鈥淚n my first year, we were asked to write a business card for ourselves in 20 years鈥� time. I wrote 鈥榝ounder of a female empowerment business鈥�,鈥� recalls E-J Roodt. It鈥檚 something she鈥檚 felt passionate about since school, when she set up a group called 鈥楳s. Empowered鈥� 鈥� organising talks on gender equality and raising money for sanitary products for homeless women.
Inspiration for what to do next came while E-J was jogging in a badly lit park and feeling vulnerable. She explains: 鈥淚鈥檝e always felt worried about being out alone at night so when I saw that smartwatches could be used to detect heart attacks, I had a kind of lightbulb moment, and thought 鈥榤aybe this can be applied to women鈥檚 safety鈥�.鈥�
She took her idea to Maks Rahman (MEng Integrated Mechanical & Electrical Engineering 2021), who had just returned from a placement year in a medical engineering organisation. Together, they co-founded Epowar 鈥� a smartwatch app that can detect distress. 鈥淭he School of Management allowed me to work on it full-time during my placement, with support from an alumni grant,鈥� she says. 鈥淗aving a network of lecturers and alumni has been really helpful, answering any questions and giving us advice on things like strategy and filing a patent.鈥�
Epowar monitors body motion and heartrate to distinguish between physical and psychological distress. In the event of an attack, it sends an alert to the wearer鈥檚 emergency contacts, activates a loud alarm and records evidence. The AI-powered system was built on extensive research and testing, supported by Enterprise Bath 鈥� an extracurricular programme for aspiring entrepreneurs. 鈥淭he programme provides masterclasses, investment opportunities and expert talks,鈥� says E-J. 鈥淚 was also paired with a mentor, alumnus Laurence James (BSc Statistics 1976), who鈥檚 been incredibly supportive.鈥�
E-J has now won a coveted 拢15,000 Innovation Award, donated by alumnus His Excellency Khalil Foulathi (BSc Economics 1975; Hon LLD 2011). The investment will enable her and Maks to refine the prototype, and they hope to launch at the end of 2022. 鈥淏ath is becoming such a hub for techy start-ups,鈥� she continues. 鈥淭here are a lot of cross-degree collaborations happening between business, science and engineering students, and so many incredible ideas. Bath鈥檚 a really exciting place to be.鈥