Strathclyde Business School students are represented in two categories of this year's Converge Challenge, Scotland's leading company creation competition and entrepreneurial development programme for staff, students, and recent graduates of Scottish Universities and Research Institutes.
The three Converge Challenge award categories are: Converge Challenge - for those with an established idea; KickStart - for early stage ideas; and Social Enterprise - for ideas that will have a positive impact on social and environmental issues.
The 2017 Converge Challenge is already the most successful yet with 212 entries from 19 institutions, which have been shortlisted down to 60 finalists. There are seven Strathclyde representatives with two coming from the Business School: Barbara Mills in the Social Enterprise category for Anoch Ltd, and Ruth McLaren in the Kickstart category for U-turn.
As early stage shortlisted projects the KickStarters will receive two days of invaluable business support training and are encouraged, like last year's Converge winner MindMate, to take on the full Converge Challenge next year. This reflects the intensive support ethos which is at the heart of Converge Challenge.
The shortlisted Social Enterprise projects are businesses which have a social or environmental mission and are competing for a comprehensive package of benefits including cash prizes, in-kind business support prizes, entrepreneurial training, 1-2-1 mentorship, all geared to making them a successful, sustainable business.
Now in phase two of the process, the 60 'Converge Challengers' are set to take on an intensive entrepreneurial training and development programme, provided by Converge Challenge which culminates in the Ready, Steady, Pitch! event at the Royal Bank of Scotland Gogarburn specifically for the Converge Challenge category finalists on June 1. For those who reach phase four, the overall programme prize fund at stake is £170,000 - a £20,000 increase on the 2016 prize fund - which includes a broad range of in-kind expert support and training provided through partners such as Murgitroyd, Morton Fraser, Mazars, and Morton Ward. Following an increase in applicants for both the KickStart and Social Enterprise award categories both prize funds were increased to £10,000 each encouraging entrepreneurship at every stage.
Converge Challenge is the only higher education programme that is open to staff, students and recent graduates of all 19 Scottish universities and accepts applications for any product or service in any industry sector. Converge Challenge will announce the 2017 winners for each category at the annual awards ceremony on Thursday, September 28 at the Glasgow Science Centre, Glasgow.
Full information on the Converge Challenge is available here.