Join inspiring speaker sessions and workshops, with highlights including AI marketing, personal branding, pitch competitions, and neurodivergence in entrepreneurship. Conclude the week with MEC’s first-ever Startup Weekend, where you'll pitch ideas, form teams, and gain hands-on startup experience in just over two days. Learn, network, and accelerate your entrepreneurial journey!

Discover MEC’s Global Entrepreneurship Week events:

Monday 18 November: Startup Spotlight with Dr Mehdi Boutagouga Boudjadja

17:00 - 18:30 | 2.008, AMBS |

Join MEC's Startup Spotlight with Dr. Mehdi Boutagouga Boudjadja, VFA23 Technology winner and Metofico Founder and CEO, in partnership with UoM Management Society.

Tuesday 19 November: AI as Your Marketing Partner: Driving Growth and Efficiency for Startups

11:00 - 13:30  |  3.013a/3.013b, AMBS |

Elevate your startup marketing in Peter Dickinson's AI workshop, blending 40+ years of expertise with cutting-edge tools for success.

Tuesday 19 November: Personal Branding 101

15:00 - 16:30 | 2A.012, Nancy Rothwell Building |

Boost your career with this workshop on crafting your personal brand, enhancing networking skills, and curating a strong digital presence.

Wednesday 20 November: Ready, Set, Pitch!

14:00 - 16:00 | 2.007, AMBS |

Join the audience for Ready, Set, Pitch! to watch early-stage student entrepreneurs pitch for prizes.

Thursday 21 November: Intro to Starting a Business - Steps to Starting

13:00 - 15:00 | Enterprise Zone (2.039), AMBS |

Gain the foundational knowledge to start your business or side hustle with this workshop on business models, customer focus, and defining your unique value.

Thursday 21 November: Neurodivergence & Entrepreneurship Workshop

14:00 - 15:30 | 3.2, Roscoe Building |

Hear from neurodiverse role models, gain insights for university success, and enhance your skills in this empowering workshop.

Friday 22 Nov, Saturday 23 Nov & Sunday 24 Nov: Startup Weekend

Starts 18:30 on Friday 22 Nov | The Hive Space, 3rd Floor, AMBS |  

Join Startup Weekend to network, collaborate and turn ideas into reality, fast-tracking your entrepreneurial journey!

Head to our to find out more!

The is the focal point for enterprise and entrepreneurship teaching, learning and startup support at The University of Manchester, supporting all University of Manchester students, staff and recent graduates, across all subject disciplines.

In 2020, the University of Manchester Masood Entrepreneurship Centre (MEC) and Students’ Union came together to discuss how to promote entrepreneurship and help students build an entrepreneurial mindset.

Alongside mentorship and support for students looking to launch businesses, projects, and events, an important outcome was PitchIt! - a student societies’ entrepreneurship competition.

PitchIt! is ideal for students who are driven to develop their entrepreneurial skills, strategic thinking, and network with like-minded individuals.

Societies are encouraged to form an innovative project team to develop a proposal to win up to £1,250 from a £6,000 prize pot to help support projects and initiatives that will generate income for their society and expand impact.

All societies that submit an entry must be registered with the University of Manchester Students’ Union. These societies will benefit from a valuable Pitching workshop session, following which 10 societies will be shortlisted who will have to attend a closed ‘Practice Your Pitch’ session. The PitchIt! Finals will be an open event where our 10 finalists will face off and winners will be announced!

Do you think your society has what it takes? PitchIt!

You can find detailed information on the application criteria, competition process, key dates, FAQs and T&Cs .

Please fill out the following to submit your entry.

Lou is also Chair of Greater 91ֱ��’s Business Board (LEP) and an angel investor, particularly focusing on female tech founders. Lou was awarded an OBE in the 2018 New Year’s Honours for services to the creative and digital economy.

For further information about the appointment, please contact Will Stone.

Global Entrepreneurship Week is a celebration highlighting the significant role entrepreneurs play in our society. It's a chance to acknowledge the hard work, creativity, and determination these individuals put into their businesses. It's a time to recognise the resilience they show in facing business challenges and to appreciate the difference they make with their commitment and creativity. Their innovations and advancements not only drive economic growth, but also shape our future in profound ways.

The week was brimming with enlightening talks, engaging workshops, and valuable networking opportunities. The exchange of innovative ideas and the genesis of new collaborations promise to drive entrepreneurship to unprecedented heights, marking a significant milestone in MEC's journey.

We would like to extend special gratitude to the speakers who generously shared their valuable time, extensive knowledge, and personal experiences. The insights and advice shared have been invaluable, significantly benefiting all participants. Additionally, the tireless efforts of MEC's diligent staff ensured the smooth execution of over 10 events, which had more than 100 in-person attendees. Their dedication and unwavering commitment played a crucial role in the Week's overall success.

Events included the following talks and workshops:

• Matthew Scullion, CEO of Matillion
• In Conversation with David Levine, CEO of Glenluna Ventures
• Intro to Starting a Business Workshop
• Emma Jones CBE, founder of Enterprise Nation
• Your Next Move...Sport Entrepreneurship and Social Enterprise with Beth Barnes
• Personal Branding 101 Workshop
• ElevateX: Student Startup Sprint Workshop by Accelerate ME
• Building a Startup Step by Step - with Ash Rust

Lastly, we would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to our student group partners such as TEDx University of Manchester and Accelerate Me. Their unwavering support underscores their commitment to fostering a vibrant and thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem. Our collaboration with TEDx University of Manchester for their successful event ‘Catalytic Continuum’ showcased six inspiring speakers who sought to motivate the student audience with their own personal journeys. Among them was Prithveesh Reddy, co-founder and CEO of Arcube, who remains in close contact with MEC regarding his rapidly growing tech startup in 91ֱ��.

