Ideas sparkle as more vital than ever to nurture entrepreneurs
Jul 31 2009 by Iain Laing, The Journal
ANON-TOXIC crop spray, ethically produced party bags and an online student accommodation portal are among the bright business ideas that have made it through to the regional final of the 2009 North East Universities Business Planning Competition.
The Blueprint competition, which is backed by The Journal, has announced the finalists from the region’s five universities who will battle it out for a share of £30,000 cash and £25,000 in-kind business start-up support.
The finalists, who are academics, staff, graduates, undergraduates and alumni, will be picked for the awards after pitching to teams of judges from the sponsors. One North East head of business, enterprise and skills Tim Pain said: “These challenging economic times highlight even more the importance of developing a more enterprising culture among our graduates.
“It is very encouraging to see that people in this region are still pursuing their future dreams, whether that is being an entrepreneur or developing an entrepreneurial attitude in their current place of work.”
The competition, launched in 2003, has so far helped set up more than 163 businesses from more than 1,000 business plans submitted and has helped create nearly 300 jobs.
Co-founder of Blueprint, Professor Brian Tanner from the North East Centre for Scientific Enterprise (NECSE) said: “There is a strong entrepreneurial culture running through the region’s five universities and each year I become more and more impressed with the creativity of business ideas and the overall standards just keep getting higher. This year, we are calling for more sponsors to keep this spirit of enterprise alive. In the midst of a recession, it is more important now than ever to support and encourage entrepreneurial achievements from our region.” For 2009, Blueprint has created a special recession-busting sponsorship package, which is still open, and offers promotional benefits in return for at least £1,000, whether this is cash support or in-kind services for the winner’s and finalists’ aftercare “Bizkit” package.
This year’s sponsors include One North East, Dickinson Dees, NETPark, The Entrepreneurs’ Forum, Musa Fine Art, Finance Tree, North Star Equity Investors, Marks & Clerk, RTC-North, Entrust, The Journal, Ward Hadaway and Alpha Graphics, North East Finance, Garbeau, Business Link, Element 5 Design and the Bgroup.
The grand final will be held on October 20 at the Hilton Newcastle Gateshead.
For details contact Jill Flowers on: (0191) 334-3210, or scientific.enterprise@dur.ac.uk
