Pembroke Awards Inaugural Graduate Innovation Prize in association with Estée Lauder Companies

NEWS |

This year Pembroke launched the Graduate Innovation Prize in association with Estée Lauder Companies. The prize, which champions innovation and creativity, offers graduate students the opportunity to pitch their ideas to a judging panel, with a chance to win funding and expert business advice.

On 6th March 2018 the five finalist teams presented to the panel. The topics covered were wide-ranging and the judges commented that selecting a winner was a particularly difficult decision, remarking on the consistently high standard of presentations.

The judging panel included three representatives from Estée Lauder Companies; Phebe Farrow Port (Senior Vice-President, Global Management Strategies and Chief of Staff to the President & CEO), Lisa Napoline (Senior Vice-President, Global Research & Development) and Philippe Warnery (Senior Vice-President, General Manager UK and Ireland). They judged alongside the Master of Pembroke, Dame Lynne Brindley, the Dean of Graduates, Professor Andre Furger and Pembroke’s Academic Director, Nancy Braithwaite.

We are delighted to report that the prize money of £5k was split between two teams to enable the development of both ideas. We caught up with the Pembroke graduates who were leading the winning teams, Ming Li (DPhil Engineering Science, 2014) and Julie Dequaire (DPhil Engineering Science, 2014).

Ming led a team comprising Pembroke graduate, Guowei Tao, and Zhixin Zeng from Balliol College. Their pitch was titled ‘MEMS-Based Digital Coriolis Flow Meter for Industrial Two-phase Applications’. The funds will enable them to convert their ideas and models into real industrial fabrication, alongside publishing patents and papers. Guowei commented:

‘Through the pitch, we received very useful advice from Estée Lauder and other participants. We are excited about our ideas and interested to find what effects our project will have on the industry in improving efficiency, quality control, cost control and so on. We sincerely thank Estée Lauder and Pembroke College for providing a platform from which to communicate our ideas, connect with people and receive useful feedback.’

Julie  took part in the competition with team mates Neil Dhir from Wolfson College and Thomas Rawlinson from Lincoln College. Their idea was titled, ‘A mobile sensor package and App to monitor return of muscle activity following neurological injury'. This unique proposal involves harnessing the power of machine learning to adapt surface electromyography (EMG) monitoring and provide feedback to the patient as their muscle groups are re-innervated. Julie explained:

‘The funding will assist us in purchasing equipment for both collecting and computing data and ultimately setting up clinical trials… as the plan takes shape we intend to organise a one-day workshop to bring together clinicians and engineers in Oxford interested in rehabilitative technology… increasing collaborations between interested parties and publicising our project.’

On the following day all participants and judges continued to discuss their ideas and receive feedback over a celebratory lunch. That evening Lisa Napoline delivered a fascinating talk about her career journey and Research & Development at The Estée Lauder Companies.

The Graduate Innovation Prize will return next year. In the meantime we look forward to seeing how the prize-winners develop their innovations!