Originally Published 20 July 2004

Judging of this year’s Bizcom competition took place on June 16th at the University of Warwick. The finalists, from nine West Midlands higher education institutions, presented their business ideas to a panel of five judges including Professor Stephen Hagen from the Warwick-based Mercia Institute of Enterprise.

After much deliberation a decision was finally reached with a casting vote being required! It was a close call but Heather Philips of Keele University with her idea of Smiley Faces, a face-painting service, came through as the winner. In second place was STINSYS, a student information system envisioned by Ross Davidson and Ian Brown from Warwick. Paul Nikolaidis, David Lindmark and Akis Dimitriadis from Aston University came in third place with Spillsafe, a spill-free kettle. The wining entrant’s institution and Mercia Institute of Enterprise will assist Heather by putting her in touch with various resources to help her set her business idea in motion.

The next Bizcom competition will be launched during the November EnterpriseFest at Warwick, so start thinking about your business plan and your dream of an idea could become reality! Details of the competition can also be found on the Mercia website www.merciainstitute.com/bizcompetition/