Research Entrepreneurship Competition Open – £25k Awards 2012

 Posted by  General news
Feb 132012
 
Caution: This post is more than a year old. Be sure to check for more up to date information.
£25k Awards 2012 Poster

£25k Awards 2012 Poster

The purpose of the £25k Awards is to identify, qualify, prepare and present the intellectual property from the publicly funded research base in Northern Ireland with the most commercial potential.

Administered by the CONNECT programme in the Northern Ireland Science Park, the contest is a commercial educational experience designed to encourage researchers and individuals to act on their talents, ideas and energy to produce tomorrow’s leading commercial opportunities.

The competition is open to researchers in HSC trusts.

Entries are invited in four categories:

  • Hitech
  • Biotech
  • CleanTech
  • Digital Media and Software

Entrants benefit from:

  • Networks of world-class entrepreneurs, investors, and potential partners
  • Mentorship by successful and seasoned professionals
  • Business Development Training to help assess suitable business models, commercialization channels, market opportunity, business planning and one-to-one mentoring
  • Content rich feedback on their business model from experienced entrepreneurs, investors, and professional service providers on our Judging Panels
  • Teambuilding opportunities to create a winning team of founders
  • Access to members of the private equity community
  • Broad media exposure and publicity
  • Signposting to relevant organisations to help champion your idea forward

Further details, including eligibility criteria and information about previous winners, is available on the competition website at www.25kaward.co.uk. In the 2011 awards two HSC-connected entrants reached the finals, Clinical Communicator going on to win the Digital Media and Software Category.

The formal launch of the competition will take place on 8th March 2012. Applications should be no longer then two pages. HSC researchers considering submitting an entry should contact HSC Innovations well before the application deadline of 20th April 2012.

Update (23/3/2012):

The 2012 launch event will take place in The Innovation Centre, Northern Ireland Science Park, on 8th March 2012, 4pm – 5.30pm. Further details and a registration form are on the programme website at www.nisp.co.uk/?p=2376.