Leeds Uni Grad earns Purple Plaque of recognition for pioneering female entrepreneurs

Who is the Women in Innovation Award winner, and how did she gain recognition?

Dr Amanda MacCannell, winner of the Women in Innovation Award, founded Pathways Open. Consequently, she earned recognition from Innovate UK, and obtained a £75,000 grant.

Women in Innovation Award purple plaque at the University of Leeds

Pathways Open supports bio-tech start ups with academic experts to spur innovation and modernise research through an online space.

Dr MacCannell is now a researcher in the Faculty Of Medicine and Health at the University of Leeds.

Award winners are able to pick a place where they feel most drawn to for their personalised plaque to be publicly displayed. In Amanda’s case, she chose to place her Women in Innovation award plaque at the University of Leeds’ Helix building, where she spent the majority of her time conducting research.

She explained, “Getting a plaque was a surreal moment, but uplifting as it can hopefully it will show other women that they too can pursue innovation”.

Why does the Women in Innovation Award matter to women?

Stella Peace, the Executive Director of Healthy Living & Agriculture at Innovate UK, said: “The Women in Innovation programme is a powerful catalyst for change, not just for the brilliant women entrepreneurs it supports, but for the entire UK innovation landscape”.

Winning the Women in Innovation Award helped Amanda secure visibility and mentorship.

Amanda’s Journey Beyond the Women in Innovation Award

Initially, MacCannell mentioned that when she first joined the University of Leeds, entrepreneurship was not on her agenda.

When she started, she “didn’t know any women entrepreneurs. It felt like something that belonged to other people, not someone like me”.

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Through her PhD, Amanda learned to solve problems creatively, put action into her plans, and deal with people and budgets.

Pathways Open on the road to success

Later, she co-founded the business alongside her friend Sandeep Sharda, who specialises in building a range of commercial software technologies.

Her £75,000 grant helped Pathways Open prototype the AI tool. This allowed an efficient and non-biased method for finding academic collaborators.

As a result, the Women in Innovation award played a key role in helping Pathways Open gain attention and resources for innovation.

Amanda with Sandeep, at her PhD graduation

How the University offered guidance

Originally, Amanda is from Canada and came to Leeds in 2018. She arrived in the UK for an interview with the British Heart Foundation, which funded her PhD.

Benefits of winning the award include personalised business coaching, role-modelling training and networking opportunities.

The plaque was unveiled by Chantelle Reeves, Senior Innovation and Growth Specialist for RTC North, Margaret Korosec, Dean of Online and Digital Education at the University of Leeds and Brian Baillie, Head of Business Start-Up Service.

Featured Image provided by the University of Leeds Press Office