DMU Students win financial prize in annual EiBF entrepreurship Hackathon
Members of the winning team - Ecosynergy AI
More than 70 students from Computing, Engineering and Media courses came together to learn and apply entrepreneurial skills as part of DMU Made’s annual entrepreneurship hackathon. The event was run in partnership with the Engineers in Business Fellowship, an organisation founded by Lord Sainsbury to encourage and develop future talent in industries associated with engineering and technology. Computing, Engineering and Media students came together from a number of courses and across all years to form a total of 10 teams, who each received guidance from a panel of experts; Prof. Tracey Harwood and Dr. Ali Jwaid (Senior Lecturer in Computer Science), and Allan Meahan and Daniel Gibbons from General Electric (G.E.). A powerhouse in the electrical industry, G.E. is known around the world for its pioneering work.
Above - Our participants and judging panel, hard at work!
Students also heard from DMU’s SDG office, gaining insights into sustainability, which helped them to respond to a challenge. The challenge utilised their knowledge of engineering, media skills and sustainability. The event took place over two consecutive Thursday evenings, with teams working hard on their ideas in between the two sessions. Following the pitches, the panel announced two winning teams, with each participant receiving a share of the £3,000 sponsored prize. It’s the fourth time DMU Made has partnered with Engineers in Business to run the competition.nd graduates in developing entrepreneurial mindsets. DMU Made is about empowering students, whether they want to start their own business or bring creativity and enterprise into any career path.
Winning Hackathon participant Timothi Lim Wei-Ho told us “Motivation alone was not enough though and we had to translate it into action quickly. Early in the week we held an epic three-hour discussion to surface every idea, debate merits and risks, and settle on a concept we all believed in. The inclusion of GE Vernova added industry insight and validated our proposal's practical credibility. Their feedback and probing questions reinforced my own belief that inter-generational academic-industry collaboration is essential to solving global problems. Experienced professionals can unlock resources and shed light on ongoing initiatives, while students bring fresh perspectives and innovation.
The hackathon experience confirmed that our ideas matter in the wider world. All of us left with a sharper awareness of carbon emissions, data-centre footprints, and the unseen mountains of e-waste, and with the confidence that even small, well-focused efforts can set positive change in motion.”
The hackathon was possible thanks to funding from EiBF (Engineers in Business Fellowship)
DMU Made supports students and recent graduates in exploring self-employment, freelancing, and entrepreneurial skills, whether students aspire to launch a business, being self-employed or apply entrepreneurial thinking in more traditional roles. Key initiatives include pre-startup initiatives such as the Future Freelancers programme, DMU Global entrepreneurship experiences, and the annual DMU Made Awards, featuring the Pitch2Win competition.
