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A team of students from Abertay University who travelled to Stuttgart to take part in a business competition have scooped a top award.
The four students came up with an app which could provide information for new people arriving or settling in Scotland.
The Entrepreneurial Brains Made on Campus (EBMC) competition saw the Abertay team pitted against six other teams from across Europe.
And yesterday, at the event at Stuttgart City Hall, Business Management students Amanda MacLean, Katie-Rose MacDonald, Amy Ballingall and Claire Monribot, won the ‘Greatest Social Impact Award’.
The team’s business idea was to help tackle the challenges faced by people arriving in a new country, including difficulty finding a job, looking for accommodation, enrolling children in school and accessing healthcare.
They pitched their idea of an app called Move 2, the first element being Move 2 Scotland with further plans to develop for other countries.
EBMC is a European start-up competition where students learn to think and act as entrepreneurs. It started in 2009 and Abertay has been involved every year.
During the preliminary rounds at each of the partner universities, supported by lecturers of Stuttgart Media University, the students worked in teams developing a business idea. The teams identified problems related to changes in population, age structure, education or income within the European Union.
Five prizes were handed out at yesterday’s event – Best Business Model, Greatest Social Impact, Best Pitch, Craziest Idea and the Austria Audience Award.
Senior Lecturer Helen Smith, of Abertay’s Dundee Business School, said: “The EBMC is an excellent opportunity for students to develop their entrepreneurial skills and gain experience they could never get from a textbook. The chance to network with students from other universities, to pitch their idea to a panel of experts and respond to questions is a fantastic experience and an excellent enhancement to their employability skills.”
Team member Katie-Rose said: “EBMC was a fantastic experience that allowed us to develop our innovation skills. We were given tools to help us think outside the box and develop our entrepreneurial minds.”
Claire added: “It was absolutely brilliant to take part in this unique event. Having the opportunity to work abroad within a multicultural group with an adventurous spirit helped develop our entrepreneurial skills.”