Two university graduates are heading to America to develop their business ideas.

Joshua Seal and Will Griffiths were selected to take part in a six-month scholarship programme at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation centre in Missouri.

The pair, who studied at the University of Sussex, are among 16 people who have won a place on the Entrepreneurship Fellows scheme.

Mr Seal, 23, who graduated last year with an M Eng in robotics, cybernetics and process automation, is developing an energy-saving device for TVs on standby.

Mr Griffiths, 25, another engineering graduate, is aware environmental issues are becoming increasingly critical to the way commercial and residential buildings are developed and maintained.

He is developing a wireless thermostatic radiator valve for central-heating systems to address energy wastage from unoccupied rooms.

The two men will begin their programme over the next few days and will spend the first five weeks meeting and working with their mentors and experts in the field of entrepreneurship.

They will also visit universities, including Harvard, before they take up a three-month internship with a US business.

At the end of the programme they will bring what they have learnt back to the UK to share with other aspiring entrepreneurs and educators within Sussex and across the region.

Mr Griffiths said: "We are delighted to have been selected.

"We are incredibly excited about how the programme and time in the States will shape our businesses and develop our entrepreneurial skills."

The students were selected by the National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship.