iFactor Award winner Roman Latypov is looking forward to a bright future as a successful inventor and entrepreneur after winning top prize in the contest organised by the University’s Knowledge Hub.

Roman, who is a third-year Business Studies student at the University, said the award has offered an outstanding platform to develop his idea for a range of educational toys and products called Smart Wares. It has also given him the chance to meet potential investors who can fund the invention from prototype to the high street.

“iFactor has given me a unique opportunity to generate publicity for my products and find people interested in investing in my ideas,” said Roman. “Moreover, iFactor was an excellent opportunity to improve the business concept.” iFactor is the finale of the free Basics of Building a Business (B3) lecture series.

He offered special thanks to Wesley Randle, Director of Innovation at the University, who helped him prepare for his presentation to a business audience at the recent Innovation Day 2010 and in filing patent applications for his products.

Smart Wares comprises two product lines aimed at different markets. The first product range is designed to make writing and Braille learning easier for blind and visually impaired people. The second group of educational products and toys is aimed at the burgeoning consumer and language learning markets.

Among the products is a ‘talking block’ device, based on the traditional alphabet toy square, which tells the user holding it what is represented on the panel facing them, whether it is a number, image, symbol or letter.

“Talking blocks, for example, enables visually impaired people to learn Braille without any assistance as it can pronounce a Braille symbol. The block can also be programmed with parents’ voices which can improve the learning process,” said Roman.

Roman has already had commercial interest in his ideas but is still weighing up his options as he completes his studies and develops other innovation ideas.

He said: “I am thinking about a career in management consulting after graduating and completing the Smart Wares project. In ten years’ time I would really like to establish my own company.”

For a full list of award winners and more about the iFactor Awards, click here