The standout feature of this week was undoubtedly the high level of participation we witnessed during our in-person sessions. Seeing the enthusiasm and active involvement from the participants was a genuinely inspiring experience. This level of engagement not only exceeded our expectations but also gave us valuable insights and feedback. It has also contributed significantly to shaping our approach for future events. The successful interaction and exchange of ideas have given us a clear vision of what to aspire to in our forthcoming sessions and events.

MEC is immensely grateful for the widespread participation and support received and eagerly looks forward to welcoming everyone back at future events. We remain committed to promoting the entrepreneurial spirit and fostering innovation within our community.

This exciting initiative promises to provide a golden opportunity for students to engage with the entrepreneurial community, learn from seasoned business leaders, become more employable and hone their own entrepreneurial skills. 

Throughout the week, MEC has organised various workshops, panel discussions, and networking events. These activities will cover a broad range of topics designed to inspire and empower budding entrepreneurs, including strategies for fundraising and business model development. 

This initiative by the Masood Entrepreneurship Centre is a testament to its commitment to fostering an entrepreneurial spirit among its students. Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur or simply interested in improving on your current skills, these events promise to be both informative and inspiring. 

Details about the schedule of events and the registration process can be seen below: 

• Monday: 
  • MEC GEW2023 Launch with Matthew Scullion of Matillion (Online and in-person)
• Tuesday: 
  • In Conversation with David Levine, CEO of Glenluna Ventures (Online and in-person)
• Wednesday: 
  • MECitHappen Workshop - Intro to Starting a Business (In-person)
• Thursday: 
  • Entrepreneurs@MCR - Emma Jones CBE, Founder of Enterprise Nation  (Online and in-person)
  • Your Next Move…Sport: Entrepreneurship & Social Enterprise panel discussion (In-person)
• Friday: 
  • MECitHappen Workshop - Personal Branding 101 (In-person)
  • Elevate X: Student Startup Sprint - Workshop by Accelerate Me (In-person)
  • Building a Startup Step by Step - with Ash Rust of Sterling Road VC (Online and in-person)

More information about the events, locations and registration can be found . 

The Masood Entrepreneurship Centre encourages all interested individuals to take advantage of this unique opportunity. Stay tuned on our social media channels to catch a glimpse on this exciting week of entrepreneurial exploration and learning. 

That same month, , a healthcare manager and senior nurse, won a case against NHS England and NHS Improvement Commissioning in 91ֱ��. She too had faced racial discrimination.

These cases follow the legal action launched in August 2022 by marketing executive against the NHS Blood and Transplant service. She provided recordings of conversations between staff members that backed up her claims that she had been subjected to racism.

According to , black and minority ethnic women are the most likely of all NHS staff groups to experience discrimination from patients or colleagues. The harms they experience due to in the workplace are compounded by their ethnicity.

My doctoral research looks at the obstacles black and minority ethnic women face in the NHS in terms of career development. In the chapter I recently contributed to the (edited by Naomi Chambers), I show how systemic discrimination is the single biggest impediment to these women being able to advance in their jobs.

The barriers to career progression

There is a notable lack of research on the workplace experiences of black and minority ethnic women leaders in healthcare. In 2021 I carried out a literature review to address this.

I identified eight barriers or drivers (often two sides of the same coin) to career progression for this group. These are: systemic discrimination; leadership and organisational cultures; recruitment and talent management; policies; training; monitoring and accountability; work-life balance; and support.

Systemic discrimination, the most pervasive impediment, refers to discrimination embedded in institutional policies, practices or processes, as opposed to the actions of individual people.

Research has long shown systemic discrimination at work in the NHS. In 2016, minority ethnic NHS staff were to enter formal disciplinary processes than white staff. More recently, a 2022 report by the Fawcett Society and the Runnymede Trust charities that women of colour are more likely (27%) to have been described as aggressive compared to white women (17%).

A , published in April 2023 looked at a large sample (37,971) of people applying for specialist NHS training posts (medical and surgical) between 2021 and 2022. It found that applicants from most of the ethnic minority groups were less successful than their white British counterparts. It pointed to recruitment policies and processes as key factors driving this inequality.

In addition to the racism and sexism often experienced by ethnic minority women more broadly, black women, in particular, also have to contend with anti-blackness.

In 2010, the black feminist scholar Moya Bailey and the writer who goes by the name Trudy coined the term “” – anti-black misogyny – to describe this compounded discrimination. It amounts, as the US legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw in a landmark paper in 1989, to a form of erasure – being fundamentally overlooked by society.

shows that little has changed. Black women are subject to a wider range of microaggressions in the workplace. They are often the only black woman in any given setting. And they are three times more likely than their peers to think regularly about leaving their jobs.

Barriers and drivers of career progression for black and minority ethnic women leaders in UK healthcare. Rakhi Chand,

How discrimination is compounded

In the UK, this compounded discrimination is further exacerbated by, among other things, being a migrant or having a non-standard British accent. can lead to employees receiving poorer pay, having limited access to professional networks, or fewer chances of promotion. Here too, it can see people more likely to leave their jobs.

This often has a negative impact on an employee’s and too. The long-term physical problems it can lead to include increased blood pressure and heart rates, higher levels of the primary stress hormone cortisol, and unhealthy behaviours such as drinking alcohol or smoking.

