Drexel University’s College of Computing & Informatics (CCI) is proud to announce that Andrew Struminger, BS computer science ’23, won the top $25k prize at the Drexel Startup Funds Competition.
The winning innovation, Lockdown Solutions, is a smartphone app and interface that can remotely barricade and lock doors to a facility in emergency situations. The student-founder, Struminger, explains: “Lockdown Solutions’s mission is building technology to make our schools a safer place. While it seems like an extraordinary goal for a college startup, the judges recognized our simple yet practical approach that bridges the gap between physical safety and public policy. It is an idea that hopefully everyone who hears about it can get behind.”
Noting Drexel’s role in incubating innovation, Struminger adds, “Starting a company is no easy feat, yet at Drexel there is always someone who knows someone who can help. Drexel provided me the environment to build the network of fellow students, friends and professors that will help see Lockdown Solutions to fruition.”
Still, Lockdown Solutions stands out from the crowd as an exceptionally promising invention. Teaching Professor of Computer Science Jeff Salvage adds, “We do not typically get many true entrepreneurial projects that fully intend to start a business. This is one that hopefully will launch successfully."
Generated from generous alum donations, Drexel Startups Fund is run by the Charles D. Close School of Entrepreneurship and supported through its Baiada Institute for Entrepreneurship team. It provides support to students for their startup ventures, with preference going to promising senior, graduate or post-graduate students.