UCL School of Management recently hosted the third edition of its UCL SoM SustainTech Pitching Competition. In collaboration with SustainTech consulting company Tecno International, the annual competition supports pioneering UCL students, alumni, staff and researchers who are looking to champion a resilient and sustainable future. 

With our largest audience to date in attendance, 10 of our finalists pitched their innovative ideas to a panel of experts. The panel featured Fahmida Liza Khan, Ventures Specialist at Prosemino, Maiko Schaffrath, Head of The Greenhouse Accelerator at Undaunted, and Stefanie Mulder, Programme Manager at The Greenhouse Accelerator at Undaunted. 

We also welcomed several Keynote Speakers Allegra Fortunato, Tecno International’s Head of Strategy who charted "What's next in sustainability?", Bella Tonkonogy, Senior Director of Programmes at the Climate Policy Initiative, who distilled best-practice lessons from high-impact sustainability entrepreneurs and Professor Onesun Steve Yoo, Co-Founder and Director of the UCL Centre for Sustaintable Business, who outlined the Centre's activities and showcased examples of applied research delivered in collaboration with industry partners. 

Meet the 2025 Finalists

The finalists competed for the chance to win one of three prizes: Best Pitch, Best Idea and the Audience Choice Award, each compromising £1,000 in cash, a 12-month business & technical mentorship and introductions to Tecno International's business partners. Our finalists delivered a five-minute pitch followed by a Q&A session with judges.  

Our finalists addressed challenges in agriculture, lifestyle enhancement, urban mobility, carbon emission reduction, traditional marketing and high-cost prosthetic devices to name a few. Find out more about our finalists' startups in our 2025 SustainTech Digital Brochure.

OUR WINNERS

Due to the high quality ideas, it was not an easy task for the judges to select a winner for each category. After much deliberation, they announced the following winners:

• Best Pitch Award - Solora Limited's 'RideOnTime'. RideOnTime is a mobile application that is designed to help visually impaired users access real-time public transportation information across the United Kingdom. Created by Junwoo Bak, CEO and Head of Product, Shuai Yuan, CTO and Head of Engineering, Alyssa Li, COO and Head of Growth, and Anoushka Guli, CPO and Head of Research, the product converts distorted signage into clear text and speech.

• Best Idea Award - The Hot Air Company. This startup has designed a method to convert residual heat into revenue by powering thermal-intensive processes. Created by Charlotte Cala, CEO, Hanna Cox, Head of Outreach & Partnerships, Diana B Jorge, CTO, and Lizzie Mushangwe, CSO, they hope to create a global plant knowledge base and a scalable heat recovery model that can empower vertical farms around the world.

• Audience Choice Award - EcoNomad Solutions, a platform designed to help smaller farmers convert their organic waste into renewable energy and high quality biofertiliser. Created by Dr. Ilan Adler, CEO and Founder, Diego Vega, CTO, Alejandra Mones, COO, and Niranjan Saravanamoorty, Procurement, the business intends to help small farmers by reducing both expenditure and carbon footprint. 

2025 Co-Organiser, Yash Rane, comments, "The competition showcased bold yet practical solutions across clean energy, agriculture, industrial heat and more. Each venture displayed strong foundations in research, purpose and action - evidence of the innovation thriving at UCL."

Discussing the event, Pierre-Jean (PJ) Hanard, Entrepreneurship Lead at UCL School of Management and founder of the competition, said:

“The broader engagement from across UCL’s faculties this year reflects how sustainable innovation is increasingly informing thinking and practice across disciplines. The UCL School of Management remains dedicated to empowering our community to lead through entrepreneurship and to contribute to a future where sustainability shapes how challenges are understood and solutions are developed. We are grateful to Tecno International, who has supported this competition from the very beginning, for their continued commitment to supporting the next generation of sustainability-focused entrepreneurs, and we look forward to next year's event!"

Former winner insights

During the event, Yash hosted a fireside talk with the 2024 Audience Choice Award winner, David Chau, who shared updates on his winning startup, Re-Ovum which turns waste eggshells into sustainable wound dressings and eco-friendly alternatives to plastic packaging. He highlighted how last year’s prize funding and mentorship guided Re-Ovum’s market-entry strategy and encouraged new founders to seek constructive feedback and remain humble.

We would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to all finalists for showcasing their impressive ideas and dedication to sustainability. Sustainability is integral to UCL School of Management’s strategy, and the event showed how the UCL community turns bold ideas into ventures that deliver measurable societal benefit.

Learn about the competition and the 2024 winners.

Photos

Missed out on the 2025 event? View our photo album below.