Member Article

Blueprint for success in 2007

A competition which brings together successful businesses from all five North East Universities is gearing up for this year’s awards with the announcement of a brand new category. The Blueprint Business Planning Competition aims to develop the sharpest business ideas from the region’s graduates, undergraduates, staff and alumni. They will be competing for the chance of winning up to £10,000 in each award category, including the new ‘Creativity and Design Award’.

Durham, Newcastle, Northumbria, Sunderland and Teesside Universities each hold their own business planning competitions throughout the year and the winners go forward to compete in the Blueprint Grand Final. Entrants receive expert business advice in the first rounds to help them turn their bright business ideas into well-researched, practical business plans.

Professor Max Robinson of the North East Centre for Scientific Enterprise (NECSE), said: “This new award gives teams and individuals with a flair for creativity and design the chance to show off their talents to an independent judging panel, specifically picked from the creative industries. “We decided to corner this off as a separate category so it can be given the attention it deserves in its own right, as there is a rich breadth of talent in cutting edge design and a growth in new creative industries in this region.”

Dorothy Kelly, enterprise and business support manager at One NorthEast, said: “Blueprint has proved to be one of the most successful initiatives for generating future business and economic activity across the North East Universities. It enables brilliant talent to develop in the region, strengthening the local economy and growing the reputation as one of the most forward-thinking parts of the UK supporting world-class business start ups.”

Sponsors for this year include ONE Northeast, NStar, Government Office for the North East, Cenamps, Dickinson Dees, and Musa Fine Art. A headline sponsor opportunity is still available for this year’s Grand Final of the Blueprint Competition, which will be held on Wednesday 17 October at the Hilton Newcastle Gateshead. If you are interested in finding out more about the sponsorship opportunities available or to book a table at this prestigious event contact Rebecca Dunn or Jill Flowers on 0191 332 3207/10.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .