A group of University of Liverpool students have come together to help fight against hate crimes.
Emily O'Donoghue, Evangeline Donoghue, Hannah Jarvis, Carol Ann Duggan, Ana Ribeiro, collectively known as Safe U, were asked as part of their studies to design a product that was not only profitable but could also have a positive psychological impact on their target consumer. As a group, the psychology students realised they each shared the universal experience of feeling unsafe at one point in their lives.
What came of their initial ideas, was an alarm which is designed to be worn as an accessory either on a watch or a lanyard. It comes complete with a discrete switch on the side that can be accessed “easily and swiftly when required." Once switched on, it releases a sound of 130dbs, which can be heard from up to half a mile away. The alarm acts as a "deterrent and provides a sense of safety by quickly alerting and drawing people’s attention even in a far distance."
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The group said: “We were acutely aware of how prevalent personal safety is across many societal groups and the lack of discrete and inclusive personal safety aids available. We chose to explore how we could bridge the existing gap with an inclusive and affordable product. The recent rise in homophobic and transphobic attacks was one of the major factors that emerged from our market research. This then underpinned our aim to produce an inclusive product that could potentially reduce the occurrence of these horrific crimes.”
Safe U were one of over 150 University start-up businesses formed under the Young Enterprise programme scheme throughout the UK in 2021/22. The programme enables students to form real-life businesses with the support of mentors from the local community. The group of five recently qualified for a position in the annual national final where they were selected as award winners in the Best Presentation category for “producing a vibrant and edgy presentation to highlight their safety prototype to protect individuals from potential attack from others, a product idea sadly increasingly required after a rise in assaults especially, within the student community.” The overall winners were a team of students from the University of Salford. The team ‘Hear n Protect’ produced a brand new innovative health device to provide protection to people's hearing when attending clubs, concerts and festivals without distorting sound.
SafeU mentor, Dave McTague, said: "I have worked with Young Enterprise as a mentor for almost ten years - it's a great project to work on. Safe U have been a wonderful group to work with at the University of Liverpool, and it's a brilliant business which aims to improve night-time safety - a timely and needed intervention.”
The project has already received significant funding but moving forward the team is focusing on completing the development process of their initial product and expanding relationships with local universities around Liverpool. They added: “Receiving the funding really amplified our confidence in the project and allowed us to increase the pace in terms of meeting timescales earlier and our ability to approach stakeholders. We have received consistent support from YE and Liverpool University which has been an invaluable part of our journey to date. We are looking forward to whatever further opportunities are ahead for SafeU.”
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