UHI Perth Students Shine at UHI Business Competition 2025

Students from UHI Perth demonstrated their entrepreneurial talent at the prestigious UHI Business Competition 2025, held in March at UHI Inverness.

The competition celebrated the most innovative business ideas from across the region, with aspiring entrepreneurs showcasing solutions to real-world challenges.

Among the 15 finalists, three UHI Perth students secured top awards for their creativity, business acumen, and commitment to social impact:
•    Stephanie Malcolm, an HNC Accounting student, won the Best Community Award (£500), sponsored by Tuminds, for her initiative to provide an affordable and sustainable alternative to branded school uniforms.
•    Nathan Strang, a BA (Hons) Business Management student, was awarded the Youth Entrepreneurship Award (£500), sponsored by The Apprentice Store, for his innovative approach to developing inclusive products for disabled individuals.
•    Christopher Kaan Caudwell, an HNC Computing student, received the Best Computing Solution Award (£1,000), sponsored by Engineers in Business Fellowship, for his AI-powered software that translates sign language into text and speech in real time.

These students presented a diverse range of business ideas aimed at addressing real-world challenges and driving positive economic and social change.

Other local finalists included:
•    Liana Bondarenko, Digital Design and Game Development student at UHI Perth for an AI-driven healthcare platform.
•    Chandra Hepburn, HNC Bioscience student, and Holly Richardson, an HNC Bioscience graduate, both from UHI Perth, for KinetiQ, an AI-powered exoskeleton for rehabilitation.
•    Holly Richardson from Blairgowrie for PowerPlant, an artificial tree that captures CO2 and generates clean energy.

The event, which featured 104 entries, a 38% increase from the previous year, provided a platform for students and entrepreneurs across the Highlands and Islands, Moray, Perthshire, and Argyll to showcase their ideas. Finalists competed for a total prize fund of £9,500, generously supported by sponsors including Harper Macleod LLP, Johnston Carmichael, and Whyte and Mackay.

Organised by CREATE, the Highlands and Islands Hub for Enterprise and Innovation, based at the Centre for Living Sustainability at UHI Inverness, the competition has been discovering and empowering aspiring entrepreneurs, helping them bring their innovative ideas to life since 2006. 

Reflecting on the competition’s success, Vicky Johnson, Director of the Centre for Living Sustainability, praised the participants: “This event never ceases to inspire, as students, staff, and community members pitch such exciting and original ideas to our fantastic judges. It is exciting to see all the innovative ideas that can translate into social and environmental solutions, making our communities more sustainable across the Highlands and Islands and beyond.”