Line managers are uniquely placed to influence an employee’s emotional attachment to an organisation. Research shows that their support – including for training and advancement opportunities – can be pivotal in decisions to leave or, conversely to stay in a role or even the organisation.

However, research has long noted the lack of diversity in healthcare leadership. A on equality in the NHS workforce found that black and minority ethnic executives were “entirely” absent, and women “disproportionately” absent, from the boards of all key NHS national bodies in 2013.

To remedy this situation, academics and practitioners alike have repeatedly called for better reporting on gender data, broken down by ethnicity, within healthcare management.

Yet, until the publication of the Workforce Race Equality Standard report in 2022, this appears to not have happened within the NHS. Not having access to such data is a problem. has long shown that when a healthcare workforce does not reflect the population it serves, patients’ health outcomes worsen as a result.

The fact that black and minority ethnic women are under-represented at leadership levels is, of course, to the healthcare sphere. It is also .

Anyone wanting to improve diversity and inclusion within their workforce must engage with the obstacles that black and ethnic minority women face. Addressing inequality benefits everyone.

, Doctoral Researcher

This article is republished from under a Creative Commons license. Read the .

We are the Masood Entrepreneurship Centre (MEC), the main hub for enterprise and entrepreneurship at The University of Manchester. Our goal is to help students like you understand the importance of entrepreneurial skills in today's world, and to provide you with numerous opportunities to gain valuable experience that will help you to spot opportunities, fast-track your career and secure your desired job, innovate and develop new projects or launch your own business.

We're passionate about creating an entrepreneurial ecosystem that nurtures the next generation of outstanding innovators and supports the development of start-up businesses that benefit both the economy and society worldwide. We're here to add value to your experience of being part of The University of Manchester, and to encourage and support you in creating your future and making a difference.

In addition to our extensive range of (the majority of which are open electives available to all students), we offer a range of extracurricular activities that we think you'll gain a lot of value from, especially in terms of building your confidence and developing your networks. These include competitions (with total awards exceeding £180,000 per annum), speaker events and interactions with leading entrepreneurs, workshops, and start-up support programs for students who have ambitions to learn or launch their ideas. We can't wait to see what you'll achieve!

You can find us in the following locations during Welcome Week:

• Monday 18 September - Stopford Building (9am-12pm); Humanities Bridgeford Street Building (1-4pm)
• Tuesday 19 September - Stopford Building (9am-12pm); Alliance 91ֱ�� Business School Fair (1-4pm)
• Wednesday 20 September - SU Fair (10am-4pm)
• Thursday 21 September SU Fair (10am-4pm) 
• Friday 22 September - 91ֱ�� Engineering Campus Development (MECD) Community Fair (1-4pm)

We'd love to meet you at our stalls and share more about the Masood Entrepreneurship Centre!

If you’re passionate about entrepreneurship, we’re also recruiting for our Entrepreneurship Champions role, 

The MEC Team 🐝&�Բ�����;

Firstly the assembled finalists and guests heard from Physics alumnus and founder of global flash-memory giant SanDisk, Dr. Eli Harari, who joined the awards event as a guest speaker, live from the USA. He described the aim of the competition, since it started in 2013, to encourage students, researchers and visionaries toward innovation and risk taking.

Eli Harari Graphene Enterprise Award Winners

The award winners were announced and presentations made by chair of the judging panel Professor Luke Georghiou, Deputy-President and Deputy Vice-Chancellor, The University of Manchester.

First prize of £50,000 was awarded to Liam Johnson, Ph.D. Student (Engineering) and his team (Ed Hayter) who are manufacturing the first on-skin device for wirelessly monitoring the cardiovascular activity of free-moving mice (using electrocardiography, or ECG).

Professor Luke Georghiou presenting first prize to Ed Hayter.

MouseAble will use screen printable graphene inks to engineer an on-skin, wireless ECG sensor for laboratory mice. This device would reduce animal burden and allow ECG acquisition immediately without need for recovery or invasive surgery. A non-invasive device will also enable the collection of better quality data, as removing the burden of an implant may reduce animal stress and the impact this has on the results. By providing a faster, more humane method of collecting data a non-invasive system could offer researchers freedom to be more ambitious with their experimental plans.

In second place and claiming the £20,000 prize was Aayush Chadha, Ph.D. Student (Graphene NOWNANO CDT) with Eye Venture, aiming to manufacture smart contact lens systems using 2D materials in order to deliver unobtrusive detection and monitoring of ocular and systemic diseases (glaucoma and certain types of neurodegeneration) which pose high social and economical costs.

This year again saw the inclusion of an additional prize that celebrates the University's position leading the world on sustainable development. The winners of the £10,000 Eli Harari Sustainability award were  Dinara Mangusheva, undergraduate student (Biomedical Science) and team (Luke Marden, Atif Riaz, Izehiuwa Ehimatie) with Aqua Catalysis. This venture aims to enhance the treatment of industrial wastewater by refining existing technologies and boosting photocatalysts through UV absorption.

Introducing the Eli Harari Graphene Enterprise Award 2023 Finalists

The three winning teams were selected by a panel of professional judges from a shortlist of five finalists all seeking to secure funding to drive their ideas forward. Watch the video to find out more.

The award is co-funded by the North American Foundation for The University of Manchester through the support of Dr. Eli Harari and his wife, Britt. It recognises the role that high-level, flexible, early-stage financial support can play in the successful development of a business targeting the full commercialisation of a product or technology related to research in graphene and 2D materials.

