Red Bull basement returns to empower UK’s student innovators

Added by Love Business East Midlands | 8 October 2021

UPDATED: 8 October 2021

Red Bull Basement is back to kickstart student innovation with mentoring, workshops, networking and a Global Final. Applications are now open for UK university students!

Red Bull Basement, the competition to find and empower the next ingenious innovation from students across the world’s University campuses, has opened entries for its latest iteration. The competition invites applications from all over the globe, as student entrepreneurs, creators and innovators showcase their ideas that will disrupt the status quo and drive positive change for the future. Entries are open for students in the UK until 24 October 2021. In this global program, young changemakers are empowered to find their voice, showcase their skills and ambitions, and use technology to make tomorrow’s world a better place. Students can tap into resources including mentoring, workshops, networking events and more to help level up their best ideas, with basic funds also provided. The competition all leads up to a Global Final where thought leaders, entrepreneurs and visionaries from around the world collaborate with student teams representing each of the 44 participating countries. The Global Winner will receive a custom package of resources to help develop their unique idea, while the additional support and mentorship sessions given to all Finalists also works toward realising the most innovative concepts. Numerous teams from previous Red Bull Basement events have gone on to expand their ideas on the world stage. The top team from 2019, Austria’s Audvice, has made important strides since their participation, recently receiving six-figure funding in the first investment round for their learning and collaboration tool.

Last year the UK’s Lava Aqua X stood out from over 3,800 other teams, and wowed the experts as they pitched an ecologically friendly reinvention of the washing machine. With the immense water-saving potential of the Lava Aqua x, the two Brunel University students are now working on bringing the game-changing washing machine to market.

“The cool thing about Red Bull Basement is that it can work for a variety of different ideas. For us, we were able to build a prototype model and make the intellectual property and trademark arrangements. In addition, we took a lot of knowledge from opportunities like the workshops,” said Lava Aqua X co-founder Paramveer Bhachu. “We also wanted to advocate sustainability and saving water, and the event’s outreach put us in touch with people all over the world.”

To apply for the 2021 edition, 18+ years old and currently enrolled students simply need to visit the Red Bull Basement website and upload a video that clearly and concisely explains their team idea. The public will be able to give online “shout-outs” to their favourite ideas, and those shout-outs will be part of the criteria that judges consider – along with feasibility, creativity and impact – to determine the national finalists.

National teams will have about five weeks to further develop their ideas with the help of resources, including an international mentorship program, before attending an immersive, three-day Global Final in Istanbul, Turkey, where teams will pitch their projects to a panel of experts.