In summer 2025, the Innovation Centre and the University of Essex Business School launched a pilot placement scheme to connect ambitious students with real-world business challenges. The goal was to provide tangible industry experience while giving two of our resident tech companies, &Element and Merlin Cloud, access to fresh strategic thinking.
The result exceeded all expectations: a resounding success, with both students being hired by their host companies upon completion of the six-week project.
The Idea: Bridging Academia and Industry
To create meaningful links between the academic talent at Essex Business School and the fast-paced startups at the Innovation Centre. This partnership was designed to feed the idea by offering students a chance to apply their knowledge to live commercial projects.
The companies needed sharp, commercially-minded students to tackle key strategic hurdles, and the students needed high-impact experience with involvement from our Innovation director Duncan Bird & the ICKG team to launch their careers.


The Placements in Action
Two second-year undergraduates, Basil Alrashidi and Teanghuy (Leo) Vou, were selected from a large competitive pool of applicants. Though initially planned as an 18-hour project, the scope quickly grew in scale to 18 hours per week scheme, allowing both students to fully immerse themselves and deliver exceptional results.
Leo Vou – Productising a New Tech Offering
- The Mission: Leo joined Merlin Cloud, an AI-driven analytics platform, to help package their heatmap camera and interactive kiosk technology for market launch. He was tasked with analysing the market, evaluating competitors, and developing pricing models.
- The Outcome: Leo delivered a comprehensive strategic document and a 10-minute investor-ready presentation, providing the leadership team with actionable insights for their go-to-market strategy. His impressive work led directly to a job offer.
Basil Alrashidi – Sharpening an Enterprise Growth Plan
- The Mission: Basil was embedded with &Element, a digital consultancy working with global brands like Samsung and Meta. His project focused on mapping the enterprise market, refining the company’s pitch to C-level buyers, and outlining a structured sales development plan.
- The Outcome: Basil identified dozens of high-value potential clients and delivered a clear set of recommendations to enhance &Element’s marketing and outreach. The directors were so impressed with his strategic contribution that they hired him to help implement his ideas.
A Win-Win-Win Scenario 🏆
This pilot program proved to be a powerful model for industry-academia collaboration.
- For the Students: Basil and Leo gained direct mentorship from senior leaders, developed in-demand commercial skills, and, most importantly, secured full-time employment in the tech sector before even graduating.
- For the Businesses: &Element and Merlin Cloud received invaluable market research and strategic planning that directly influenced their growth. They also discovered and recruited top-tier local talent in a seamless, effective way.
- For the Partnership: The scheme created a powerful talent pipeline, strengthening the Innovation Centre’s ecosystem and demonstrating a clear return on investment for collaborative projects with the University of Essex.
What They Said
Luke Brown, Founder of &Element and Merlin Cloud: “We were blown away by the quality of work from Basil and Leo. They weren’t just students; they became integral parts of our team, delivering strategic insights that we are actively implementing. Hiring them was an easy decision.”
Kimberley Stockley, Head of Operations, Essex Business School: “This partnership provides exactly the kind of high-impact experience we want for our students. Seeing them translate their academic knowledge into real-world success—and secure fantastic jobs—is the ultimate validation of this collaborative model.”
Teanghuy (Leo) Vou, Student Placement at Merlin Cloud: “This wasn’t a typical internship. I was given a real, strategic challenge and the autonomy to tackle it. Working directly with the company’s founders and presenting my ideas was an incredible experience that led directly to a job offer.”