June 26, 2024

Harrison Prize 2024

Aspiring tech entrepreneurs on Wearside have been pitching their ideas to business leaders at this year’s Harrison Prize, which took place at the headquarters of Newcastle fintech business True Potential.

The students from the Harrison Foundation’s Centre for Social Mobility, based at the Beacon of Light in Sunderland, competed in the Harrison Prize as part of their studies. The annual challenge sees learners aged 16 and 17 complete short presentations on technology they use and enjoy, as well as ways that it could be improved. The aim is to help the learners grow in creativity and confidence as well as to develop their team working skills as they prepare for the world of work.

This year‘s Harrison Prize teams focused their presentations on digital apps, including TikTok and Duolingo, as well as iPhone security systems, esports and fitness apps.

The judging panel was led by Daniel Harrison, chief executive of True Potential, which employs over 600 people and manages more than £31 billion of clients’ savings and investments. Daniel is also a trustee of the Harrison Foundation, which set up the Harrison Centre for Social Mobility in Sunderland in 2017.

After assessing the learners’ presentations, student Olivia was unanimously selected as the 2024 Harrison Prize winner for her presentation on language learning app Duolingo.

Daniel Harrison said: “This year’s Harrison Prize was the best yet with five teams of students from the Harrison Centre for Social Mobility in Sunderland competing across a range of ideas to win the Harrison Prize.

“I was especially impressed with the clear amount of effort and creativity that all the teams have put into their ideas and the way in which they all worked together, overcoming challenges to present their ideas to the judges. Congratulations to Olivia for winning the 2024 Harrison Prize and also to all the other teams and their tutors for making this a highly successful part of their course.”