The Business Exchange Swindon & Wiltshire November 2014 | Page 6

BUSINESS NEWS

‘Women With Bright Ideas’
TRIBUTES TO THE
“INSPIRING AND INCREDIBLE” winners announced
REBECCA ROLAND
Rebecca Rowland, manager of Swindon’s
Business Improvement District (BID) company,
inSwindon has passed away following her battle
with cancer. Rebecca, who took over the role
in late 2013 died peacefully in the Prospect
Hospice last month with her two daughters
by her side.
Rebecca was diagnosed with breast cancer
in January 2013 and despite six courses of
chemotherapy and five weeks of radiation
therapy it was identified that there was
secondary cancer attacking three places in
and around her brain.
Kirsty Heber-Smith, a spokesperson
for inSwindon said: “It is a great loss and
words cannot describe how wonderful,
inspiring and incredible Rebecca was. A
fighter through and through and someone
we will never, ever forget.
“Rebecca was not only a colleague
but seen to many of us in the office as
family. Her caring nature, determination to
change people’s perspective of Swindon
and her dedication to her job will always
be remembered,” added Tim Paradise,
colleague at inSwindon.
Liz Ledger, director of Total Guide To,
said: “We have worked with Becky for
many years and she became a great friend.

to her role at inSwindon and improving the
town centre. “Becky remained a fighter
all through her illness and she was always
positive and happy; a true inspiration.
Our thoughts are with her family at this
difficult time.”
Rebecca saw Prospect as being very close
to her heart and since 2008, she completed
a skydive, held auctions, took part in the
Starlight Walk with fellow relatives and
raised more than £10,000 with their help
for a tribute on Prospect’s Bluebell Walk.

“A great loss and words
cannot describe how
wonderful, inspiring and
incredible Rebecca was”
She was an incredibly strong and caring
person, which was clear in her dedication

wise conference organisers

A children’s cutlery set and a musical memory
box for dementia sufferers were the winning
designs in the Women With Bright Ideas
competition, held at Wiltshire College, Lackham.
The Dragons Den-style competition was
launched by Engineering Innovation Network
South West (EIN-SW) to celebrate ‘National
Women In Engineering Day’ and 25 budding
entrepreneurs and designers from all over
the country entered their ideas. The seven
best entries were presented to an audience
on Friday October 17 and scrutinised by
a prestigious panel of judges for their
commercial viability.
In the end, two products stood out and
the judges were unanimous in having a
joint winner: The Musical Memory Box
designed by Chloe Meineck to aid people
with dementia and doddl, an ergonomically
designed cutlery set which will revolutionise
mealtimes for young children, designed by
two sisters Rosie Phelps and Catherine Dodd.
doddl winner Rosie Phelps said: “Winning
the Women With Bright Ideas competition
is a great launch pad for our doddl cutlery.
It is an exciting new product, which makes
eating easier for toddlers with a unique
design that helps children grip and control
the cutlery more effectively. By stabbing or
scooping the food more accurately, the child
can develop from using a palmer grip to a
pincer grip.”
doddl director Catherine Dodd added:
“Women need to know that engineering
is not what you may stereotypically think
of (i.e) someone in a boiler suit up to their
neck in grease and complex parts. It can

be something much more subtle, simple
and refined. Financial support and advice is
available from organisations such as EIN-SW,
who have helped us with developing our
first prototype and it has been invaluable in
getting to this stage.”
Chloe Meineck’s Musical Memory Box
wowed the judges as the University of
Brighton graduate explained how she uses
music to stimulate memories for dementia
sufferers. Tactile objects are placed in the box
and when the object is placed in the centre,
using radio frequency identification (RFID)
tags, it plays a tune from their past that
prompts a memory. Chloe said: “It becomes
a talking point for family members on visits
that can sometimes be difficult. New objects
can be added to make it a very personal
and bespoke box. I made a box for one
gentleman who could not recognise himself
in the mirror, but when he placed an object
that represented a happy memory with a
certain piece of music associated with it, he
was able to remember his family.”
Sheena Awdry of EIN-SW commented
“The event has been one of the highlights of
the Engineering Innovation Network South
West project. It exceeded our expectations
with the number of attendees and the
interest it generated. The feedback has been
very positive and we are looking forward to
working with the winners and runner ups to
get them all to market.”

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THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2014

30/10/2014 14:41