They want to change lives through high-tech motorbike safety, and two CQUniversity Brisbane students are a step closer after winning The Big Idea social enterprise competition.
The team of Deeksha Rahanoo and Muhammad Ahsan Ahmed was joint winner of the national university challenge postgraduate category, announced late Tuesday 24 November.
Their successful project features new safety interventions via an Internet of Things smart chip for helmets and motorbikes, as well as a social business to maximise its impact. The other winner was a team from Melbourne University, with an urban farming project.
The determined CQUni changemakers impressed judges in the final round with their plan to build this social enterprise and to tackle India’s high motorbike and scooter road toll – where six people die every hour in two-wheeler road accidents.
“Its not only the big social idea but the way of tackling challenging questions that helped us win,” Deeksha said.
“The social enterprise will decrease accidents, improve emergency services response times, empower women to work on tech development, and use 100 per cent of profits to provide STEM education to underprivileged women in India.”
While the details of the smart chip design remain commercial in confidence, Deeksha and Ahsan said they enjoyed the challenge of designing a social enterprise.
“I first proposed this idea in a class back in June, and our lecturer was so encouraging, it has really become a passion,” Deeksha said.
Deeksha said her experience back home in India, seeing women study in STEM fields but often not progressing to technical jobs, also inspired the project.
“My father is an engineer, and he always encouraged me into this field, so I want to be able to encourage other women and show them there is a pathway for them,” she said.
Ahsan, who is from Pakistan, said the good news followed a challenging year for many international students.
“When so many people are in tough situations, it’s rewarding to be working on a project that could improve lives,” he said.
Deeksha and Ahsan thanked CQUniversity’s Office of Social Innovation for supporting the entry, as CQUni marked its seventh year fielding student teams in the prestigious competition.
“We are really proud to be representing CQUni, as well as our own countries of India and Pakistan, with this win.”