Engineering YES leads the way in the quest for more entrepreneurs

Release date: 15/6/2010

Partner John Stobart also supported the Engineering Young Entrepreneurs' Scheme by joining the competition's judging panel. It's an innovative competition for more than 50 post-graduates and post-doctoral researchers, to help them develop and pitch business plans for potential start-up companies to investors and industry experts.

Participants got first-hand experience in the techniques, skills and know how needed to get a new business venture off the ground.

They also got to meet key players, well-informed advisers and potential investors - who have already done it for real and had a lot of fun at the same time. Throughout the three-day event speakers and mentors from the world of industry and business gave their time for free to advise and guide the teams as they developed their business plans. John's fellow judges included venture capitalists, senior representatives from Regional Development Agencies as well as key volunteers from prominent local firms and professional organisations.

The overall winner was SNURF, a team from the University of Nottingham. Team members received a £2,000 cheque and free membership of the Institution of Engineering and Technology. The runner-up was a composite team from De Montfort and Loughborough University which won a £500 cheque.