University students can win a share of a pot of £750,000, in a new competition designed to encourage the practical use of intellectual property (IP) in business ideas.
Launched today, the StudentshIP Enterprise Awards will provide funding – ranging from £10,000 up to £100,000 – for university projects that bring together enterprising students, businesses, and their local community to work on projects. In-house projects or collaborations with other universities or businesses that create, manage or exploit intellectual property will all be considered.
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The awards are aimed at increasing the students understanding of the value and use of intellectual property, so the next generation of graduates are better equipped to enter the world of modern business and make the most of their unique ideas.
Minister for Intellectual Property, Baroness Neville-Rolfe, a former business leader herself, said: “The UK invests more in ideas and knowledge than machinery or buildings, so it is vital that the next generation of business-people and entrepreneurs really understand the value of intellectual property and how it can help them make the most of their creativity.
“This new competition will encourage enterprising students and academics to collaborate, so that their ideas for creating and exploiting intellectual property can be turned into reality and business opportunities. This is our chance to spot, support and develop the skills of the people who will be fuelling our future economy.”
The competition will run from today until 12 December 2014, with finalists announced in January and the winners in March 2015.
