Enterprise Awards open for entries

Entrepreneurial staff are invited to pitch their ideas for the University’s 2015 Inspire Launch Grow Awards for Enterprise.

Entrants can compete for awards in two categories, with a first prize of £5,000 in each, plus runners-up prizes of £1,000.

Run by Edinburgh Research and Innovation (ERI), the Innovation Cup is for business ideas or early-stage ventures that are particularly inventive, and the Enterprise Award is for ideas or ventures that have outstanding commercial potential.

All ideas considered

Staff, students and recent graduates are eligible to apply, and all ideas will be considered for both awards.

Last year’s winner of the Enterprise Award, Dr James Prendergast, creator of the research journal service Dipodo, says the award has had a dramatic effect on the development of his product.

The Enterprise Award made a huge impact. Not only did it give us exposure, funds to develop our idea and important contacts, but it also boosted confidence in our business.

How to enter

Entries for both awards are open until midnight on Friday 24 April.

Further details are available online, and applicants are encouraged to email ERI’s Business Support team before entering the competition.

Finalists will be invited to present a 10-minute pitch of their ideas to a panel of independent expert judges on Thursday 11 June at an event at the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Innovation.