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At ImperiaEnterprise Lab we鈥檙e passionate about inspiring the next generation of student innovators and entrepreneurs and are the first port of call if you鈥檙e looking to test an idea, tackle a pressing social or environmental challenge, develop new skills to help your career, start a business or join a community of people who want to make a difference.
We help students to think outside the box, break boundaries and dare to be different. We think anyone can be an entrepreneur and believe diversity is a competitive advantage not a tick box.
Each year we work with over 2,000 Imperiastudents and alumni. You can read about some of them here, and you can even get support from us now. We鈥檝e opened up our Idea Surgeries to offer holders, so if you have an idea you鈥檇 like some advice on or are already working on something and want some advice,
From competitions to speaker events and hackathons to skills seminars, co-working spaces and expert mentors, we offer all the support you need, free of charge and accessible to everyone.
Here are just a few of the ways we can support you on your entrepreneurial journey. 听
Co-working space
Our听听in the basement of the Sherfield building is open to all students from 10am-6pm to get some work done, work on your business idea or take a break in our chillout corner with a free coffee.
Events
Whether you鈥檙e looking for inspirational speakers, community events or want to see our teams take to the stage to pitch for prizes, we have the event for you.
We run a range of regular events including:
- - ImperiaEnterprise Lab鈥檚 monthly community get together where students from different departments and faculties across Imperiacan come together, collide, and form interesting new pairings and connections!
- - on a range of entrepreneurial topics such as pitching and financial modelling!
- - an entrepreneurial leadership series of events for students of Black and mixed Black heritage.
Check out all upcoming events .
Programmes
This summer, we have our听听- the chance to join students from across the world to form international teams and generate solutions that address the UN Sustainable Development Goal 13: Climate Action across a 10-day programme of workshops, guest speakers and mentoring.
We also recently held our annual - 海角社区鈥檚 flagship entrepreneurial competition for Imperiastudents and alumni to develop an innovative idea for commercialisation AND win big! We鈥檙e talking 7 intensive weeks of evening masterclasses, 1-1 coaching, and meetings with experts, all with one aim 鈥� to help you bring your idea to commercial reality while growing your knowledge, skills, and network. It鈥檚 a unique opportunity not to be missed!
All of our programmes are listed on our if you want to find out more of what we have on offer.
Expert Advice
In addition to the above, we offer expert 1:1 advice for students and recent alumni at all stages of their innovation journey from:
- - your first step to unlocking all the amazing resources on offer at the E-Lab. We help you understand what you need to do next, give you practical suggestions and assess what resources would benefit you the most. It might be some one-to-one coaching or applying to an Enterprise Lab programme.
- - a group of advisors with tons of real-life startup experience ready to pass on their knowledge, answer your questions and help you develop your understanding and confidence.
- - a mentoring service that鈥檚听open to any Imperiastudent, alumni or staff member that can show us that they鈥檙e ready to take the big step from idea development to business launch.
Business School case studies
DASH Rides
Co-founders
David Watkins, COO, (FT MBA 2020)
Jamie Milroy, CEO, (External)
The problem听
A big problem we face today is听moving听people around in cities听in听an efficient, cost-effective and sustainable way. Public transport is expensive and requires a lot of infrastructure,听but听private vehicles face issues of congestion, air pollution and a longer travel journey. We believe the electric bike addresses听this issue.鈥�听
The UK听Government has听tried to incentivise cycling听in the past听with the听Cycle to听Work听Scheme, but听the programme is听underutilised. In 2019, before the COVID-19听pandemic, the number of bikes purchased听under听the scheme was a mere 7%, even though the legislation allows听users听to take the cost of the bike off听their听pre-tax salary, resulting in听a听30% saving. We believe听the scheme听should be used more.听
The solution听
DASH听Rides听is听a B2B service, accessed by a digital platform, that听offers听e-bike subscriptions听for companies and employees as a way of听decongesting听roads, reducing听emissions, enabling听healthier lives, resolving听operation inefficiencies and making听businesses听more profitable. To make it as easy as possible to get people on e-bikes,听we鈥檝e included听servicing,听maintenance听and听insurance听in the price,听and听provided听a free helmet. DASH听Rides听also听offsets the carbon of听every bike by 400%, making a positive change to the environment, and leading the way to an efficient and sustainable future.听
As a subscription-based service, our product removes听the high cost of ownership听for听the user,听leading听to more people cycling.听We鈥檝e positioned听DASH Rides听as a B2B听company,听as we believe employers are a great way to pull people in and distribute the cost听of accessing e-bikes. By using our service, companies听are听combating听obesity by听encouraging听health and wellbeing in the workplace,听while also听meeting their sustainability targets.听Our users are moving around cities听efficiently, saving money and improving their health and wellbeing.听
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Co-founders
Elena Rueda, Co-founder & CEO (MSc Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Management, 2020)
Paulina Cecula, Co-founder & CPO (BSc Management 2020, MBBS 2022)
The Problem
Current contraceptive methods available to women globally, often come with harmful side effects, including blood clots, migraines, irregular bleeding, loss of libido and mental health related problems. This is well known and more frequently being spoken about in the media, press and medical journals as we become more educated around the topic. For example, you may have heard about earlier in 2020? Studies spotlighted that in the UK, blood clots occurred in people taking the AstraZeneca vaccine at a rate of roughly one in every 250,000, whereas blood clots caused by the pill are estimated to affect women each year. Data which we have known about for years but that no-one really batted an eye to.
The Solution
We believe that the future of women鈥檚 health will be personalised medicine. Dama Health is revolutionising the way in which women are matched to their contraception. We have created contraception matching tests which consist of digital and genetic screening to identify the most suitable contraception type and formulation for your individual needs. The ultimate product will utilize our digital screening test and at-home testing kit to gather pertinent data such as medical history, personal preferences, and genetic differences that can be incorporated into evidence-based and truly personalized recommendations of the most suitable contraception type and brand.
Our products are being developed with doctors and female health experts and based on the newest scientific evidence. Our proprietary screening tests take into consideration the patient鈥檚 medical needs, personal preferences, previous experience as well as the different side effect profiles of hormonal contraceptives. Our genetic panel helps to take things one step further, and identify potential risks and predispositions to personalise the recommendation even further, for example by informing users and clinicians if they are at higher risk of developing specific side effects or lower effectiveness of hormonal medication.
LinkedIn:
Listen - Black & Found Podcast
Black & Found is ImperiaEnterprise Labs new podcast dedicated to hearing the voices and experiences of black and black mixed heritage founders. The podcast explores the entrepreneurial journeys of individuals at different stages within the ImperiaEnterprise eco-system and beyond.
You can keep up to date with all the latest news and events from the ImperiaEnterprise Lab on their , and . If you have any questions you can email them directly at enterprise.lab@imperial.ac.uk.