Imperial Students lead nominations for International Student Innovation Awards

Elena Dieckmann and Ryan Robinson of Aeropowder

A silk violin and a drone control app are just two of Imperial's entries in a competition to find London's most innovative international student.

The International Student Innovation Awards was set up to highlight the work of the city’s international students and also to provide some financial help to assist students in taking their innovation to the next stage of development. It was devised by London & Partners, the Mayor’s official promotional company and is also supported by the UK Government’s Education is GREAT campaign and the British Council, Cambridge English, IDP Education and The PIE.

Imperial entries comprise of over half the final 15 whittled down from hundreds of entries, from 49 different countries and 17 London universities.

An event crowning 'London's most innovative international student', who will receive £10,000 to kick start their business, will be held on 2^nd November at Central Saint Martins, Granary Square.

Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, said: “The incredible range of talent on show in these awards celebrates the best of the capital and clearly demonstrates that London is open to talent and ideas from across the globe. We need to do all we can to ensure that London remains the best and most welcoming destination for international students.”

Imperial's entrants are:

• Luca Alessandrini who has made a violin which uses the vibrating qualities of spiders' silk.
• Elena Dieckmann who is using waste chicken feathers to make water repellent paint.
• Simon Weill who has created a shoe that uses street mapping to enable blind and partially sighted people to navigate busy city streets.
• Pae Natwilai who has built an app that allows you to control drones like waving a magic wand.
• Xinyang Tan who has created a device which strengthens the limbs of children with muscular problems.
• Yin Fan Denis Huen who has built a device which stops the tremors in Parkinsons sufferers.
• Mei Ran Abellona who has created a device that preserves a vaccine during its last mile of transportation where many normally perish.
• Malav Sanghavi who has designed a smart amputee socket which can be adjusted via an app to suit the individual’s needs.

Ideas and innovations submitted have been evaluated by a prestigious panel of judges including Eliot Forster, Executive Chair of MedCity and CEO of Immunocore, Eileen Burbidge, Partner at London venture capital firm Passion Capital and Chair of Tech City UK and Lord Bilimoria, who is also Founder and Chairman of Cobra Beer. 

Dr Eliot Forster, Chair of MedCity, said: “These awards, which have unearthed a wealth of innovation in our universities, help cement London’s reputation for forward-thinking problem-solving science and entrepreneurial spirit. By supporting the creative and entrepreneurial endeavour of students it will enable them to develop and take their ideas to market which could change lives for the better and improve the healthcare landscape.”