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Sponsored by Loughborough University
When James Roberts was in his final year as a design student at Loughborough University, he was tasked with finding a problem – and trying to solve it.
He was watching TV when he saw a news clip about the challenges of caring for the approximately 15 million babies globally who are born pre-term every year.
“Many people think that businesses start with an idea but what you actually need is a problem,” explained James.
“Final year projects at university are a great opportunity to do this. It’s a chance to really go away and think about a problem that you can understand and try to solve.”
Ten years on from graduating, James is the founder and CEO of mOm Incubators and the mOm Essential Incubator are being used in six countries including in a UK hospital for the first time in 2021, impacting nearly 10,000 patients
The mOm Essential Indicator is compact, portable and lightweight so it is easy to set up and transport.
It helps to regulate the baby’s temperature to reduce the risk of hyperthermia and enable the baby to develop and thrive.
It not only supports babies in lower income countries where medical equipment is not always readily available but also provides a more flexible option for improved neonatal care everywhere, including the UK’s National Health Service.
We asked how it feels to be leading an organisation which is helping to save and sustain the lives of the most vulnerable babies.
“It’s hard to describe. It’s a strange feeling seeing a business make that leap from something on paper to something which is impacting people’s lives,” he said.
“When I was talking about the project with my mum, she explained that she was born prematurely in the 1960s and was in an incubator herself, which really brought it home to me.”
One of the many messages which James has received from families who have benefited from the incubator was from the parents of Oliver, a baby born pre-term in Kenya.
“They explained that not only would their son not have survived without this equipment, but it enabled him to stay nearby, rather than being transferred to a hospital in another city.”
James also receives messages from clinicians in the UK.
“They tell me how impressed they were by how well the mOm Essential Incubator worked for their needs and are actively using it to care for patients in new environments.”
“Our vision is to give every child the best start in life so we do keep close to parents and listen to their needs and what makes for the best possible experience at an incredibly difficult times in their lives.”
James thinks part of the reason he was able to come up with an idea that worked is because he approached the problem with fresh eyes.
“Lots of people had tried ways to create affordable and robust equipment to support neo-natal care in pre-term babies.
“But there was perhaps something in me being a bit green and a bit naive that made me think about it differently.”
After presenting his final project for his BSc Product Design & Technology, James went onto win the James Dyson Award for Innovation and was awarded seed funding to help turn his proposal into a business.
“My tutor at the time was instrumental in pushing me to do this. He made me see the possibility for the project and was supportive of my ambitions to see where I could take this.”
What advice does James have for entrepreneurs of the future? He feels that the first two years of his degree were about learning the theory and skills but it’s then important to find time to focus on something that really matters to you – whatever that might be.
“Focus on what you want to do, not on what is most lucrative. I was lucky to have that choice.
“Loughborough University does a great job at making you employable and giving you the experience and opportunities.
“Not everyone did – or was able to – take their final year project forward but they were all ideas that could have become start-ups. They all had excellent potential.
“I stay in touch with the Loughborough community, and I’m really impressed by the work their Enterprise Team is doing to foster these ideas and take them further.”