Healthcare: A New Hope?
WarwickTECH is a student-led angel fund backing founders from Warwick University. We aim to empower students to pursue tech entrepreneurship and innovation.
Welcome to WarwickTECH's December newsletter! Every month, we'll be sharing our top tech stories — including the most exciting things going on in tech, startups, and innovation at Warwick and beyond.
Curated by Cyrus Ma and edited by Samantha Zandt
What’s new with WarwickTECH?
WarwickTECH successfully hosted an edition of Startup Day in November, which included panellists from Silicon Valley firms discussing well-being, working cultures, and human problems that can be solved through technology.
The members of WarwickTECH were also in attendance at Techday London, an online fair designed to connect established corporates and budding entrepreneurs.
In the meantime, look out for our next event - WarwickHACK! A student-run hackathon, it is designed to be a fun competition enabling bright minds to design innovative technological solutions to some of the world’s most concerning problems.
For more information and updates, please follow our social media, or refer to our website.
Theme of the month: Healthcare
Oxford Universities finds potential in successful Covid-19 vaccine test
A Covid-19 vaccine prototype has shown to be 70% successful at immunizing individuals against Covid-19, as shown by a randomized control trial of 3000 participants. In particular, the vaccine is shown to work 90% of the time if separate into two separate doses. Whilst it lags behind other existing alternatives in terms of success rate, the Oxford vaccine is expected to be much cheaper, and easier to store than its counterparts. The UK government has pre-ordered 100 million doses of the vaccine.
UK telemedicine service ventures into fleet management
The UK telemedicine service, Talk to a Doctor, has employed a piece of technology that enables it to effectively manage its ambulance fleet with incredibly low response times. Developed by Fleet Geo of Germany, it geofences each device to allow it to access various destinations, reducing journey times and the overall carbon footprint.
Cybersecurity in healthcare
With the increase in popularity of digital tools in the healthcare space, cybersecurity breaches such as phishing, spyware and DDOS attacks have also been on the rise. A report compiled by Mimecast discusses the potential threats brought by technology development in the healthcare sector, suggesting expansive implications for the cybersecurity industry.
What’s happening at Warwick University?
University of Warwick slated to be the UK’s first 5G campus
BT has recently announced its plan to install a public 5G cell site on the University of Warwick campus. This project is the first of its kind, and is expected to greatly increase internet speeds, whilst transforming the University into a testbed for 5G use case development.
New battery innovation centre soon to be operational on campus
The UK Battery Industrialisation Centre on the University of Warwick campus will soon be operational. Containing £60 million pounds of battery manufacturing equipment, the government has allowed any organization with existing or new battery technology to access the facility, provided that they fulfil the green jobs created requirement. The free-access centre will likely accelerate research that had been previously confidential, and drive innovation further within the UK’s technology landscape.
Warwick scientists develop model to predict drug effectiveness against Covid-19
Scientists at the University of Warwick have developed a visual model showing how Covid-19 cells draw on human cells to reproduce within the human body. Understanding how Covid-19 cells reproduce is an important juncture in developing effective drugs against Covid-19, representing a step forward in preventing the spread of the disease.
What’s new in Tech?
Biden becomes president-elect, and what it holds for the tech industry
Following a hotly contested election, the Democratic Party candidate Joe Biden has become the elected president for the next term. Yet, what does his presidency have in store for big tech? This article discusses Biden’s attitude towards the large firms in Silicon Valley, and projects the Biden administration’s future policies in the technology sector.
Airbnb to launch its IPO in mid-December
Airbnb has filed for an IPO in mid-December, aiming to raise $3 billion in capital to raise its valuation to $30 billion. The short-term home rental business’s financial profile has suffered greatly from the loss in tourism during Covid-19, a problem it has attempted to resolve through countermeasures and new business models. Whilst its future prospects are still in the air, Airbnb seems to be recovering, as shown in its net profit earned in 2020 Q3, showing potential for growth.
Electric Vehicle interest up by 500% after news of 2030 fossil fuels ban
The UK’s 2030 fossil fuels ban has already made an impact in the vehicle industry, with Buyacar.co.uk logging a 500% increase in electric car enquiries since the announcement of the future policy. With advantages such as being more environmentally friendly and low rates of depreciation, the electric car revolution may be closer to us than we thought.
That's all for this newsletter. Let us know what you thought and if we missed any stories or topics worth including going forward — see you next month!