Lynn Sheppard, Director of the commented: “This year’s Venture Further Awards were again an amazing demonstration of the entrepreneurial spirit of students and graduates from across the University.”  

Twenty teams reached the final round, across five categories – Environmental, Healthcare, Services, Social and Technology. Four teams competed for the top cash prize of £15,000 with second place winners receiving £5,000.

This year’s winners of £15,000 are:

Environmental Category: Naxca Ltd. 

Naxca is on a mission to optimise and electrify space heating systems. Using technology and data-driven strategies to unlock the potential for lower running costs and reduced carbon emissions. 

Marco Antonio Rodriguez Frias, Ph.D. Electrical and Electronic Engineering, School of Engineering, Alumni Class of 2020

Healthcare Category: NanoGraft Ltd.

A health tech start-up focussed on helping restore sensation to lower limb amputees. NanoGraft are developing a wearable device that provides sensory stimulus to the user allowing them to feel the ground when they walk. 

Gergana Ivanova, MEng Material Science and Engineering, School of Natural Sciences   
Omar Haroun, MEng Material Science and Engineering, School of Natural Sciences

Services Category: Hive: Student and Industry STEM Solutions Ltd.

Through HiveSpace’s industry sponsored space projects, space businesses across the UK can connect with the next generation of talent and students can explore space-related design projects generating the high-demand skills they need to kickstart their space career. 

Thomas Chiu, MEng Aerospace Engineering with Industrial Experience, School of Engineering

Social Category: Active Ageing Initiative

AGI supports older adults across Ghana to age with dignity and respect. They train partner institutions to implement the AGI framework, advocate and prioritise care for older adults and conduct research to develop the framework to drive real change. 

Brenda Agyeiwaa Poku, Ph.D. Nursing, School of Health Sciences, Alumni Class of 2019  
Kwame Asamoah Kwarteng, MSc International Development: Globalisation Trade and Industry, School of Environment Education and Development, Alumni Class of 2019

Technology Category: Metofico Ltd.

Metofico supplies custom solutions for life scientists to manage and process the deluge of data produced by modern life science experiments. The mission is to provide the best solutions to enable researchers to produce the best scientific outputs. 

Mehdi Boutagouga Boudjadja, Ph.D. Neuroscience, School of Biological Sciences, Alumni Class of 2022

Organiser of the Venture Further Awards Competition, Ellie Buckley commented: “Over the past 20 years, Venture Further has provided student and graduate founders with the vital support and funding required to develop their businesses. 75% of VFA businesses are still active today and collectively have secured over £21M in investment. This is a real testament to the quality of the ventures being developed through this competition. This year’s finalists have been equally impeccable, and we look forward to supporting all the founders in furthering their start-ups and making them a success.” 

If you missed the live stream of the awards evening, you can watch a recording: 
 

Venture Further Awards 2023

Jenni was nominated by her students and here are some of the reasons cited:

• "Jenni changes the way students see the world, moving from the idea of accounting as a technical practice to a social and moral practice where accountants can shape the world to become a better place through accounting and sustainability practices."
• "Lectures often begin with a ‘tuning in’ mindfulness reminder, which often includes a mental health check-in."
• "Jenni uses Monopoly and Lego as well as simulations to make learning accounting more fun."
• "New coaching scheme implemented under her leadership where students coach the year below."
• "Jenni uses her extensive LinkedIn groups sharing experiences to find and create employability opportunities."

Students feel they are part of a community of staff and students as 81% agreed with this statement in the NSS survey which also showed 91% overall satisfaction under her leadership.

This is a fantastic achievement but not the first trophy that Jenni has on display in her office, having won a Distinguished Achievement from the University in 2020.

Reflecting on her award, Jenni said: “It’s wonderful to be recognised in this way by our students for teaching excellence in accounting. The way we teach is unique and student-centred with a sustainability lens and it’s great that students appreciate that.”

Fiona Devine, Head of Alliance 91ֱ�� Business School and Elinor O’Connor, Director of Teaching and Learning said: “We are thrilled that Jenni has won this award. She is an exceptional teacher dedicated to the academic success of our students.

"Most importantly, she is deeply committed to the health and well-being of our students. We are all very proud of Jenni in Alliance 91ֱ�� Business School.“

Are you curious about the different opportunities and career paths after University? How might your unique life experiences shape your journey ahead? Do you want to meet and learn from people who have made their own pathways to success?

This is an unmissable opportunity to BUILD YOUR NETWORK, GET INSPIRED and GAIN INSIGHT from real people who have worked hard to and done amazing things in their career journeys so far, whether that is through entrepreneurship or using an entrepreneurial mindset in their work.

Join us for which is all about supporting personal progression after university,

• Increasing awareness of pathways and career opportunities
• Connecting and networking with successful diverse industry professionals
• Access to additional opportunities, professional development workshops, Events and Competitions

You'll have the opportunity to learn from and connect with successful entrepreneurs, social innovators, and professionals from a wide range of backgrounds.

Speakers include:

John Eades

John Eades has worked in the sports & events industry for over 30 years holding director level positions at 91ֱ�� United and the Commonwealth Games Federation. Having worked on major events such as the Commonwealth Games, the Asian Football Championships, Ryder Cup and a FIFA World Youth Championships he now heads up the UK arm of DAIMANI. This Swiss based company whose e-commerce platform is a global market place for VIP hospitality experiences are exclusive rights holders on this year’s World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Rugby World 2023 and next year’s UEFA Euro 2024 in Germany. John started his academic journey as a mature student, completing a HND in Leisure Studies in 1991 and a BA in Business & Management in 1994 at the age of 29. 

