News

Blueprint business planning competition awards ceremony

(10 June 2004)

On Tuesday 15 June the University of Durham will host an Awards Ceremony for the Blueprint Durham Business Planning competition. The Vice Chancellor Sir Kenneth Calman will welcome competition finalists and guest to the awards ceremony, and University of Durham alumnus Roger McKechnie, creator of the famous Phileas Fogg food brand, will present the prizes. Guests include representatives from the business and finance communities and One North East.

This is the first year of the competition which has seen entries from across the University, from undergraduates and postgraduates alike, who are enthusiastic about developing their business ideas and turning them into real businesses. Blueprint finalists stand to win a share of £3500 plus free legal advice from Dickinson Dees, six months free business incubator space at Netpark offered by the County Durham Development Company (CDDC) and additional prizes offered by Durham Associates and Prontaprint Durham. The overall winner of the Durham Blueprint competition, which is organised and managed by Rachel Orange of the University's Enterprise Exchange at Durham Business School and sponsored by the North East Centre for Scientific Enterprise, will take their place in the Blueprint Regional University Business Planning competition, competing against winners from the Universities of Sunderland, Teesside, Newcastle and Northumbria. The Regional winner stands to win more than £30,000 of investment and support. The competition has attracted a huge amount of interest and is supported by the Regional Development Agency, One North East, who recognise the entrepreneurial potential of our students and graduates in creating dynamic sustainable business ventures which contribute to the cultural and economic development of the region.

For more information about the Durham competition, please emailrachel.orange@durham.ac.uk or telephone 0191 334 5130. For more information about the Regional competition please email Max.Robinson@durham.ac.uk or telephone 0191 334 3213.