A Strathclyde Business School Economics student was one of a team of UK and Singapore university students who worked together to win the UKSAEI (UK-Singapore Universities Alliance for Entrepreneurship and Innovation) Climate Change and Sustainability Hackathon.
Danny Leask is one of a group of six students from UK universities representing Strathclyde, Glasgow, Cranfield, Nottingham and Coventry in the UK and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore who entered the hackathon to come up with innovative ideas to help businesses combat climate change.
They had to work on the proposal: "How could business and organisational rules and structures, both public and private, be adapted to encourage organisations to be more socially responsible with a particular focus on achieving net-zero?" Teams were created to ensure students from different universities and countries had the chance to collaborate and Danny's team "ENSaver" worked together over a two week period on the challenge.
His group proposed a smart adapter that would turn on and off appliances such as coffee machines and drink coolers that are traditionally left on overnight in the hospitality sector.
Danny explained, "The device turned on devices at the optimal time to ensure the temperature is correct for service, reducing the amount of time the device is active. The device is controlled by an app that would be integrated into existing management software systems. This simple IoT solutions reduces the energy consumption of the business, reducing their costs and the environmental impact of the appliances.
"It was a great experience working with such an enthusiastic team. The whole event was full of interesting presentations and engaging masterclasses. I would highly recommend any student interested in entrepreneurship and sustainability apply for the competition."
The team created and conducted market research, made a business proposal, a prototype for the app, and analysed the impact that the device would have on C02 emissions.
They presented their pitch to a panel which included her Excellency Kara Owen, the British High Commissioner to Singapore; Richard Warburton, the President of the British Chamber of Commerce Singapore; and Hugh Edmiston, the Administrator for Singapore Management University at the end of the event which took place from October 18-29.
UKSAEI was launched in April bringing together 16 world-leading universities from the UK and Singapore to share knowledge and facilitate collaboration in commercialisation and innovation.
Team ENSaver was: