Nobel Prize winner hails new cohort of Cambridge tech innovators
Three exciting new technologies created by Cambridge University student entrepreneurs have won crucial funding and scale-up support from Trinity College and Central Working.
Master of Trinity and Nobel Prize winner Sir Greg Winter said the winning trio were typical of the talent emanating from hotbeds of innovation nursed within UK universities. He said such enterprises needed even more support if they were to survive and scale.
The inaugural Trinity Bradfield Prize was created to nurture teams of entrepreneurial students at the University of Cambridge who have developed ideas to address global challenges.
It aims to set the standard for partnerships between business and academic institutions by nurturing talent and encourage fledgling businesses to remain and grow within the UK technology ecosystem.
The three winners shared £25k. They included Simon Engelke who has developed a method for battery electrode diffusion, said to dramatically improve the performance, charging speed, lifespan and energy efficiency of everything from smartphones and electric cars to power grids. He was awarded £10,000 funding and three months of intensive business growth support within The Bradfield Centre at Cambridge Science Park.
Saikat Subhra Ghosh, also wins £10k and Bradfield hothousing for creating a pole changing machine to effectively provide gear shifting for electric cars, drastically improving the energy efficiency and cutting costs to the consumer.
The third winner – awarded £5k plus the Bradfield mentoring – was Nidhin Laji, who has developed a 3D modelling programme for heart surgery in newborn children. This provides surgeons in theatre with a tailored map in procedures where survivability depends on the technical accuracy of miniscule incisions.
Alongside equity-free funding, all three teams will join The Bradfield Centre, the £20m deep tech collaborative workspace launched by Trinity College Cambridge, Central Working and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
Since opening in 2017, The Bradfield Centre has established itself as a key hub for both the local Cambridge tech cluster and the wider East Anglian region. The Trinity Prize winners will receive the full support of Central Working, with a focus on forging valuable introductions to partners and investors who spur further growth and guiding the teams as they commercialise their ideas.
Sir Greg Winter said: “University fepartments across the country are potentially hotbeds for innovation and fledgling companies, provided we can offer researchers a business-friendly environment to develop their ideas.
“The Trinity Prize process has offered us a glimpse at the tech pioneers of the future and I’m excited to see how far they will go with support from the College and The Bradfield Centre.”
James Parton, managing director of The Bradfield Centre, added: “The Trinity Prize is a tremendous example of the education and business community joining forces to foster the next generation of tech talent.
“The calibre of intellectual property innovation currently being developed in UK universities indicates that Britain will remain a driving force in global technology for years to come. When empowered to follow through on their potential, they can bring huge benefit to Britain’s tech economy and further cement our place as the focal point of global technology.”