Bradford Pharmacy students selected for innovation leaders contest
A team of five University of Bradford Pharmacy students have made the final cut in a national business idea competition.
The team will pitch their business idea to potential investors and senior industry professionals at the Innovation Leaders Conference in Cambridge later this month. This international two day conference, organised by the Innovation Forum on the 16-17th of April, brings together leading pharmaceutical and healthcare companies, potential investors and academics. Included is the Business Idea Competition with prize money of £10,000 to the winners.
The team’s idea, wearable technology for monitoring diabetes, was developed through the Pharmaceutical Product Innovation module run by Dr Michele Chiemeka and Dr Kevin Adams. With the recent launch of the Digital Health Enterprise Zone, led by the University of Bradford, the team are already exploring how their concept can be developed further whether they win or not in Cambridge.
MPharm 4-year team, consisting of Ali-Haider Rashid, Abdul-Rehman Javed, Wajiha Ashrafi, Vasiola Kolldani, Fikayo Ifaturoti, commented: “As a team of undergraduate students, we feel very honoured and grateful to have been invited to such an auspicious conference of business leaders to present our product. We also acknowledge the role that our families and staff at the University had in encouraging and supporting us to help us reach the stage we're at today.
"Furthermore, we are really passionate about our idea and for the advancement it offers to patients through digital health. We hope this opportunity that we have been presented with, can facilitate us to really launch our concept to the next stage of its development."
Dr , Lecturer in Bioenterprise, commented: “It’s a great idea developed by a team of really talented students. I am so impressed by their drive and commitment to turn their concept into reality.”
Dr , Module Leader and Lecturer in Pharmaceutical Sciences said: “I am very proud of the students, and impressed with the way they have taken the knowledge learnt from this module and their MPharm degree course, to come up with a brilliant idea. The student team are very passionate and enthusiastic about their wearable technology for diabetes, and I wish them all the best for the competition.”
Professor , Head of Pharmacy at the University of Bradford said: “We are proud of our students and our course, which encourages and enables students to tackle important health problems in innovative ways. I am pleased that their ideas are being recognised in this national competition.”