Alumni engagement and philanthropy



QUEEN’S GRADUATES ARE ENGINEERS IN BUSINESS CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS  

06 November 2019

Two recent Queen's graduates – Ben Lindsay from Carlingford, County Down and Emma McQuiggan from Carrickfergus, County Antrim – have won the Engineers in Business Champion of Champions Gold Award at a ceremony in London's Royal Academy of Engineering (28 October, 2019).

Ben, MEng Product Design (2019), and Emma, MEng Mechanical Engineering (2019), collected the £3,000 UK-wide engineering award for BOLD, a discreet safety alert device which resembles a piece of contemporary jewellery. Aimed primarily at young women, it allows the wearer to live life fearlessly and helps them feel safer when out alone or in situations where they may feel vulnerable.

Together with two fellow Queen’s students, Ben and Emma created a new company called Stand in January of this year as part of their course module. BOLD, which was developed while they were still studying at Queen’s, is their debut product.

If the wearer feels at risk, they press a button that sends location information and a text to pre-selected contacts without using a mobile phone. BOLD retails at £149 and uses a new low power mobile standard called NB-IoT which allows the product to be much smaller and more discrete than any other previous technology.

Speaking about on what inspired the creation of BOLD, Emma said: “Throughout my time at University I have walked home late at night from the library or a friend’s house. I was constantly worrying, and fear surrounded me.

“This made me think of all the women and men who constantly feel like this, lacking peace of mind and feeling unsafe.

“We wanted to do something about it. BOLD is a piece of smart jewellery that allows people to contact their loved ones at the press of a button. Its discrete, stylish design means that anyone can wear it, anywhere. BOLD provides confidence through a simple connection.

“We’ve spoken to charities in the area and they are crying out for a product like BOLD. This has enthused our passion for the issue and made us even more determined to get BOLD to market.”

The Lord Sainsbury backed Engineers in Business Competition inspires engineering students and graduates to develop life changing business innovations through university business competitions.

In this the first Champion of Champions Grand Final, 10 teams (selected from 26 entries from around the UK) each of which had won their university heat of a Dragons’ Den style competition, competed for a share of £10,000.

Prizes also incorporate mentoring to help the winners take their business innovation to the next step, be that developing a prototype, product testing or marketing.

Each finalist was partnered with a Sainsbury Management Fellow (SMF), engineers sponsored by Engineers in Business Fellowship to study an MBA at the best business schools in the world, to help advance their careers and help the UK economy grow. 

Referring to the Award ceremony, Emma added that the occasion was extra special as many of those in the audience were engineers who they look up to.

"It was crazy and we didn't expect to win it, but it felt amazing, especially in front a room full of such inspirational people," she said.

“We’re over the moon. A lot of work and effort has gone into this point and to have it pay-off is great. We can now relax knowing that we did a good job and that we got there.

"We're really looking forward to the future and what this competition will do for our future and the products we will develop."

Engineers in Business helps to increase the level of participation in business courses and business competitions by engineering undergraduates and graduates, giving them the opportunity to gain more commercial education. Focusing on business innovation Engineers in Business works with universities and FE institutions that already have competitions or enterprise modules in which engineering students can participate.

David Falzani MBE, President of Engineers in Business Fellowship which runs the competition, said: “Contestants presented a diversity of high-quality innovations and it was an incredibly difficult decision to select the winners.

“Our Engineers in Business Competition promotes the importance and value of business education for engineers to enable them to create products and services that improve people’s lives, the environment and the economy.

“Research shows that introducing business education to young engineers and technologists makes them better engineers, makes them more employable, more effective in the workplace, and is better for the engineering profession and the UK economy.

“We provide universities with funding for a dedicated engineers prize and this has resulted in a 25% uplift in the number of engineers taking part in business innovation competitions at the universities EIBF sponsors.”

To submit graduate news items, or for general enquiries about this story, please contact Gerry Power, Communications Officer, Development and Alumni Relations Office, Queen's University Belfast or telephone: +44 (0)28 9097 5321.

Ben Lindsay (left) and Emma McQuiggan (centre) are pictured with Andrew Doe, CEO, Chief Digital Officer, Board Advisor and Angel Investor.

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