Nine nervous students gathered in the Thomas Gray Room in Pembroke College this week to compete for the 2009-10 Parmee Prize for Entrepreneurship and Enterprise.

It was a hotly-contested event, with presentations covering such diverse subjects as quantum physics and robotic pets. The applicants had to make a presentation before a panel of four judges, all Pembroke alumni, before answering questions on their chosen project.

Prior to the day, all had been guided by Richard Parmee, sponsor of the prize, who advised and encouraged them.

The judges finally decided to award the winners' prize to a Pembroke undergraduate, Chris Bryan (pictured right) and his team "MobileMS", who intend to produce a mobility aid for Multiple Sclerosis sufferers. Chris's team-mates were Emma Dabbs, of Trinity College, and Eesa Mohammed, of St John's College, who worked together to produce a polished presentation.

With a prize of £1,000, the competition is intended to encourage young would-be entrepreneurs in the College, and to offer them, in addition, the expertise, and potential on-going help, of the panel and of the Prize's sponsor, Richard Parmee. Richard, whose company, Cheyney Group, is a Corporate Partner of Pembroke, is an alumnus and William Pitt Fellow of the College and set up the prize in 2007.

Richard Parmee said "One of the great things about this competition is that the central point is the business idea. I have joined a number of University events related to enterprise and it is interesting that in many of them it is the idea of being an entrepreneur that is foremost. Maybe that has something to do with the perception that entrepreneurs are wealthy and drive Aston Martins…but a true entrepreneur is driven by the passion of the idea. That is what keeps us working long hours, seven days a week. If you get lucky and the idea just happens to be successful - the Aston Martin follows from that!"
 

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