Second year Mechanical Maintenance Modern Apprentice Daniel Dzapata, has been keeping the wheels turning on bringing his invention to the market place, by completing a recent ‘Business Accelerator’ course.
Daniel (19) who lives in Cowie and works for OI Glass in Alloa, gained recognition earlier on this year when he entered his self-inflating bicycle tyre Hub Pump in the Manufacturing Technologies Association’s (MTA) Technology, Design and Innovation (TDI) challenge. He was recognised with a third place in the Key Stage Five section winning £300 in amazon vouchers for himself and £800 for the College as his designated education establishment.
Now Daniel, who came up with the idea while living in his home country of Zimbabwe and is looking to patent his invention and also for potential investors and partners to help him bring it to production and the marketplace, has just completed a six week Scotcol Business Accelerator course.
Daniel, who has been receiving advice from FVC’s Global Partnerships Manager Jamie Allan, said: “The College has been encouraging me to pursue my idea as much as they can and for the Scotcol course I had to go to Edinburgh University for the first day induction which set out what I needed to do.
“The rest of the course was conducted online via Zoom calls and I got a lot out of the course especially in finding out about customer service. I really did enjoy it and the main goal was to explore, test and develop business ideas and I feel that I have done that. I learned a lot about the business side of a new idea or invention and it will help me going forward.
“The next step for me is to explore grants that can help me to fund a patent. I am excited about the way ahead and think this is a great opportunity.”
Daniel came up with the Hub Pump idea when he lived in Zimbabwe. It is a fully mechanical tyre inflation device mounted to the hub of a bike, and it allows cyclists to inflate their tyres while riding the bike. All they have to do is flick a lever and it starts to work.
Daniel is currently on a dependents visa as his mum works in the care sector. This visa limits his access to public funds, but his employers have obviously taken stock of his potential, as they are currently paying for his studies at FVC.
He added: “I love working with OI, they are a fantastic company and I am always trying to do my best for them. I saw this competition advertised online and I entered it and was invited to come to their finals day in Worcester. I came third, but to get this recognition for my invention is the main thing. I have used the £300 to buy a 3D printer so I can continue making protoypes of my pump.
“Studying for my NC Engineering Maintenance at the College has been great as well as the facilities, lecturer and Work Based Assessors are great and I can work on my pump project on the Computer Aided Design packages and computers. The 3D printers facilities have been a big help too.
“This idea can work on most bikes and I think it would be a real help to cyclists all over the world. I am now pushing ahead with trying to patent it and would love to hear from any investors or potential business partners who might like to get involved to help bring it to market.”
Any potential business partners who would like to contact Daniel to find out more about investment support in his invention should e-mail danieldzapata29@gmail.com
