Environment YES
2011 Applications now open
What is Environment YES?
Environment YES (Young Entrepreneurs Scheme) is an innovative scheme to raise levels of entrepreneurial awareness, that is targeted at PhD students and post doctoral researchers working in the environmental sciences.
Environment YES is run as a competition in the form of a 3-day workshop with training provided to participating teams (teams are made up of four or five self selected individuals). Winning teams from each workshop progress through to a London final.
What can you gain from the competition?
Participation in the competition will enable the development of a wide range of transferable skills including:
- Self awareness
- Time management
- Team working
- Presentation skills
- Networking skills
Participants have the opportunity to gain an insight into the process of innovation, and the chance to network with members of industry and business experts.
Teams taking part compete against each other for a main prize which is awarded to the winning Environment YES team at the London Final. Teams also compete for a range of other prizes that are open to either Environment YES or Biotechnology YES.
Will it help my career prospects?
This is an opportunity to investigate a career path you may not have considered before.
Past participants have identified a wide range of skills acquired through taking part in YES, which are all beneficial for your CV:
- Information seeking skills
- Interpersonal skills
- Management skills
- Communication skills
- Creative thinking
- Problem solving
- Working to deadlines
You will have the opportunity to network with a variety of professionals who will be happy to talk about their career routes with you.
What is involved?
Environment YES will run as a series of 3-day residential workshops. In the morning of the first two days, participants attend presentations from leading figures in industry on all aspects of technology transfer and the commercialisation of science ideas.
Topics covered include:
- The Requirements of a Business Plan
- Intellectual Property and Patenting Strategy
- Financing a New Business
- Financial Planning
- Commercial and Marketing Strategies
- Case Histories of spin-out companies and business development
This knowledge is then used by participants to prepare an oral business plan presentation for an "imaginary" environmental or environmental technology start-up company. The team prepares the plan in the afternoon of the first two days, with each member assuming a different role within the company. For example:
- Managing Director
- Finance Director
- Research and Development Director
- Marketing Director
- Operations Director
On the final day the participants make a formal oral presentation of their business plan to a panel comprised of business, financial and academic experts taking the role of venture capitalists. Winning teams are then selected to progress through to the Final.
What is the cost?
The cost to teams is free - travel, meals and accommodation are all provided for participants.
Taking part in the competition does involve some time commitment. Past participants have put effort into preparation for the competition beforehand, but the rewards are substantial in terms of knowledge and skills gained, networking opportunities and personal development.
We do ask that participants pay a refundable deposit of £250 per team once you have been allocated a place. Providing you attend your allotted workshop your deposit will be refunded. The cost of running Environment YES is £600 per participant and unfortunately when participants cancel we incur charges that are not refundable. Some departments are willing to pay the deposit on behalf of their teams.
When and where will it take place?
Closing dates for applications is 25 May 2012.
A briefing session will be held in Nottingham during the summmer of 2012, exact date to be confirmed. At least one member of each team should attend this to find out exactly what to expect at the workshop.
The Environment YES workshops will take place at during the autumn of 2012. Successful teams will be notified of details nearer the time.
The final is held in London on 10 December 2012.
What do past participants say about Environment YES?
Raeanne Miller, a member of the 2010 winning team said:
"Personally, while Environment YES provided the opportunity for me to explore another aspect of science outside academia and to gain a bit of business acumen, I think a lot of the softer skills we improved upon really paid off, especially public speaking and teamwork. The latter of those was key - without our strong team spirit I don't think we would have achieved as much as we did.
Environment YES is a great opportunity for PhD students to get out of the lab and involved in science entrepreneurship - something which has certainly broadened my perspectives on future career choices."
Other participants have said:
"[The competition] opened up new paths I previously had not thought of."
"[Environment YES] is a really great platform to make researchers aware of the business world."
Who can tell me more?
For further information please contact Emily Medland.