Local business talent showcased at EnterpriseFest

The breadth of the University’s enterprising and entrepreneurial initiatives was promoted through live exhibitions and demonstrations, open mic pitching, and an inspirational keynote presentation by Rachel Lowe MBE; successful entrepreneur and University of Portsmouth graduate. Rachel was also the first female to join the University’s Entrepreneurs in Residence programme, back in 2018.

The night’s awards and award winners were:

Startup of the Year - Jack Persey, founder of Auto Accessory UK.

‘One to Watch’ - Travis Ralph-Donaldson, founder of Niter Ltd. And Ella Roffey, founder of Ella Roffey Graphic Designer (Highly Commended).

Open mic competition - Millie Flemington-Clare, founder and CEO of Human Beauty. And Sam Valdes and Erdoo Yongo, co-founders of Politics Simplified.

Lifetime Achievement Award - Rachel Lowe MBE.

Lynda Povey, Enterprise Adviser at the University of Portsmouth, said: “The team has worked so hard on the Enterprise Programme and EnterpriseFest. It is an honour to be a part of people’s journeys and celebrate all of the great enterprise activities that take place across the University.”

Event sponsors STR Group, the Neurodivergent Business Consortium, and Innovation Connect contributed prize packages worth a combined £15,000 and 12 months membership at Innovation Connect.

You can find out more about the event, including videos and photos of the night at https://sites.google.com/port.ac.uk/enterprisefest

If you would like to know how you can collaborate with the University and the range of business services that we offer, please contact [email protected]

New opportunities for healthcare technologies to benefit patient

Over 200 delegates from local health technology companies, clinicians, Government organisations, funding bodies and other sectors attended the The Healthtech Acceleration Symposium and Matchmaking 2023 event at Portsmouth Guildhall last month.

Organised by the Supporting Innovation and Growth in Healthcare Technologies (SIGHT) business support programme developed by the University of Portsmouth, the event, powered by global super connectors, Empact Ventures, explored some of the prominent challenges around developing new health technologies.

It provided guests with engagement and networking opportunities for healthtech businesses, enabling them to meet with a tailored audience of clinicians, patient research representatives/patients, academics, business development experts and support organisations.

Dr Phil Jewell, Director of Healthtech at the University of Portsmouth and SIGHT Programme CEO, said: “Having all of these opportunities in one place in one day would take a business a long time to establish these relationships, with the University, the hospital or Local Enterprise Partnership for example, and it’s been a real success to put all of those constituent parts in one place. Some of those relationships that have been formed will mature into new technologies that I hope will reach the NHS in the future.”

Arthur Jealouse, Business Development Manager from BSI, said: “SIGHT is important for providing opportunities for events like this where all the organisations, who support medical device innovators, can come together and show what support is available and, most importantly, how they can get those devices to market and in the hands of clinicians to benefit patients.”

Robert Kruppa, Director at Menzies, added: “At the small end or start up phases, business can’t do everything at once, they can’t know everyone they need to know and events like this and the oversight that SIGHT has pulls all that together. People can come to events like this and make contacts and connections with a varied number of providers and speak to the people they need to speak to.”

Find out more about SIGHT at sightprogramme.co.uk or contact [email protected]

UK’s first “PLAYCE” to be built in Portsmouth

Portsmouth has been chosen to host the UK’s first PLAYCE, a multi-skills activity space built using a pioneering scientific model for movement.

The purpose of the outdoor playground is to get people moving by challenging them to think outside the box when it comes to physical activity.

It is designed in a way that anyone can use the space, from young and old and all skill levels, including those with disabilities and additional needs. Uniquely, there are also no separate play areas for different groups, but an integrated “PLAYCE” for all.

The project is a collaboration between the University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth City Council (PCC), and the Athletic Skills Model (ASM) Company.

More details about the University of Portsmouth PLAYCE project can be found here: https://www.port.ac.uk/playce