PhD students win sustainability prize for entrepreneurship

YES is a global competition developed to raise awareness among postgraduate students, postdoctoral researchers and technicians on how research can be commercialised. 

Now in its 28th year, the competition brings teams together to develop a business plan for a start-up company based on a hypothetical but plausible idea that attempts to deploy novel science and engineering to address societal challenges.

Team TropiCultivar impressed judges from Syngenta, who sponsored the Sustainable Agriculture category, with their innovative idea to increase the variety of tropical crops grown locally in Europe through vertical farming and other techniques. This would reduce the carbon footprint of importing popular tropical fruits and vegetables over long distances. Their pitch highlighted how this idea could expand consumer choice while promoting sustainability.

Emily Parkes, PhD student in Biological Sciences, Kongkidakorn Thaweepanyaporn, PhD student in Biological Sciences, Iris Kabelo, PhD student in Biological Sciences and Supasan Loketsatian, PhD student in Crop Science, were presented with their prize at the YES23 final showcase, which was held at the Royal Society.

Steve Smith, Science Liaison at Syngenta said: “Innovation is critical to provide new technologies to meet the global challenges facing agriculture and sustain our food supply.” 

“The YES prize for Best Sustainable Agriculture Business Plan was won by the Reading TropiCultivar team who had incorporated several innovations from vertical farming to transfer of tropical crop plants to Europe, increasing choice for consumers and reducing air miles. This creative idea was supported with a sound business plan and a very engaging pitch.”

Emily Parkes said: “We met a variety of people, both students and also entrepreneurs, and we gained understanding of patent protection, which is really important in science.”

Kongkidakorn Thaweepanyaporn said: “I have learnt a lot about finance, calculating costs to make this make sense in the real world which is not easy. I’ve learnt a lot about how to present, how to commercialise my research and how to plan a business model.”

TropiCultivar benefited from the advice and experience of the University of Reading’s Knowledge Transfer Centre (KTC). The KTC facilitated collaboration with Gordon McAlpine, Tech Entrepreneur, Jurek Sikorski, Executive Director for the Henley Centre for Entrepreneurship, and Bill Kilgallon, Royal Society Entrepreneur in Residence, who offered invaluable guidance as the team developed their business plan and pitch. These mentors imparted real-world entrepreneurial insights that helped TropiCultivar refine their presentation, learn vital business acumen and convey their innovative sustainable agriculture idea with impact.

Jurek Sikorski said: “To make it through to the final of the YES competition is a fantastic result. It confirms that entrepreneurship and innovation is alive and kicking at Reading and it's been great to unleash these skills and potential. It was a real pleasure to have worked with the team throughout in developing their business ideas.”

Hear about TropiCultivar’s journey to the final in this video.