DMU Health and Life Sciences students – sign up to the STEM Business Challenge to win a share of £2000!
The UK’s Student and Graduate Start-up and Freelancing scenes are thriving, and within this fast-moving world the picture is extremely healthy for students and graduates of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) subjects. A recent NCUB report shows that almost a third of UK graduate entrepreneurs are working in sectors with a high-to-moderate ‘Research and Development’ element, and 21% of these graduate entrepreneurs studied STEM subjects. With this in mind, we couldn’t think of a better time to announce the 2026 STEM Business Challenge for current DMU Health and Life Sciences (HLS) students, in partnership with RandalSun Capital and Dr Nik Kotecha OBE DL.
Over an action-packed two weeks in the new year, up to 100 current HLS students will work in small project teams to devise and present their own solution to a thought-provoking and cutting-edge STEM-based challenge! Not only will each team have the opportunity to present to an expert panel of judges, but the teams who present the best solutions will be awarded a share of the £2,000 prize fund (provided by RandalSun Capital and Dr Nik Kotecha OBE DL).
The challenge will take place in early 2026, and participating students will need to attend two free sessions in Kimberlin Library, on January 8th and 15th, in order to be eligible for a share of the prize fund. As well as the enticing prize fund on offer, the STEM Business Challenge will allow HLS students to sharpen their entrepreneurial mindsets, and strengthen collaborative and problem-solving abilities via an engaging, competitive project.
DMU’s Dr Arinzechukwu Ude, Lecturer in Biomedical Sciences and Academic Lead/Project Coordinator, says “the STEM Business Challenge empowers students to think like entrepreneurial scientists and apply their creativity, critical thinking, and teamwork to real-world problems. More than a competition; it is a chance to turn ideas into real-world impact. Last year, we ran the first edition of the competition, which was a great success. This year, we have partnered with the Industry to offer cash prizes, discounted membership to join Leicester Start-ups and Medilink Midlands, tickets to Medilink Midlands Business Awards 2026, and a place at the Leicestershire Innovation Clinics where students will be supported and mentored by experienced entrepreneurs within the Health and Med-Tech ecosystem to further develop their ideas and solutions.”
The STEM Business challenge will follow in the footsteps of DMU Made’s hugely popular STEM-based ‘Hackathon’ in May 2025. This saw around 80 DMU Computing, Engineering and Media students and recent graduates compete for a large prize fund through a team-based challenge to solve a complex problem relating to sustainable data-centres. Timothi Lim, from winning team ‘Ecosynergy’, reflected that “winning the Hackthon validated our hard work, but the real success lay in what we learned, especially that strangers can form effective teams when united by a clear goal”.
After the enormous success of May’s Hackathon with students from the faculty of Technology, Arts and Culture (TAC), we cannot wait to see the creative and innovative ideas DMU’s HLS students will bring to the table. Whilst the precise nature of 2026’s Challenge will remain a closely-guarded secret until it is revealed in the first of January’s two Kimberlin Library sessions, we can confirm that it will certainly spark debate and allow for some creative and ingenious STEM-based solutions!
Places on the 2026 STEM Business Challenge are FREE but strictly limited and we expect them to fill quickly given the significant prize fund on offer. Current HLS students - Book your free place HERE: https://www.dmumade.com/take-part
DMU Made enables students and graduates to develop freelancing and entrepreneurial skills through free competitions, programmes, events and support.
Looking for a Makers Space to work on your creative projects? Come to the DMU Made Studio – Kimberlin Library 1.06 (open early and late – in line with library hours).
To ensure you don’t miss out on ANY of our opportunities, please sign up for the DMU Made Club mailing list here: https://my-gateway.dmu.ac.uk/leap/pathways/preview-pathway.html?pathway=58 and visit https://www.dmumade.com/take-part