More info:

Samson Owolabi

Samson leads Bearded Fellow’s creative department from the initial campaign concept through to the delivery of the final production assets. With a background and education in Theatre, TV, and Film, he brings deep insights and knowledge about how the creative process can solve business challenges. Samson has experience in managing successful online and TV campaigns with the likes of Warner Bros, Remington, Reebok, EE, Princes, Google and more. Samson spends a good proportion of his time creating visual concepts, writing scripts and storyboards, and shooting films as a cinematographer and director in addition to editing films. He also takes the strategic lead on education and speaks frequently on entrepreneurship panels.

More info:

Jonathan Edgerley

Jonathan is a Clinical Scientist specialising in rare disease genomics within the 91ֱ�� Centre for Genomic Medicine and the North West Genomic Laboratory Hub. Alumni of the University of Manchester and of the National School of Healthcare Science, Jonathan has successfully completed the Health Education England NHS Scientist Training Programme, obtaining a MSc in Clinical Sciences (Genomics) and graduating with distinction. Jonathan’s career progression sees him enrolling on the Higher Specialist Scientist Training Programme towards becoming a Consultant Clinical Scientist, leading on translational genomic research and diagnostic service innovation along the way.

More info:

Feya Mattis

Feya Mattis aka '' is a marketing consultant and a multi-disciplinary artist from 91ֱ��. She calls attention to the interconnectedness that exists within the world. She constantly explores various disciplines to broaden her own understanding and uses them to develop her skills as a marketing consultant and cultural curator.

More info:

Madeleine Penfold

Driven by people and the power of storytelling, my work focuses on creating Energetic, Impactful, and Emotive visual work for local to global projects. Stories have the power to shift perceptions and change the world - I am driven by an opportunity to create visual work that contributes to creating an equally representative and inclusive visual landscape, across mainstream media, capturing stories that inspire and encourage positive change.

I am passionate about human movement, creativity, sports and stories of growth.

Experimenting with different forms is all part of the fun - photography, moving image, creative retouching and digital art are part of what I do.

Born and raised in North 91ֱ��, I grew up taking pictures with any camera I could get my hands on - mums disposables, dads compact old digital. I was inspired by the world around me, a nearby football pitch and rows up on rows of terrace houses was my youth. As I got older, I became curious of the wider world, especially stories of my grandma’s upbringing in Kenya, which lead me onto exploring the world of image making in a number of communities and culture.

My passion led me to the USA, South East Asia and South Africa and West Africa. Driven by purpose, I made my way around by working at summer camps, photographing for charities and cofounded a charity project in West Africa. It was within these experiences that I realised the power of storytelling for good and formed a natural, intuitive and immersive style of photography.

Today, I love to work with other passionate creatives, collaborating on projects, playing with ideas and working with my team or alternative team with the aim of making work that matters.

More info:

Christina Taylor

Christina started teaching her friends dance at a local youth centre aged 13. By 16 she had 23 other young people in her dance group. between 16-19 years old she received £70,000 funding to deliver projects under her community organisation. Aged 17 her group placed 2nd at UK Hip Hop Dance Championships and she raised £8000 to take herself and 5 children to represent the UK at World Hip Hop Dance Championships where they reached the semi-finals.

During her studies at University, her lecturer introduced her to the concept of social enterprise whilst the youth service was in the midst of being cut.

Due to her continued work in the community, she was awarded a full scholarship for her Masters in Enterprise where she wrote her dissertation on transitioning voluntary and community organistions into successful social enterprises. Her masters dissertation was used in a government report led by Michelle Mone the was commissioned by former Prime Minister David Cameron on how to mobilise people in underprivileged areas to create successful businesses. She then followed her own advice and created The Aim Sky High Company in 2013.

The purpose of Aim Sky High is to help socially mobilise children and young people and address social issues through the medium of dance. The message shines through and the young people have danced for Justin Bieber, were personally requested by Stormzy for his headline Wireless Festival performance and have had a CBBC documentary filmed and aired about the dance school.

Aim Sky High has gone from 23 children to over 200 in the performing arts school and the company works with an average of 500 school children a week. The school boasts current European and World Streetdance Champions.

The company also provides additional free of charge community dance sessions in the deprived areas of Greater 91ֱ��. The company has won awards such as:

• Barclays School for Start- Ups Social Enterprise 2013
• Lenovo Social Impact Award 2014
• 'Inspiring Youth' Award @ Social Enterprise UK Awards 2015
• Duke of York Young Entrepreneur 2016

Christina is also a Lloyds Bank Social Enterprise Scale - Up 2016 and holds a close relationship with the CEO of HSBC and is regularly mentored by a Business Relationship Manager at HSBC.

In June 2019, Christina stated Aim Sky High Talent agency that has taken off very well.

More info:

Taking place in the MEC Enterprise Zone (2nd floor, Alliance 91ֱ�� Business School), this bootcamp will provide you with essential entrepreneurial skills increasing your knowledge and confidence around business doing good. It will also provide useful tools and resources that you can then apply into your further studies, your own enterprise development and of course your future careers, all in an environment where you will work and learn together in teams.

We will cover key themes such as:

• Entrepreneurial mindset;
• Idea generation;
• Value proposition;
• Impact measurement;
• Social business modelling & planning as well as
• How to pitch yourself and your ideas for success - and much, much more!!

Participants on our last Bootcamp left it feeling; -“Awesome and Motivated” “challenged, inspired, encouraged”.“Empowered. Resourceful. Purposeful” “Informed, confident, prepared”.

