The Royal Academy of Engineering, Britain's national academy for engineering, has developed the Enterprise Fellowship scheme which provides outstanding engineering researchers with up to £85,000 seed funding and salary support for 12 months to develop a commercial enterprise based in the UK. In addition to the funding, Enterprise Fellows receive a place on the Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning’s Ignite programme in Cambridge along with a further four, customised training days delivered by the Centre.
Mentors (drawn from both the Royal Academy and CfEL communities) are allocated to each Enterprise Fellow providing additional support and advice for the duration of the fellowship as well as access to business angels and venture capital networks. The mentors include experts such as Cambridge Business Angel, Robert Sansom FREng; independent bio business consultant, Miranda Weston-Smith; NEx director at UltraSoC Technologies Ltd, John Read; and Founder Director of Biolatris Ltd, Dr Cathy Prescott.
Katie Melton, who manages the Academy’s Enterprise Fellowships commented; “The CfEL Ignite programme offers a blend of practical teaching sessions, expert clinics, mentor sessions, as well as advice from experienced entrepreneurs and innovators, which enhances and complements the package of training and support offered to our Enterprise Fellows.”
Ignite has been running for 14 years with increasing success. It’s an intensive, one-week training programme aimed at aspiring entrepreneurs and corporate innovators from the high-tech or life sciences sectors looking to trial and prepare business ideas for the commercial environment. Ignite provides the tools, contacts and confidence to transform ideas into successful business ventures. A number of the expert contributors to the programme include Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering, such as the serial entrepreneur and venture capitalist, Dr Hermann Hauser CBE and entrepreneur and international telecoms expert, Dr David Cleevely CBE.
Yupar Myint, Ignite Programme Director, said: “We are very pleased to be making a contribution to the prestigious Enterprise Fellowship scheme run by the Royal Academy of Engineering. It is gratifying to us as educators to see the way the skills and confidence gained by participants through Ignite enables them to develop their innovations and have a tangible impact.”
Applications for the next Enterprise Fellowship Scheme are now being accepted. The closing date for applications is Monday 9 September 2013. For further information, please visit the RAE web site or contact katie.melton@raeng.org.uk
More information about Ignite can be found at http://www.cfel.jbs.cam.ac.uk/programmes/ignite/index.html
Image: Current Enterprise Fellows at Ignite 2013 (7-12 July), Cambridge, UK.
About the Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning (CfEL) www.cfel.jbs.cam.ac.uk
The Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning (CfEL), based at Cambridge Judge Business School, aims to spread the spirit of enterprise to both the University of Cambridge community and to wider national and international audiences through the creation and delivery of a range of educational activities that inspire and build skills in the practise of Entrepreneurship. One of CfEL's key teaching values is that the best people to teach entrepreneurs are entrepreneurs. This philosophy has led to the Centre collaborating with a network of over 300 experienced entrepreneurs, innovators and other practitioners to provide relevant, credible and practical training.
The Centre has developed an enviable track record in the field of entrepreneurship education with a number of flagship programmes designed to provide skills for students, graduates, researchers and aspiring entrepreneurs from different backgrounds and at different stages of the entrepreneurial journey. These programmes are Enterprise Tuesday, ETECH Projects, Ignite, Enterprisers and the Postgraduate Diploma in Entrepreneurship.
Tel: 01223 766900; Email: cfel@jbs.cam.ac.uk ; Web: www.cfel.jbs.cam.ac.uk
About the Royal Academy of Engineering http://www.raeng.org.uk/
Founded in 1976, the Royal Academy of Engineering promotes the engineering and technological welfare of the country. Our Fellowship - comprising the UK's most eminent engineers - provides the leadership and expertise for our activities, which focus on the relationships between engineering, technology, and the quality of life. As a national academy, we provide independent and impartial advice to government; work to secure the next generation of engineers; and provide a voice for Britain's engineering community.
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Contact: Katharine Price, Marketing & Communications Manager, CfEL; Email: k.price@jbs.cam.ac.uk ; Tel: 01223 766917
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