Q&A: Running an award-winning start-up after university

Who are you, what is your job role and what do you do?

AD: I’m Anjali Devadasan, and I’ve just completed a masters in Materials Science and Engineering at Imperial. I am continuing to work on Treeva, our start-up, as a more full-time role. My main focus is sales and partnerships, entering into competitions such as Samsung’s Solve For Tomorrow, and pushing the business forward as a whole. We have a vision for Treeva, and I’m dedicated to continue to drive us towards this vision every day. 

YG: And I’m Yu Gu, and I’ve also just finished my master’s degree at Imperial in Materials Science and Engineering. My specific role is Chief Technology Development Officer, and I mainly focus on the product development of Treeva, as well as liaising with manufacturers and suppliers.

Can you tell us about your start-up, Treeva? 

AD: Our innovation, Treeva, aims to generate energy from passing transportation. We are aware that transport companies are struggling to meet their net zero goals, which is happening at the same time as rising electricity demands increasing the risk of blackouts. This is why reliable power generation on site is urgently required.

YG: With this in mind, we have created highly efficient vertical-axis wind turbines which rotate due to the airflow of passing transport. These turbines are quick and easy to install on the side of roads, and create renewable power, helping to ease the energy demand, saving money, and creating more sustainable energy sources. This energy can then be put back into road infrastructure, such as powering streetlamps and electric vehicles.

AD: With this idea, we recently won the first place prize in Samsung’s fourth annual UK Solve For Tomorrow competition. We are progressing this idea further with the winning prize of £10,000, alongside three months of further Samsung mentoring and support. With this amazing support, we are able to deploy pilots with different transport companies on our waiting list, and overall help us develop our idea into a reality. 

YG: I am particularly excited around investing this prize money from Samsung into research and development of the product, progressing the pilot project, and creating a sample to test later this year. It is important to gather as much information as possible for future iterations, so that is what we are focusing on.

What was your career path and how did it lead you to where you are now?

AD: I did A-levels relating to science and the extended project on developing a real iron man suit when I was in sixth form, so taking risks and doing things a little differently was something I started to learn from my teachers and projects. The inspiration for the creation of Treeva is particularly close to my heart. My family were affected by flash floods in Kerala in 2018 so I’m determined to help mitigate climate change. Transport has the highest reliance on fossil fuels out of any sector, so this was an area I wanted to focus on. After I joined university, I remembered a little idea I had in school (around 15) about generating energy from speed bumps.  Treeva is a more developed and pivoted idea, to capture the turbulent airflow of passing vehicles to generate energy – and that’s how Treeva was developed.

What do you enjoy most about your current role, and running Treeva?

AD: My favourite part about being a founder of Treeva is that I can directly take action to help mitigate climate change and make a positive impact through the decisions we make and the emissions we could save. Some days can feel like an intense rollercoaster, and I’m learning to go with the flow as it feels fulfilling to be able to help drive change while bringing an initial idea into reality.

YG: As an engineer, I enjoy making things. Even before I joined Treeva, I have always loved making things. At Imperial, there is this thing called ‘Hackspace’ which provides an opportunity to come together and make things. This is where I discovered I had an interest in not only making things, but turning them into commercial products. I also enjoy working in sustainability and making a positive impact in the world. 

What would be your main piece of advice to students looking to pursue a career in engineering and technology?

AD: If I were to give advice to students looking to pursue a career in engineering and technology, I would say you should definitely go for it! Engineering and innovation is about creativity, problem solving, team work and sometimes trying anything even if you think it’s crazy, as you never know what will work! When coming up with ideas, you shouldn’t initially worry about things that restrict you, but focus on your inspirations and how to solve a key problem someone has. Seek advice and help from role models in your network as there’s so much knowledge and inspiration in the world. Also please try sharing this forward by speaking to schools/students and young people, as you’ll be surprised how much of a positive difference you can make to another young person who might pursue engineering/technology.

YG: Throughout my time at Imperial and through the Samsung Solve For Tomorrow Competition, I have received so much help from lecturers, tutors, and mentors on the programme, and they have all helped me massively. They gave me such good advice, and helped me realise that you must stay passionate and keep doing whatever you’re doing. No matter how ridiculous your idea sounds, you might actually be right when you are doing it, so just keep going. 

Yu Gu (left) and Anjali Devadasan (right), co-founders of Treeva.

The Student Engineer is a special channel of The Engineer aimed at educating and inspiring engineering undergraduates about the career opportunities in engineering and also offering practical advice on how they can access these opportunities.

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