This exciting opportunity is not to be missed so !

* Please note that this workshop has a value upwards of £500 per person, so we require full commitment for both days to maximise learning and participation. Applicants who are unable to complete full registration and confirm their commitment to attend both days will unfortunately not be offered a place. *

Agenda

Day 1: Wednesday 21st June;

09:30 - 10:00 Welcome and refreshments

10:00 - 17:00Training and Development workshop (including lunch and refreshments)

17:00 - 18:30 Drinks and Networking

Day 2: Thursday 22nd June;

09:30 - 10:00 Welcome and refreshments

10:00 - 13:00Training and Development workshop (including refreshments)

13:00 Close

Peter Ptashko FRSA is a social entrepreneur, funder and supporter of impactful businesses and social change leaders. He is also a change management consultant working with a range of clients across the Public and Private sectors. He holds a series of leadership and Board-level positions across these two sectors, with a particular focus and interest in Education.

He has 15 years of experience working in the field of Impactful Business globally, having launched his first venture back in 2005 whilst at university – raising £25,000 in only 7 hours. Since then he has worked for UnLtd: the UK foundation for social entrepreneurs, supporting thousands of social entrepreneurs to start and grow their businesses across (in particular) the Youth and Education sectors, securing an investment of almost £10m for universities across England from the UK Government.

He is the former Director of the Global Social Entrepreneurship Network (GSEN), leading its 60 members (from banks to universities; foundations to incubators) in over 70 countries to better support social entrepreneurs around the world – providing them a voice and capacity to flourish wherever they may be. Before this he was based in their Mexico City office, with a focus on Impact Investment across Latin America.

He launched Cambio in 2019 as a response to the growing need for mainstream, high quality, internationally-informed and tailored support to social entrepreneurs in the UK, and beyond. Since then he has worked with a range of clients, including foundations, international networks and corporates. He has a specialist focus in Higher Education and is a Social Entrepreneur in Residence at a range of top universities – including Coventry, Kingston, Warwick, Imperial and Leeds. He lectures in impactful business at a variety of business schools, including Bedfordshire, Kingston, Ravensbourne, UCL and 91ֱ��.

He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (FRSA) and is passionate about Education, Politics, Economics, Music & Performance. He has so far visited and worked across 60 countries.

Celebrations kicked off on Monday 14 November with MEC’s inaugural MCR Makes market, a market showcasing some of the product-based businesses which have been set up by students and staff whilst at university. From artisan gin to a leading football brand for women and girls, the market gave students the opportunity to see where entrepreneurship can take them.

Tuesday and Thursday saw the GEW audience go online for two panel sessions giving attendees practical advice and skills on how to establish tech start-ups and social enterprises. Streamed live on MEC’s Facebook channel, “failing fast” for tech entrepreneurs, to asking yourself “what difference do you want to make in the world” as a social entrepreneur, were amongst the top pieces of advice.

Wednesday saw the week’s flagship event, Entrepreneurs@91ֱ��, take place with Baroness Karren Brady CBE, Vice Chairman of West Ham United Football Club, a Peer in the House of Lords and featured on BBC’s The Apprentice. Hosted by MEC’s Director, Lynn Sheppard, Karren, recognised as the first woman in football, shared her insights on how to become a successful entrepreneur.

Ellie Buckley, event organiser, said “It’s our mission to foster an entrepreneurial ecosystem across campus. Global Entrepreneurship Week gave us a great platform to showcase the entrepreneurial individuals at 91ֱ��, and encourage those who aren’t aware of these activities to get involved and learn new skills.”

The week finished with two events running in tandem. In partnership with 91ֱ�� Students’ Union, MEC ran its first society-led makers market, Societies Supermarket, where University societies used their entrepreneurial skills to make additional income.

MEC also held its first Mini Summit, a panel session discussing the importance of developing entrepreneurial student talent in second cities and innovation districts. Deputy Director of MEC, Tony Walker was joined by colleagues from a series of leading centres in cities synonymous with entrepreneurship, innovation, and talent development across the EU and US.

For more information on MEC’s activities, please visit: .

The Ofsted report, which follows a monitoring visit, highlights AMBS’ commitment to the programme, the way the School works with businesses, and the way the scheme applies its teachings to real life business issues.

It also mentions the skill of tutors and lecturers, and compliments them for actively encouraging students’ professional development. Colleagues were also praised for their ability to instil students with values which are conducive to “authentic leadership behaviours.”

The initial visit from Ofsted is designed to assess readiness as a provider, in advance of a future full inspection. As part of this initial visit, Ofsted inspect three key areas: leadership and governance, learner progress and impact, and safeguarding. The programme achieved the top result for “significant progress” in two of the three areas, something that is considered extremely rare for a first inspection.

About the programme

A Senior Leader Apprenticeship is a funded qualification in Senior Leadership created to deliver a standard of leadership excellence that is nationally recognised.

The programmes are designed to help experienced middle managers develop and transition into more senior leadership roles. It is highly regulated and the University is subject to inspection from the ESFA (Education Skills funding agency) and Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills)

The University of Manchester began to recruit apprentices, funded by the Education and Skills Funding Agency, in January 2019.

There are currently 419 apprentices on the level 7 senior leader apprenticeship standard, many of which are employed by the NHS.

More information

Venture Further is organised by the .

