Student portfolios

A talented young designer has triumphed in the Enterprise Festival (27 - 28 February) at Coventry University by scooping three prizes.

Daniel Sheridan is hoping to solve the energy problems in Africa by enlisting the help of children in the playground. His invention not only won the "most innovative product" award but also won Daniel a place on the SPEED programme.* He then went on to win the main Bizcom award* with the prize money of a thousand pounds.

Daniel, 23 is a final year student on the combined master’s Consumer Product Design degree course and he has designed a simple see-saw which when played on by children in Africa, generates electricity to help power up their school.

This inspiring and cost effective product would be supplied as a central unit to the local community who will have a hand in building part of it and installing it. Not only does it involve local people into the creation, but it also considerably reduces logistical costs.

Daniel, who lives in Cheylesmore, worked as a volunteer in Kenya last summer and his personal experience of working at a school fired up his enthusiasm for this project, which, combined with research for his degree, has given him the dream of hopefully one day, seeing the device being built and used.

Daniel said: "The current need for electricity in Sub-Saharan Africa is staggering. Without power, development is extremely difficult. The potential market for this product is huge and the design could be of benefit to numerous communities in Africa and beyond."

Now Daniel has won Bizcom, his dream of getting the product on the market is a step closer to reality as he will now be able to afford to build a working prototype to take over to Africa and film it in operation in order to attract further interest and investment.

Daniel added: "I’m absolutely delighted at my success at the Enterprise Festival. I truly believe in my product and I think that came across in my presentation.

"The cost of making a prototype and taking it over to Africa is in the region of a thousand pounds. I can’t afford to fund it myself, so my prize money will certainly help me do this and then hopefully encourage sponsorship from other organisations who feel as passionately as I do about helping children in Africa.

"The unique selling point of this product is that it is not intended as a profit-making design. It has genuine potential to improve the quality of life for those studying or working at the school where it is installed."

At the moment, Daniel is in discussions about finding a suitable school in East Africa to test the prototype.