Last month 50 of the best entrepreneurial students from three universities attended the very first Eastern Academic Research Consortium (Eastern ARC) Start-Up Weekender.
Students from all three Eastern ARC member universities, the Universities of Kent, Essex and East Anglia, travelled to Mersea Island in Essex to take part in two days of workshops, outdoor team-building activities and group sessions to develop their entrepreneurial skills.
The students were splits into mixed teams, carefully crafted to ensure that there was equal participation from each institution per group, and spent the morning of the first day enjoying outdoor activities. Then, after lunch, they got to work developing a business idea that covered one or more of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development goals. Staff representatives from all three universities attended the weekend to act as mentors for the participating students.
On day two the teams presented their business ideas to the judges, in the form of a presentation and 7 minute pitch with a Q&A from the panel. The judges were company director Erika Watson, who holds an MBE and MBA for her services to women’s enterprise, Essex alumnus and mentor Barry Van Eupen, performance coach Richard Harris, game developer Mark Backler and our very own award winning Kent alumnus and Hub for Innovation and Enterprise entrepreneur in residence Ben Glancy, from Convert Energy.
Nine teams presented, with several working late into the night on their ideas, all of which the judges and mentors agreed were of a very high standard and exceptionally credible.
The University’s Hub for Innovation and Enterprise provides dedicated start-up support to staff, students and alumni from the University of Kent. Get in touch with the team today to find out more.