extremely difficult, congratulations to the winning team! As a result, two teams have been invited back to Peel Ports to pitch their ideas again.

Challenges bring out the best in us, making us grow and transform, as this innovation challenge demonstrated. It went from not knowing anyone on the team to becoming lifelong friends and turning a brainstorming session into a viable business idea.

This innovation challenge highlights our entrepreneurial and employability initiatives within University of Liverpool, ensuring that our students are well-equipped with the skills and knowledge they’ll need to become the next generation of leaders in any field they choose to pursue.

Testimonials

Our mentor and panellist James Riddick helped us to refine the idea and prepare for our pitch. It was a scary week, but with the dedication from my teammates it came out excellent.

Uday Patel, member of the winning team.

First times are always unique. Finding the problem description and its solutions, which align with the 17 SDGs, was a remarkable adventure in itself. Archie McCluskey, our mentor, led brainstorming sessions with us and was quite clear about what he wanted to be included and what should be removed. 

Anuradha Mitra, member of the 1st Runner up team.

It provided the opportunity to network and be taken seriously in a professional setting as a student.

Daniel Firsht

The opportunity to work with fellow students and senior and experienced executives, gave me valuable insights and helped me to push myself to my limit. It led me to better understand my capabilities as well. 

Bhavik Jain

Get involved

From our feedback survey, 100% of the students who participated in the challenge stated the enterprise challenge enhanced their student experience. Additionally, the collaboration will provide opportunities for graduate and student placements and apprenticeships and insights into strengthening University curricula in professional areas.

If you are a student or graduate who would like to participate in similar activities, have an idea you would like to bring to life and a business you would like to develop further, you can:

Join our Green Room, an MS Teams Channel for likeminded enterprising students be the first to find out about similar opportunities, events, and funding.

We also have support for your business development and idea generation through our 121 coaching and events with the LCR Founders Project, you can sign up here.

Keywords: Enterprise.