This is the first time in the history of the competition that two Lancaster teams have made it to the final round.

The finalists were chosen at an exciting Dragon’s Den-style event held at University of Edinburgh Business School on Thursday 23^rd June. Eight teams of semi-finalists from universities across the country pitched their business ideas to a panel of three judges before answering questions from the audience. The judges were Professor Richard Harrison from the University of Edinburgh, Sam Wiszniewski from the Asia Scotland Institute and Dr Augusto de Castro Rocha from the University of Edinburgh.

The semi-final business proposals were very diverse and included a wearable fitness device, an online English teaching service, and a product for blasting rock with compressed gas. After tough questioning by the judges, four teams emerged as the finalists. Finno from Lancaster (MBA programme) impressed the judges with a proposal for a drone-operated pesticide spraying service for Chinese farmers. CareForYou from Lancaster (MSc Project Management programme) presented a strong pitch for a home care service for the elderly in China. The other teams were Saiwill Education from Northumbria University with a BIM education service; and M-Infinity Motion from Heriot-Watt University with a robotic mechanism for optical imaging.

Professor David Brown, one of the organisers of the competition, said: “The quality, breadth and professionalism of the business plans this year has been astounding. We are extremely proud that two Lancaster teams have managed to get this far in such a strong field. We wish the finalists the best of luck.”

The teams will now compete at the final which will be held at the Bank of China in London on July 7^th. The Finalists will share £14,000 in cash prizes and could secure up to £500,000 in investments to grow their business.