just IMAGINE If... 2024 winner revealed

An idea to develop learning tools combining complex information with music has won our 2024 just IMAGINE if... prize.

Entrepreneur Felix Weaver, from Brentford, was crowned the winner of the £100,000 research award at a gala dinner held at Greenlands campus on Thursday 21 March, beating more than a hundred other applicants from around the world.

just IMAGINE if… was created by our Chancellor, Paul Lindley, to give entrepreneurs like him the chance to turn their ideas into business ventures that benefit the world.

The award invites forward thinkers to come up with ideas to address a global challenge that supports one of the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Their ideas are then evaluated by renowned entrepreneurs and social innovators.

The winner receives an award of £100,000 for research and business support from the University of Reading and Henley Business School.

Felix was crowned winner of the just IMAGINE if… for the development of Ultra Rapid, a groundbreaking learning technique that uses generative AI to combine academic information with music and storytelling. 

Felix said: “In the UK, it is estimated that up to 20% of the population is neurodivergent. Some neurodivergent thinkers, such as those with autism, have very high musical abilities.

“Traditional education methods may focus on listening, reading, and memorisation, but Ultra Rapid encodes information through sound, geometry, and emotion, which is more suitable for neurodivergent learners. By presenting information this way, Ultra Rapid helps learners remember complex concepts by pairing them with easy-to-remember melodies.”

'Imagination can change the world'

After announcing Felix as the winner of just IMAGINE if..., Paul said: "Felix is a wonderful entrepreneur with an innovative mind. He is a very worthy winner of just IMAGINE if… His idea will make a huge impact on a wide range of people all over the world for many years to come.

“I founded just IMAGINE if… to drive real, sustainable change by taking little ideas and making them huge and transformative. Imagination can change the world.

“The University of Reading and I believe in the limitless potential of humanity. just IMAGINE if… is the strongest representation of this vision. By combining opportunity, kindness and great ideas, let's see if we can create something that begins to address the global challenges we face.”

Since its inception, just IMAGINE if… has inspired more than 500 applications and created 20 finalists. Previous winners from Peru and India have benefited from the award, advice, skills, and network support provided by the University of Reading, Henley Business School and the University of Durham.

Image: Felix Weaver (left) and Paul Lindley (right)