Fear of public speaking leads dyslexic student to prize final

● Young entrepreneur one of six vying for £150,000 Converge Challenge award

Faced with the panic induced by the prospect of public speaking, a young entrepreneur managed to design his way out of the fear of making presentations.

And now Chris Hughes, 20, has been named as one of six finalists in the Converge Challenge which rewards the most innovate products and services being created in Scotland’s universities, with an award of up to £150,000 for the winner.

Mr Hughes was diagnosed as being dyslexic as a child, and, after successfully overcoming problems in secondary school, found that university presented a new set of challenges.

He said: “I found out that we were to present and be graded every week and I found myself getting increasingly frustrated and anxious about that. I spoke to the university and to specialists and was told there wasn’t really a solution to this problem.”

He added: “A couple of weeks into my degree I started to design Present Pal.”

Present Pal is designed to present a script in a series of interactive flashcards, which come with added pieces of information to help guide the user through their talk.

Mr Hughes, formerly a business student at Strathclyde University who now heads his company, Estendio, has worked with a number of specialists on finessing the design and believes it could also be beneficial to those with autism, depression and problems with working memory.

He said that he used Present Pal to pitch for the Scottish EDGE wildcard award, which also recognises entrepreneurship. Such was the quality of his presentation, he walked away with a £10,000 prize.

“I would never have been able to present to a room full of judges or be in that kind of environment before,” he said.

Mr Hughes will joins five other finalists at the Converge Challenge awards in Edinburgh in September.

Edinburgh University is represented by Dr Alexander Enoch, of Robotical Ltd, who has designed a low-cost robot to teach children robotics and coding, and Dr Andrew Herbert, of H Guard, who has created surgical tools which can reduce complications during an operation.

Professor Marc Desmulliez

0 Chris Hughes, 20, has been named as one of six finalists in the Converge Challenge of Microsense Technologies Ltd, of Heriot-watt University, is also among the final six, for his sensor designed to improve food production.

He will be joined by Susanne Mitshke of Glasgow University, whose app Mindmate is designed for those with Alzheimer’s, their family and carers to create a central collection of memories, photographs, activities and health advice. It is already used by thousands of people worldwide.

Dr Deborah Wake, of Dundee University, made the final with Mydiabetesmyway, an app which supports sufferers by compiling test results, lifestyle advice and pointers for good diabetes management.

The 2016 Converge Challengeprogrammehasbeenthe most successful to date, with 17 Scots universities represented among 212 applications.

Applications were received from university undergraduates (30 per cent), postgraduates

0 Dr Alexander Enoch is representing Edinburgh University (40 per cent ) and staff (30 per cent).

Finalists must now prepare for the final on 22 September where they will present their business plans in 45-minute pitches to the panel of judges made up of industry experts.

Olga Kozlova, director of Converge Challenge, said innovation from Scotland’s universities was “thriving”. She added: “Over 80 per cent of Converge Challenge compa- nies go on to secure follow-on funding, with alumni having secured over £35 million in funding and employing over 150 staff since 2011.”