Firstly the assembled finalists and guests heard from Physics alumnus and founder of global flash-memory giant, SanDisk, Dr. Eli Harari joined the awards event as a guest speaker, live from the USA. He described the aim of the competition, since it started in 2013, to encourage students, researchers and visionaries toward innovation and risk taking. He also highlighted 91ֱ��’s development as the ‘Graphene City’ and how this was reminiscent of the early years and potential of Silicon Valley and concluded with  advice for the competition finalists.

Eli Harari Graphene Enterprise Award Winners

The award winners were announced and presentations made by chair of the judging panel Professor Luke Georghiou, Deputy-President and Deputy Vice-Chancellor, The University of Manchester.

First prize of £50,000 was awarded to Dr. Aled D. Roberts, Research Fellow  (School of Natural Sciences) and his team (Aoife Taylor, Helen Park and Sunny Vowles) at . This venture is developing  a green, bioinspired alternative to ceramic tiles that not only avoids energy-intensive firing, but also consists of captured carbon dioxide in the form of  carbonate minerals.

Professor Luke Georghiou presenting first prize to Aled Roberts and Aoife Taylor.

Taking inspiration from natural materials such as pearl and seashells, then using natural chlorophyll resources to give colour, they have developed a bio-based composite (biocomposite) material that will incorporate graphene to meet strict performance requirements necessary for commercialisation - by improving flexural strength and hydrophobicity.

The Graphene Bio-tiles (GBT) stand out from the competition by having a far lower (and potentially negative) carbon footprint compared to conventional ceramic tiles.

Aled commented: “Our team was immensely humbled and honoured to have won the 2022 Harari Graphene Enterprise Award. We honestly weren’t expecting to win, given the strength of the competition this year, and we were speechless when the announcement was made. Now that its sunk in, we’re really excited for what we’ll be able to achieve with this transformational amount of funding. We plan to use the prize money to expand from my cellar and kitchen into some proper laboratory facilities – my wife isn’t too happy about the 50-tonne hydraulic press that currently occupies the living room, or when I accidentally made a poison gas in the microwave. We’re also looking forward to dedicating our full effort to developing our materials, rather than being limited to evenings and weekends. We’re also excited to obtain some high-quality characterisation of our materials at the (GEIC) in 91ֱ��, as we have largely depended on favours from friends and free testing done at trade-shows to date.”

In second place and claiming the £20,000 prize was Joseph Neilson with G-Sense, using atomically thin monolayers of graphene as the strain sensing element in transparent, precise, stretchable, and wide-area strain sensing applications from aerospace to fitness tracking. This technology opens new opportunities for making air and road travel safer, reducing glass waste, and delivering unprecedented transparent sensing functionality for an increasingly interconnected world. 

Joseph commented: “I am incredibly grateful towards all the organisers, and to Eli and Britt Harari for funding the award, which presents excellent opportunities for innovation breakthroughs using graphene. I am also grateful for the staff at the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre, for all their help and fruitful discussions over the past few months. I was elated, and a little bit shocked, to win the £20,000 prize, which will allow us to upgrade our deposition equipment, scaling up the maximum area of G-Sense films from 25 square centimetres to over 600 square centimetres. With the support of and , we are confident that we can secure additional investment to fund the future of G-Sense and grow the business’”.

This year also saw the inclusion of an additional prize that celebrates the University's position leading the world on sustainable development. The first winners of the £10,000 Eli Harari Sustainability award were Omar Haroun and Gergana Ivanova from . Nanograft aim to develop a neuroprosthetic device that allows amputees to feel the ground as they walk with their prosthetic leg. The device takes pressure input from an insole equipped with sensors and transmits this signal to the severed leg's nerves. By stimulating the nerves once again this technology could potentially help to alleviate phantom limb pain more effectively as well as improve the comfort and quality of life of the patient.

Omar commented: "The team at NanoGraft are wholeheartedly delighted to receive the first ever Sustainability Award for the 2022 Harari Graphene Enterprise Awards at AMBS. As undergraduate Material Science and Engineering students at The University of Manchester, this award exists as a celebration of the academic excellence of our institution. Looking back at all those who have won this prestigious award, and where they are now, this strengthens our resolve to follow in their footsteps and push the boundaries of neuroprosthetics."

Introducing the Eli Harari Graphene Enterprise Award 2022 Finalists

The three winning teams were selected by a panel of professional judges from a shortlist of five finalists all seeking to secure funding to drive their ideas forward. Watch the video to find out more.

The award is co-funded by the North American Foundation for The University of Manchester through the support of Dr. Eli Harari and his wife, Britt. It recognises the role that high-level, flexible, early-stage financial support can play in the successful development of a business targeting the full commercialisation of a product or technology related to research in graphene and 2D materials.

More than 80 entrepreneurs, colleagues from The University of Manchester, investors and wider support partners gathered to learn how entrepreneurial individuals have benefitted from the support provided by MEC over the last 20 years and network amongst exhibiting start-ups.  

Professor Vikas Shah MBE DL, a CEO of the Swiscot Group and Honorary Professor at the Alliance 91ֱ�� Business School, spoke at the event. Chairing a panel of five MEC alumni from the last 20 years, Vikas explored their entrepreneurial journeys and the advice they would give to those starting out.  

MEC’s core mission, to deliver ‘Entrepreneurship for All’ on campus, aligns around three core pillars of Learn, Develop and Launch. Demonstrating some of these, the Showcase featured talks on the (Increasing and Evaluating Student Impact in Knowledge and Learning Exchange) project in partnership with UCL and the (Aspect Research Commercialisation) Accelerator in partnership with The University of Oxford. It also highlighted the programme, focussing on the development of research ideas stemming from the Faculty of Science and Engineering researchers.  

