Earlier this week, the University of St Andrews Entrepreneurship Centre proudly hosted the Alumni and Student Founders Community Awards Evening. The event celebrated entrepreneurial progress, strong connections and the shared achievements of student and alumni founders.
The evening took place in the Arts Lecture Theatre and welcomed students, alumni, programme participants, judges and supporters. Together, they gathered for a lively celebration of ideas and impact. Importantly, the event aimed to strengthen connections between founders at different stages and across disciplines. It highlighted how a strong community helps turn ideas into action.
To begin the evening, Bonnie Hacking, Programme Manager at the Entrepreneurship Centre, offered a warm welcome. She set the tone for a celebration focused on ambition, collaboration and shared experience. Next, Derek Watson MBE, Chief Executive Officer at St Andrews Innovation, shared opening remarks. He spoke about entrepreneurship as a space for curiosity, creativity and confidence-building across the University.
Celebrating Programme Milestones and Early Stage Success
This year also marked the launch of Startup Skills Lab, a new programme for students and staff at the very start of their entrepreneurial journey. Through hands-on workshops, mentoring and skills development, participants built confidence in ideation, validation and pitching.
Following a series of pitches, the Startup Skills Lab funding winners were announced:
- Semester 1: Zaccaria Luciano Tramarin (School of Computer Science) – £500
- Semester 2: Estelle Alexandre (Business School) – £1,000
- Semester 2: Stacia Carrington (School of International Relations) – £1,000
Startup Factory EdenTay: Sustainability and Collaboration
In addition, the evening recognised participation in Startup Factory EdenTay, a fast-paced sustainability hackathon. The event brought together students from across the region to tackle real world sustainability challenges. After two intensive days of teamwork and pitching, the winning teams were celebrated during the ceremony.
- Third place: B3STY – Blessing Owolade (Abertay University), Shu Soe (School of Computer Science), Tamra Chan (School of Computer Science), Yi Xin Chong (School of Computer Science)
- Second place: Biodiversity Box – Ayam Babu (School of Computer Science), Nikita Mickevics (University of Dundee), Rafia Haidari (University of Dundee)
- First place: Our AI – Florence Kemp (School of International Relations), Oanh Vo (School of Computer Science), Pingting Bian (University of Dundee), Ruolan Ma (Business School), Shahrbano Ismail (Business School)
The top 3 teams went onto the Startup Factory Final in Glasgow, which took place in March, and represented the region.
What’s the Big Idea? – Celebrating Creativity Across Two Semesters
The Centre’s entry-level ideas competition, What’s the Big Idea?, ran in both semesters this academic year, resulting in two sets of winners being celebrated on the night.
Semester 1 Winners:
- Technology: Alina Khudyk (School of Biology) – digital screen laboratory pipettes to reduce experimental error
- Service: Elisabeth van Meer (Business School) – a video course helping 16-18-year-olds understand UK voting
- Product: Sumiran Margolis (School of Geography and Sustainable Development) – an e‑ink integrated music stand
- Special Award: Gabriele Valerio Bilotti (Business School) – goback, a platform promoting healthier digital socialising
Semester 2 Winners:
- Technology: Tamra Chan (School of Computer Science) – ScribeSound, a handwriting-to-music application
- Technology: Gibson Liu (School of Mathematics and Statistics) – an app converting email information into organised schedules
- Service: Ikram Abdi (School of Biology) – HerVoice, supporting women navigating PCOS diagnosis and care
- Service: Emma Davidson (School of Computer Science) – a noise-reduced, inclusive restaurant concept
- Product: Aryan Nayar (School of International Relations) – a concert-based social connection app
- Special Award: Renato Dagnoni de Oliveira (International Education & Lifelong Learning) – EzAccount, an AI-powered secure account creation tool
St Andrews New Venture Challenge: A Flagship Launch
A major highlight followed with the announcement of winners from the St Andrews New Venture Challenge. The new flagship competition supports early-stage ventures across the University. Launched for the first time this year, it brought together the Santander Startup Challenge and Founder of the Year Award. In total, £21,000 in funding was available across multiple tracks.
The Founder of the Year Track winners were:
- Third place (£1,000): Nicholas Dunn (School of Mathematics and Statistics) – goback
- Second place (£2,000): Luke Macleod (School of Computer Science) – Scotling
- First place (£3,000): Suvi Carlile (School of Modern Languages) – HiLoPulse
The Santander Startup Track awardees were:
- £5,000: Sydney Stones (Business School) – Rendered Fits Ltd
- £5,000: Yusuf Islam (Business School) – Midas Biotech
The Science & Engineering Prize, funded by the Engineers and Scientists in Business Fellowship, was awarded to Nicholas Dunn (School of Mathematics and Statistics) for goback.
Due to the exceptional quality of pitches, additional venture awards were also presented to:
- Mustafa Harun Sendur (School of Computer Science) – Unathi Studios Ltd (£800)
- Cory Roberts (School of Mathematics and Statistics) – ALTUs (£750)
- Tamra Chan (School of Computer Science) – B3STY (£750)
A Celebration of Past, Present and Future Founders
Finally, the evening closed with heartfelt thanks to judges, participants and supporters. Special thanks were given to Imre Eszenyi, whose continued involvement and generosity play a vital role in supporting founders at St Andrews.
Overall, the Alumni and Student Founders Community Awards Evening was a powerful celebration of ambition, creativity and collaboration. It also served as a reminder that the Entrepreneurship Centre’s community grows stronger with every cohort. Congratulations to all finalists and winners – we look forward to supporting the next steps of your journey.