Kay Kukoyi CSM FITOL, the founder of Purposeful Group returned as a grand finals judge at this year’s TATA Varsity Pitch Competition 2022, having previously been a member of the panel in 2019. She joined a panel of three, including Tim Jones CBE, Executive Director of TATA Europe, and Lauren Bell, CEO of Cosi Care, the winner of the competition in 2019.

The judges were unanimous in their decision to declare Drill Surgeries as the winner of the competition, awarding him a £15,000 equity-free prize fund.

The competition took place on November 16^th, 2022 at Six Park Place, home of the Royal Over-Seas League. The judges chose a winner from the seven finalists who battled for this year’s equity-free grand prize of £15,000. Along with the prize fund and a coveted national title, all finalists received expert advice on business plans, plus intensive training on developing their pitching and networking skills.

NACUE (the National Association of College and University Entrepreneurs) is a national initiative dedicated to both current students and recent graduates, which celebrates high potential early-stage ventures coming out of colleges and universities across the UK.

The Finalists 

The 7 finalists represented several business categories including Early Stage, Genuine Innovation, Health & Wellbeing, Digital & Technical, Creative & Design, Social Impact and the People's Choice.

At the Grand Finals event, each start-up delivered a 3-minute pitch, followed by a 5-minute Q&A session, with the founding team fielding the judges’ questions. The competing start-ups were:

1. Drill Surgeries

2. BoxxDocks

3. Reality Footwear

4. Route Konnect

5. Himayat

6. Fibe

7. Ethosa 

The Winners are announced!

The winner of the TATA Varsity Pitch Competition 2022 is Drill Surgeries, founded by Moises Barbera Ramos who has developed an AI driven surgical guidance system for trauma surgeries, reducing surgery duration and improving patient outcomes.

This year Wired Magazine chose their own winner from the 7 finalists. Wired selected BoxxDocks, who seek to revolutionise the logistic industry. Co-founder James Della Valle accepted the award from João Medeiros, Wired’s features director.

During the event Navjot Sawhney, founder of The Washing Machine Project and winner of TATA Varsity Pitch 2021 took to the stage to be interviewed by NACUE’s chair of trustees Timothy Barnes. Sawhney shared his journey with his social enterprise which alleviates the burden of handwashing with an off-the-grid sustainable solution for washing laundry.

Kay Kukoyi CSM FITOL said:

"I was delighted to return as a judge for this year's Varsity Pitch competition. The standard this year was exceptional.” She added: “There was a strong focus on sustainability amongst our finalists. The 8 billionth human on earth was born this week, and we urgently need more innovative, practical and attractive solutions for sustainable living to move us in the right direction.”

NACUE reported that almost 200 applications were received for this year’s competition.

Notes to Editors

About Tata Varsity Pitch Competition 2022

Tata Varsity Pitch Competition 2022, powered by NACUE is a national initiative. The initiative honours high potential, early-stage businesses that have recently graduated from colleges and universities across the UK (post 2017).

For more information, please contact: https://nacue.com/

About Kay Kukoyi

Kay Kukoyi CSM FITOL is a multi-award-winning entrepreneur, CEO and Founder of Purposeful Group. Purposeful Group is an award-winning learning hub focused on entrepreneurship, technology and digital skills & employability training. Kay is the author of 5 books for entrepreneurs and SMEs, including the Amazon international bestseller, Don't Hire a Software Developer Until You Read this Book, and has been recognised on the #IB100, the Financial Times and Inclusive Boards list of the 100 Most Influential BAME Leaders in the UK Technology Sector.

CONTACT 

To book Kay to speak or judge at an event, or for more information about our books, mentoring, workshops and programmes, please contact:

https://www.purposefulgroup.com/ 

Twitter: @purposefulgrp

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/kay-kukoyi

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