6th May 2008

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Are you a budding entrepreneur who would like to turn your business ideas into reality? Two students from Northern Ireland will be offered the opportunity to take part in a one-year scholarship that will help them do exactly that.

The Northern Ireland Centre for Entrepreneurship (NICENT) in partnership with the National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship and US-based Ewing Kauffman Foundation is offering students the chance to apply for a Flying Start Global Fellowship.

This prestigious award, which is now in its third year, takes the best entrepreneurial talent from UK universities and links them with the entrepreneurial environment in the United States. The purpose of the Fellowship is to encourage graduates to develop scalable high impact business.

The fellowship consists of six months spent in the UK where fellows work with their sponsor university to develop their science, technology or engineering business idea. They then spend six months in the United States as Kauffman Global Scholars, where they work with top entrepreneurial universities and intern in leading innovative companies.

The Scholars will spend study time at the Kauffman Institute, MIT, Harvard and Stanford where they will have the opportunity to learn from some of the finest entrepreneurial minds in the world. The company internship will then facilitate the further development of their new venture idea.

Sharon Porter, NICENT Mentor for the programme, said: “This Fellowship is an outstanding opportunity to develop enterprise skills, hone entrepreneurial acumen and exchange knowledge with some of the world’s most innovative and entrepreneurial minds.”

Owen Gallagher, an Ulster graduate who participated in last year’s programme added:

"Participating in the Flying Start Global Fellowship programme has been a life altering experience for me. I wanted to be my own boss but I had no knowledge of the fundamentals of business or entrepreneurship.

“The program has provided a detailed overview of the entrepreneurial landscape, so I am now aware of all of the facets that are involved in running a successful business. 

“Learning about entrepreneurship from an American perspective was eye-opening. In addition to this, the Fellowship gave me the opportunity to expand my professional network considerably and I was able to meet a number of very influential people who are now associated with my business in an advisory capacity. I would recommend the Fellowship to anyone with an interest in learning how to transform their business ideas into successful commercial realities."

Dr Anthony Solon, also an Ulster graduate who particpated in last year's programme, has established a blog giving an overview of his experiences: http://aneyewitness.com

The Fellowship is aimed at final year or postgraduate students who have excelled in engineering, science or technology and have identified a clear business idea related to their area of study.

Candidates must be EU nationals and possess a valid European Union passport and must be eligible to travel to the US.  Interested candidates must in the first instance apply to NICENT, who are the Ulster sponsor for the programme in Northern Ireland.

Una McMahon-Beattie, Acting Director of NICENT, said:  “Candidates should have a feasible idea which he or she wishes to develop into a successful new venture. This could be an innovative piece of research or a project idea which shows commercial value. Candidates should demonstrate maturity, leadership and the ability to embrace new idea and attitudes. They must also be able to demonstrate the commitment and the determination needed to succeed.”

For further information and application details see http://nicent.ulster.ac.uk or contact Sharon Porter at s.porter@ulster.ac.uk

The Northern Ireland closing date for initial applications to NICENT is the 09 May 2008.

For further information, please contact:

Press Office, Department of Communication and Development
Tel: 028 9036 6178
Email: pressoffice@ulster.ac.uk