Entries make entrepreneurs

Workshop to boost British business

Universities around Britain will be finding out the best way to teach their students how to become the entrepreneurs of the future next week. The Cambridge-MIT Institute (CMI) is holding a workshop on 'Business Plan Competitions' on 12 June at the East Midlands Conference Centre in Nottingham.

The workshop, which is the second to be held this year, is part of CMI's National Competitiveness Network, which aims to improve the UK's record in competitiveness, entrepreneurship and productivity. Participants will include representatives from each of the 12 UK Science Enterprise Challenge (SEC) Centres.

Business plan competitions are becoming a popular method of helping students to develop their business skills and refine plans to launch their own companies. This workshop will consider the benefits of the Massachussetts Institute of Technology (MIT) $50,000 Entrepreneurship Competition, the world leader amongst university-based business plan competitions, and the newly established Cambridge model.

CMI's Director of the National Competitiveness Network at Cambridge, Professor Alan Hughes, said:

"Universities are making huge strides towards breaking down the barriers between academia and business. Both MIT and Cambridge have excellent support services for young entrepreneurs and I am looking forward to an extremely informative and useful workshop."

The event will be hosted by Martin Binks, Director of the University of Nottingham Institute for Enterprise and Innovation. Speakers include Ken Morse, Managing Director of the MIT Entrepreneurship Center, and Peter Hiscocks, Director of the Cambridge Entrepreneurship Centre.

In addition, delegates will get the opportunity to hear from students involved in successful business plan competitions at Cambridge and MIT.

Notes for editors

1. The Cambridge-MIT Institute Ltd (CMI) is a strategic alliance between the University of Cambridge and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), funded by the DTI and industry. It was launched in July 2000 and brings together two of the world's greatest universities to build on the complementary strengths of each.
2. As part of the Government's Science Enterprise Challenge initiative, 12 UK SECs (involving 34 universities) were set up in 1999. The UK SECs are responsible for increasing the rate of spin-outs and the start-up of new technology companies at UK universities and the fuller incorporation of enterprise learning as part of core curriculum for undergraduates and postgraduates.

For further information please contact:

1. Louise Vousden, Press and Public Relations Officer, The Cambridge-MIT Institute Tel: 01223 327207; E-mail: l.vousden@cmi.cam.ac.uk
2. Sarah Hoole, Press and Publications Office, University of Cambridge Tel: 01223 332300; E-mail: sah45@cam.ac.uk

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