Team Old Joes go all the way in the Hult Prize

This week we celebrate the success of three University of Birmingham students who entered an enterprising competition called the Hult Prize and took an idea even further then they had first imagined by entering a University competition and then subsequently being invited to present at the regional finals in London.

Nikolina Markovic, Ian Arrindell and Zeinebou Abass took part in the Hult Prize - a competition in partnership with United Nations which is dedicated to solving the world's most pressing social issues and largest student competition of its kind. This year, the competition brief was to

'Create a sustainable business that creates 10,000 meaningful jobs in 10 years'

The team won the On Campus finale at represented the University of Birmingham in the national competition. We got the reaction from all three group members.....

Nikolina reflects: The Hult Prize was an incredible experience. I met Ian and Zeinebou at a Hult Prize event on campus, which is where we decided to form a group together. In just a week we had to come up with an innovative solution to this year's Hult Prize Challenge in order to present our idea at the On-Campus Finals. With our teamwork and dedication, we created a solution involving hydroponic farming. The judges were impressed with our presentation and we won the On-Campus Finals in November! This was a surprise to us as we had only worked on the challenge for a week and we were competing against MBA students who had spent weeks preparing for this. Next, we had to research our idea further to prepare for the London Regional Finals on the weekend of 16th and 17th March. 

At times this could be stressful but overall it was a hugely rewarding experience! When we arrived at the Regional Finals on the Friday, we got to know the other contestants and listened to talks from various well-respected individuals, including last year's winners. Saturday was the big day. We watched other presentations and had peer feedback sessions with the judges. Although the experience opened my eyes to plenty more pressing issues around the world, it gave me hope to see a community passionate about solving these issues. As well as this, there was plenty of time to get to know the other contestants and volunteers. This was my favourite part. I met so many inspirational people from all parts of the world that I know I will stay in contact with, it really felt like a community! If anyone is thinking about doing the Hult Prize, I highly recommended it for the skills you learn, the knowledge you gain and the incredible people you meet!' 

Ian reflects: The Hult prize was a great experience. I cannot understate how much I enjoyed the event. The main competition was Saturday 8-10, but it felt like I was there much longer. I had the chance to meet people from all over the world and all over the UK.  

Everyone was surprisingly easy to talk to and willing to share their experiences.  Similarly, the wealth of ideas that the other teams had were incredible, everything from helping refugees to creating new market places for informal economies.  I made some great contacts look forward to hearing about their future progress.

Zeinebou reflects: I had such a great experience doing the Hult Prize. It wasn't easy to get everything together, sure it is a lot of stress and a huge time commitment but at the end you realise it is worth every struggle. 

The weekend spent in London was an amazing experience. You meet so many amazing, inspiring and creative people from all over the world. I can say that the best part of it is precisely that - the people you meet, their stories and experiences. You leave the place being so inspired and having expanded your network. I would 100% do it again, it was great!

Find out more about Opportunities, competitions and Start-Up programmes.

With thanks to Nikolina, Ian and Zeinebou for writing the blog.
Edited by Bob Lee, B-Enterprising Team