More than 300 hundred engineering students can now compete for a Sainsbury Management Fellows (SMF) Engineers in Business prize following its expansion from one to four universities. Engineers in Business is a business innovation competition aimed specifically at engineering undergraduates.
Initially piloted by The Ingenuity Lab, part of Nottingham University Business School (NUBS), Engineers in Business will again be run by NUBS and for the first time by Kingston University, the University of Bristol and City, University of London. Following their successful applications, the universities are integrating the Engineers in Business prize within their existing business competitions to inspire more engineers to get involved in creating exciting new businesses that solve social problems.
University of Nottingham
The Engineers in Business cash and mentoring prize will be integrated into the University of Nottingham’s tri-campus entrepreneurship competition Ingenuity18, one of the biggest entrepreneurship competitions in the UK. Twenty shortlisted teams will attend three days of pitching to find winners who will share a £100,000 prize fund.
Steven Chapman, Head of the Ingenuity Lab at the University of Nottingham said “Ingenuity18 is a journey of exploration, re-engagement with the problems facing contemporary society, and a chance to discover disruptive and innovative solutions to how we address them. It is built upon three pillars: inspiration, development, and competition, and is open to all students, alumni, and early-stage researchers, as well as staff.”
City, University of London
City, University of London is launching MakerSpark for engineering students. MakerSpark is part of the university’s annual CitySpark business innovation competition which encourages students and recent alumni to start a business and supports them in the process of developing their ideas into successful enterprises. In the first term, engineering students who compete in MakerSpark can win one of three Engineers in Business awards of £1,000 each and gain the support and access needed to develop and launch a business idea. Further prizes of up to £5,000 are available in the second term of competition.
Marius Stancu, Enterprise Education Projects Officer at City, University of London commented, “CitySpark has a great record of attracting students from the School of Mathematical & Computer Sciences and Engineering. The exclusive Engineers in Business prize will encourage even more engineering students to get involved and for us to fund more successful start-ups.”
University of Bristol
Engineers in Business becomes an integral part of the New Enterprise Competition, the University of Bristol’s flagship business idea challenge, which awards over £35,000 in prizes and support to competitors which includes students, recent graduates and staff who pitch the most original ideas for a self-sustaining business.
Neil Coles, Assistant Director, Careers Service at the University of Bristol said, “The Engineers in Business prize will enable us to engage more engineers in the New Enterprise Competition. The prize will be divided across each of the three stages of the competition so that we are rewarding engineers at all stages.”
Kingston University
Kingston University’s Bright Ideas Competition inspires students to develop innovative business ideas, with 10 winners receiving either £250 or £1,000 cash prizes. The Engineers in Business prize money of £3,000 will sponsor two £1,000 prizes and two £250 prizes for engineering entries, with an over-arching prize for the best engineering idea overall. Kingston University will be encouraging civil engineering, mechanical engineering and foundation year students to compete.
Dr Martha Mador, Head of Enterprise Education at Kingston University said: “We are committed to helping students develop their entrepreneurial capabilities. Directly targeted prizes are an excellent way to encourage students to recognise the importance of wider business skills to the profession, and to their careers. We are keen to develop their confidence for their careers which is particularly important to a university committed to widening participation.”
Mission of engineers in business competition
David Falzani, President of Engineers in Business Fellowship (EIBF), which awards the Sainsbury Management Fellows MBA scholarships to engineers said, “Supporting university business competitions is part of our commitment to develop the innovation, business and marketing skills of engineers. The competitions will increase awareness of the Engineers in Business competition, reaching over 8,000 students, graduates and lecturers at the four universities. The competitions increase the number of engineers participating in entrepreneurialism at an early stage, broadening their career horizons and give them skills that employers’ value in engineers. Ultimately we see the Engineers in Business competition running in universities throughout the UK and, over the next three years, we will be expanding it to at least a further six universities.”
Learn more about Engineers in Business and how to apply to run the competition at your university.
