Last month, our Full-Time MBA cohort took part in the highly anticipated Imperial Innovation Challenge.
This intensive week-long project focuses on deep tech acceleration, offering students a chance to exercise innovation in a practical learning environment. The Innovation Challenge helps students deepen their understanding of the business-technology relationship and is a core component of our Full-Time MBA curriculum.
Working in groups, students had the opportunity to collaborate with faculty members from across Imperial, including professors from engineering and medicine. Working with promising technologies still under development, they were challenged to apply their business knowledge to help drive these projects toward commercial application.
At the end of the week, each team took part in a ‘Dragons’ Den’ style pitch, presenting their business proposals to a panel of judges, with the winning team receiving a prize.
This year, two teams emerged as winners and we recently caught up with George Dear and Bogosi Shashane, whose team developed an innovative sepsis test kit, as well as Sophie Anzarouth, whose team worked on a technology for skin cancer detection.
“The Imperial Innovation Challenge has been invaluable for my career development, reinforcing my ability to blend analytical rigor with strategic thinking.” - Bogosi Shashane
What deep technology did you work on during the Imperial Innovation Challenge?
Sophie: In my team, our project leveraged cutting-edge advancements in laser technology and artificial intelligence to revolutionise skin cancer detection. We utilised an Alexandrite-based laser system, which enabled precise and non-invasive tissue analysis. And the AI platform analysed the results to deliver accurate preliminary diagnoses up to 110 times faster than traditional methods.
These innovations combined to create a powerful tool that not only improved diagnostic speed and accuracy but also addressed critical healthcare challenges by easing the burden on dermatologists and enhancing patient outcomes.
George: Myself and Bogosi were in a team together; we worked on a rapid and portable sepsis test kit that leverages advanced nanotechnology. Sepsis is one of the leading causes of global deaths, and the key issue is that the current method of diagnosis takes 6 days, which is far too long
This is a groundbreaking application for the technology that will dramatically shorten the time taken to diagnose sepsis infections, leading to reduced mortality rate from sepsis.
How was your experience collaborating with Imperial scientists?
Bogosi: Collaboration has been fundamental to our project's success. Our team brought together expertise from Imperial College London’s Department of Chemistry and Faculty of Medicine.
This interdisciplinary approach has helped us understand both the technical challenges and clinical needs of the project, leading to a more robust and practical solution. Within the space of the week, we felt empowered by this wealth of knowledge to enable us to present our solution.
What challenges did you face and overcome during the challenge?
Sophie: One of the biggest challenges my team faced was overcoming the barrier of technology readiness. The goal was not to invent a new technology but to develop completely innovative applications by leveraging existing advancements. This required us to carefully assess the maturity of each component and identify the necessary steps to bring the solution to life—such as building a prototype, conducting tests, and iterating until it’s ready for medical trials.
George: For me, understanding the technology well enough to confidently pitch the product and field questions from the Venture Capitalists was certainly the biggest challenge. None of the team had a science background so this aspect of the challenge was quite daunting!
Bogosi: I’d also add that a challenge was developing a solution that could meet multiple crucial requirements simultaneously, including speed, cost-effectiveness, high sensitivity and specificity, multiplexed detection capabilities and minimal sample processing.
Sophie: We tackled these challenges by fully embracing the deep tech framework and trusting the process. This framework provided a structured template to navigate this uncertainty, helping us break down complex ideas into manageable parts, allowing us to focus on each component.
George: The engagement of the Imperial science team was essential for the success of our Innovation Challenge. They have been developing this sepsis diagnosis product for some time, and they were very supportive in explaining the technology and application to us. We had a meeting with them before the challenge commenced to provide us with some context around the product and the tech that underpins it.
Bogosi: Also leveraging our combined expertise across multiple disciplines was vital in carrying out a detailed analysis of the technology and navigating the array of uncertainties. For instance, we found that the interaction between technical and non-technical backgrounds in our team worked well when ideating and producing a pitch.
What was your highlight from the Imperial Innovation Challenge?
Sophie: The biggest highlight of the week was the incredible teamwork experience. Working alongside such talented teammates, I encountered a dynamic unlike any I’ve experienced before — serene, trusting, and calm. We approached each step of the process without feeling overwhelmed, fully embracing the framework and trusting each other’s abilities.
Bogosi: This entire experience posed an immense learning curve, one which gave us the chance to lean on one another’s comprehension to achieve the final objective.
George: It is always amazing to see how members of the cohort draw on their expertise developed during their careers in these types of projects. This really highlights the diversity of the cohort and demonstrates how this diversity leads to unique and creative ideas.
How did the pitch go at the end of the week?
George: I am glad to say that the pitch went well. Over the course of the week our team had really bought in to the potential of the sepsis diagnosis product – having looked at the impact that sepsis has, it was clear that the product could save millions of lives in the future. This made the pitch an exciting prospect as we wanted to share our enthusiasm and belief in the potential of the product.
Sophie: One of our teammates, who excels in public speaking, took the lead in delivering the presentation. We focused on crafting a pitch that was easy to follow, particularly by translating complex technical terminology into layman’s terms—a crucial step in ensuring that the panel could fully grasp our project proposal. As a result, our Pitch was clear, concise, and well-received by the judges, which made for a satisfying conclusion to a full week of effort.
George: The feedback that we received from the industry judges was positive and a testament to the hard work that the team had put in during the week, and the years of research that had gone into the technology up to that point.
Why is the Imperial Innovation Challenge such a good practical learning experience and how will you take it forward in your future careers?
George: In the first instance, the Innovation Challenge is a brilliant product development simulation that promotes innovative thinking.
Sophie: The deep tech framework provided a structure to problem-solving in business, which will be a source of inspiration as I navigate complex projects in the future.
This week also underscored the importance of trust within a team—the ability to rely on each other and let everyone contribute their unique strengths to achieve the best outcomes. It is a lesson I will carry forward, not only in my daily collaborations but also when building and leading my own teams.
Bogosi: For me, personally, I am an actuary using my MBA to transition into consulting. So, this experience has been invaluable for my career development, reinforcing my ability to blend analytical rigor with strategic thinking.
George: On another level, the Innovation Challenge has inspired me to focus on the big issues of today. Working on a project that could save millions of lives was amazingly fulfilling. I hope to continue to tackle the big issues that the world faces throughout my career.
Share
