30 April 2019

A team of Business School students who created an innovative 'scratch-off' map of Edinburgh are celebrating after winning a prestigious award.
ScratchEd Maps Team

The team of eight MSc Entrepreneurship and Innovation (E&I) students won the 'Most Innovative' prize at last week's culmination of the Dragon's Glen challenge set up by charity Children 1st.

They met the challenge of turning £500 of seed money into over £5,000 for the charity in just five months.

Sales of the maps recovered the £500 in less than 48 hours after they were released in December 2018. Since then they've been stocked by a range of outlets across the city, with the team staging Bake Offs and yoga sessions to raise additional funds.

The ScratchEd Maps, designed in collaboration with an Edinburgh College of Art graduate and illustrator Ellie Walker, feature famous landmarks, lesser-known local attractions, and fun facts about the city. It's a souvenir that is both artistic and interactive; a conversation-starter for friends and family.

The idea for a scratch-off map of the city originally came from Miroslava Bajzikova, whose experience working in tourism at home in Slovakia and in Edinburgh aided in the map's concept development. And Giselle Gonzales, one of the project's leaders, spent four years as an Adventure Guide and Expedition Leader in the international travel industry before joining the MSc E&I programme.

Along the way, the team say they benefitted from feedback from Business School senior lecturer Dr Raluca Bunduchi and advice from Business School graduate Cavid Nadirov, who runs an independent tour guide business.

The team say that the Dragon's Glen expeience has inspired them to look at how the ScratchEd Maps can have a life beyond the competition. It seems the map-maker's journey of success is set to continue...