

Heriot-Watt Business Plan Competition - The Converge Challenge
Are you a member of Heriot-Watt or a Heriot-Watt Research Pool?
Do you have an idea for an innovation?
Would you like to win an award to the value of £10,000
The Heriot-Watt Business Plan Competition, known as The Converge Challenge, is an enterprise initiative of the Converge project which aims to encourage academic and industry engagement and to enhance the development of researchers'
skills, competencies and connections in knowledge transfer innovation.
Heriot-Watt University is inviting PhD students, Postdoctoral Fellows, academic research staff, more junior researchers (MSc, MRes and final year BSc students with research experience) and academic staff to submit their relevant business ideas for an award.
All applicants must be research students and staff from Heriot-Watt University and Research Pools which Heriot-Watt is a member (ERPem, ScotCHEM, SISCA, SIPR, SIRE, MASTS, SUPA).
There will be four stages of the competition: Ideas Generation, Training (Ring of Success course delivered by Bill Bryan), Business Plan Submission and Review Selection and Awards.
Successful short listed applicants will be invited to pitch their proposal to a heavy weight judging panel including comprising Leon Walker (former MTEM), Alister Minty (Frontier IP), Jim Hall (Wide Blue), Wendy Hanson (SMART team) and Maureen Kinsler (Marks&Clerk). There will be 3 cash prizes for the winners and we have secured a number of sponsors who will contribute their services towards the prizes.
For more information on the Converge Challenge please visit: http://www.hw.ac.uk/convergechallenge/


