TWO Durham University students have reached the final stages of the first National Business Plan competition with their company.

Ambulis, formed by Tom Grocutt and Philip Sum, has developed revolutionary technology to dramatically increase the speed of computers.

The technology improves the speed of computers between 1,800 per cent and 5,500 per cent and also significantly reduces energy requirements.

Tom and Philip join 17 other finalists from across the UK who will attend the black tie awards ceremony at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh on November 14, when the winning entry will be revealed.

Tom said: "To be in the final of this UK-wide competition is truly wonderful, and we are naturally delighted to have got this far.

"It has been a lot of hard work, but has also been great fun along the way."

With Dragon's Den expert and entrepreneur Doug Richard as one of the judges, the competition is co-ordinated by the Scottish Institute for Enterprise, which aims to stimulate entrepreneurship in higher education institutions.

Supported by the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (Nesta ) and the UK Science Enterprise Centres, the competition is open to all higher education institutions across the UK.

It encourages young people to show entrepreneurial spirit by coming up with cutting-edge ideas and developing these into workable business plans.

The winner of the competition will receive £25,000 of investment from Nesta to bring their business idea to life.

The support goes beyond the financial investment, providing additional support that includes access to professional support and expertise from carefully selected mentors.