SQUEASE will revolutionise the way people with Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD)
are helped to deal with anxiety and has today (24 November) won first prize in the
prestigious Research Councils UK (RCUK) Business Plan Competition. The team led
by Sheraz Arif from Design London, receive £25,000 towards accelerating their business
to develop a range of clothing products that apply deep pressure to the wearer creating
a calming effect. The range of products is initially aimed at teenagers and young
people with ASD and is designed to offer discreet relief whilst on the move.
David Willetts, Minister for Universities and Science said: "I am delighted that
SQUEASE Ltd has won first prize in the RCUK Business Plan Competition 2010. The
UK has a long history of innovative and creative research and development, and this
competition is an excellent way of encouraging researchers to expand their work,
consider commercial opportunities and ultimately contribute to the UK economy. Initiatives
such as this are important in demonstrating the value of UK research to business
and industry around the world."
Recent research has shown that public investment in research has a direct impact
on GDP and this is crucial to driving UK growth in these economically fragile times.
As the number of academics and higher education institutions engaging with business
and industry rises further investment is attracted to the UK. From a recent RCUK
report
Research for our Future: UK business success through public investment,
the evidence is overwhelming that it is the quality of UK research that attracts
business and industry to conduct R&D in partnership with UK-based researchers.
Professor Dave Delpy, RCUK Impact Champion said: “It is vital to the future prosperity
of the UK that research and business work together in partnership. The RCUK Business
Plan Competition is just one of the current mechanisms that the Research Councils
have to help researchers work with business and industry to gain the relevant skills
to turn their work into successful commercial ventures. The five finalists in this
year’s Competition come from a variety of academic backgrounds and they should each
be congratulated for their commitment over the last year, during the demanding process
of turning their research into award winning business propositions.”
The prize money awarded to previous winners of the RCUK Business Plan Competition
has proved invaluable in helping their company grow. In 2008 Dr Ben Panter and his
winning team from the University of Edinburgh invested the £25,000 prize in their
spin-out company Blackford Analysis. Dr Panter has said the Competition was “extremely
useful for my team as we transformed from an academic group into a company. It was
the first time that anyone had really pressed us for the details of how we were
going to take an interesting technology and actually build and sell a product from
it. The training and mentoring was relevant, interesting and comprehensive - and
the business plan we wrote was used to raise a six-figure seed investment. Putting
the prize straight in Blackford Analysis has allowed us to maintain a strong equity
position, and given us a core to structure the deal around”
The RCUK Business Plan Competition has now been running for six years and in
that time it has helped researchers work with business and industry to gain the
appropriate skills to turn their work into successful business applications.
More information about all the entries to the 2010 RCUK Business Plan Competition
can be found
here
and background about the Competition and previous winners is available
here.
- ends -
Further information
Contact:
Jane Wakefield
RCUK Press and Communications Manager
Tel: 01793 444592
Notes for editors
Images available, please contact Jane Wakefield as above.
Research Councils UK (RCUK) is the strategic partnership of the UK's seven
Research Councils. We invest annually around £3 billion in research. Our focus is
on excellence with impact. We nurture the highest quality research, as judged by
international peer review providing the UK with a competitive advantage. Global
research requires we sustain a diversity of funding approaches, fostering international
collaborations, and providing access to the best facilities and infrastructure,
and locating skilled researchers in stimulating environments. Our research achieves
impact – the demonstrable contribution to society and the economy made by knowledge
and skilled people. To deliver impact, researchers and businesses need to engage
and collaborate with the public, business, government and charitable organisations.
www.rcuk.ac.uk
The seven UK Research Councils are:
- Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC);
- Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC);
- Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC);
- Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC);
- Medical Research Council (MRC);
- Natural Environment Research Council (NERC);
- Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC).