Two York students in winning three of 'Routes' programme

Posted on 11 May 2021

The WRDTP's Commercialisation Programme for Social Sciences came to a close last week, following a four week intensive programme exploring all elements of creating a business model and enterprise.

The ‘Routes’ programme was devised by the Universities of York, Leeds and Sheffield as part of the White Rose Doctoral Training Partnership.

Throughout the programme, the participants were offered an introduction to enterprise, guidance on intellectual property, first-hand access to speakers from industry, academia and business development, insights into networking and communication to non-academic audiences and the opportunity to pitch their idea during the final session in front of an experienced panel.

We were delighted to see two University of York students in the final winning three, following the fantastic delivery of their pitch. The winners of the £2k prize to work with an agency to build and develop their brand were:

Bethany Suggett, University of York, Centre for Women’s Studies with her ‘Of Menses and Men’ pitch, advocating for a change in men and boys involvement in the menstruation conversation and education. 'Of Menses and Men' aims to build a space for boys and men - brothers, sons, friends, partners, fathers, managers and colleagues – to learn about menstruation beyond basic biology, and create a society where the full gamut of menstrual experiences are understood by all.

Geneffa Ahmed Virjee, University of York, Department of Education with ‘Ziksanam Ista - Learning Loved’, a story-telling approach for the teaching of English as a foreign language, particularly speaking skills, to underprivileged young learners including refugees. Geneffa has devised a way of teaching English as a foreign language that is engaging and effective to help provide better futures for these groups.

Eleanor Craig, University of Leeds, School of Sociology and Policy with ‘The Violet Project’ pitch, addressing the lack of understanding among medical practitioners as to the impact of sexual abuse or assault on people’s experience of undergoing examinations by medical staff. The Violet Project aims to provide training to healthcare and medical professionals to better understand the complexity of trauma to the victims.

Other finalists who pitched from the University of York included Masuma Mishu from the Department of Health Sciences and Rebecca Tickell from the Department of Education.