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As keynote speaker Piers Linney said “Ambition is evenly distributed, but access to financial and social capital isn’t. Competitions to unlock entrepreneurial ambition are important,” which is why HL BaSE is pleased to have supported Just Imagine If… a competition founded by BaSE friend and speaker Paul Lindley to win research worth up to £100,000 from the University of Reading and Henley Business School. A team of lawyers ran a session on legal issues for impact start-ups covering employment law issues, data privacy, IP, funding and embedding purpose.
Hogan Lovells partner Jonathan Baird formed part of the judging panel alongside Paul Lindley, Izzy Obeng, Yasmin Siadatan and Jurek Sikorski. Over 2 days at the Henley Business School we heard from each of the finalists about their work and how they would use the research. From Kira-Heal Rwanda working to establish a series of mental health clinics to provide justice and mental healthcare to victims of gender based violence in Rwanda to Planet of the Grapes producing sustainable materials for the fashion industry by transforming grape skins into a durable alternative to leather – we were blown away by the innovative thinking and mission-driven solutions.
"I really enjoyed helping to judge “Just IMAGINE If” 2024. The finalists were incredible and they all presented brilliant and inspirational ideas that really deserve to succeed.”
Jonathan Baird, Hogan Lovells
We heard from Joshua Kao of Living Water Systems which has developed the world’s first rainwater catchment units for relief shelters in refugee camps. It has developed a collapsible, portable rainwater harvesting system with a basic screening filtration process to remove any residue that gets washed off the roof. And we congratulated winner Felix Weaver who is developing Ultra Rapid, a ground-breaking learning technique that uses generative AI to combine academic information with music and storytelling.
