University offers £25,000 Venture prizes to find new entrepreneurs

Published On Mon 16 Jan 2017 by Roddy Isles

The University has launched a £25,000 competition to support new business ideas among students, staff and recent alumni.

The Venture 2017 Competition is open for applications now, with specific categories for:

  • Undergraduate Student Award, early stage idea (£2,500 prize fund, sponsored by University of Dundee Centre for Entrepreneurship)
  • Undergraduate Student Award, final-year student (£5,000 prize fund, sponsored by i-design ltd.)
  • Postgraduate Student Award (£5,000 prize fund, sponsored by Enterprise Campus)
  • Alumni Award, for those who graduated within the last two years (£2,500 prize fund, sponsored by James Keiller Investments)
  • Staff Award, Non-Research Idea (£5,000 prize fund, sponsored by James Keiller Investments and University of Dundee Organisational & Professional Development)
  • Staff Award, Research Related Idea (£5,000 prize fund, sponsored by Organisational & Professional Development and Research & Innovation Services, both University of Dundee)

Professor Sir Pete Downes, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University, said, “I know that among our students, staff and alumni there are great business ideas and bundles of innovation that just need support to become fully fledged enterprises.

“We are committed to giving them as much support as we can to be enterprising and entrepreneurial. I am excited to see the ideas they bring forward for the Venture 2017 Competition, which I am sure will be fiercely contested.”

Brian McNicoll, Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Manager at the University, said the competition would give entrants the chance to put their ideas to business leaders and potential investors.

“We have great support from the business community for the competition. This is an exciting opportunity for staff and students to pitch their ideas to business leaders and ultimately secure a significant investment that could make all the difference in turning something from an idea into a successful company.”

Applications for Venture 2017 are open now and must be submitted before midnight on Sunday 5th February 2017.

Details of the competition and how to apply are available here http://uod.ac.uk/venture

The final `live pitching’ for Venture 2017 will form one of the highlights of Entrepreneurship Week at the University and also Dundee Business Week 2017 within the city, which run in parallel from February 20th to 24th. 


For media enquiries contact:
Roddy Isles
Head of Corporate Communications
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
Tel: +44 (0)1382 384910
Mobile: 07800 581902
Email: r.isles@dundee.ac.uk