Alliance 91ֱ�� Business School Honorary Professor Dr. Daria Tataj, author of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. A Growth Model for Europe beyond the Crisis also gave her inaugural lecture ‘An Insight into . How to Make Innovation and Entrepreneurship Thrive’.  

Lynn Sheppard, Director of MEC commented: “We continue to develop innovative programmes that give all students across the Campus an opportunity to engage with entrepreneurship. It is vital to equip our graduates with the confidence to ‘make things happen’, to help them to grasp and realise the many opportunities that their futures will bring.”  

Deputy Director of MEC Tony Walker said: “This Showcase has given us the opportunity to demonstrate the entrepreneurial talent which is thriving at The University of Manchester.  

“What’s fantastic is that so many people from many different backgrounds joined together at our inaugural Showcase event. We heard from a great range of entrepreneurs with different business concepts, all of whom are at different stages of their entrepreneurial journey. All our entrepreneurs gave an insight into their companies and how MEC’s wide range of support has helped them progress, including some of the challenges they’ve faced.”  

He added: “The most exciting element for me was the ASK@MCR quick fire pitching session. We’re always looking for new ways to support our businesses and introduce them to potential partners.”  

Streamed live, featured nine MEC start-ups who pitched their ‘ask’ to the panel of investors and business leaders, be that investment or essential connections. The start-ups ranged from a social enterprise fighting food poverty on multiple front’s, to a biotech company developing high quality diagnostics products for early cancer detection. Audience members were given a QR code so that they could get involved in supporting the entrepreneurs.  

MEC has evolved into an organisation with a multi-disciplinary team devoted to the delivery of sustainable, refined and integrated on- and extra-curricular programmes to foster enterprise and encourage entrepreneurial thinking.  

Ellie Buckley, Enterprise Business Development Executive and event organiser commented: “We’ve received phenomenal feedback from everyone who attended the Showcase. It gave our entrepreneurs a prime opportunity to celebrate what they’ve achieved and make some great connections.”

For more information, please visit .

For these two sides making it to the final means that other powerful teams were knocked out along the way. There is no 91ֱ�� City, a club for the lavish resources it receives from the Abu Dhabi governnment. There is no Paris St-Germain, which is funded by the vast .

No sign of Chelsea either, the defending European champions, who enjoyed the financial backing of a billionaire with strong connections to Russian leaders and Russian gas.

So perhaps this year’s Champions League final is indeed a victory for football purists – a chance to support traditional clubs, untainted by the vast wealth and questionable politics of their rivals.

But before a wave of nostalgia washes over anyone, it is worth remembering that Liverpool versus Real Madrid is not a simple matter of old fashioned sporting values lifting up the beautiful game.

For a start, both clubs have traditionally had strong political associations; the Reds with and Los Blancos with .

And the two sides have openly embraced free market ideology, making them among the wealthiest clubs in the world. In the 2022 ranking of , Real Madrid (which has topped the list 12 times in the last 25 years) ranks second, with earnings of €640.1 million (£544.2 million), while Liverpool are seventh with €550.4 million (£467.9 million).

Both teams, then, earn and spend vast amounts of money. For instance, Liverpool has one of football’s most kit deals (with Nike), while Real Madrid still has an appetite for spending vast sums on .

And it would be naive to think that the clubs are uninterested in becoming even wealthier. Indeed, just over a year ago, Liverpool and Real Madrid were among the eight football clubs which to form a European Super League.

This was clearly designed to accelerate the flow of revenues into already rich clubs, at the expense of other sides across Europe.

Liverpool’s owners eventually stepped back from the proposal, at least for the time being. Real Madrid president Florentino Perez however, intent on getting his way and launching a breakaway league.

So while it is true that neither of this year’s Champions League finalists are fuelled by oil and gas revenues, they remain prime examples of free market football, and the cash it brings in.

Moneyball

The graphics below allow us to take an overall view of the investments and sponsorship surrounding both clubs, all of which are in the public domain. Each circle represents an economic “actor” (a club, a business or an individual), while each connecting line represents a significant economic transaction.

A closer look at Liverpool’s most lucrative commercial deals reveals that the club’s owner, , which also boasts the Boston Red Sox in its portfolio, has assembled a sizeable network of entertainment businesses and properties in the US.

This includes , a “high-profile dealmaker” in the professional sports world, and RedBall Acquisition Corp, spearheaded by Billy Beane (of fame) and Gerry Cardinale, the co-founder of the Yankees Entertainment & Sports Network.

Another business of note is SpringHill Company, an entertainment development and production firm headed by basketball star LeBron James, which has tennis player on the board of directors. James is also a of Liverpool FC.

Liverpool FC’s financial links. Paul Widdop/Simon Chadwick, Author provided

Though not overtly political, Liverpool’s private ownership and US focused operations embody a free market ideology that has become increasingly prominent across European football over the last two decades.

Real fortunes

At first glance, Real Madrid would appear to be a very different beast. The club is owned by its members – known as “socios” – who get to vote club officials into and out of office.

But the graphic of its commercial deals and relationship shows how closely linked to foreign wealth it has become. There are connections with , an entertainment “mega-project” under construction in Saudi Arabia, and with a Chinese bank which issues a Real Madrid branded credit card.

There are also commercial relationships with Abu Dhabi Bank and Emirates Airline in the UAE, Sela Sports, an event management company based in Saudi Arabia, and technology firms in South Korea and China.

Real Madrid’s business connections. Paul Widdop/Simon Chadwick, Author provided

Overall, there’s a lot of money invested in the two sides playing for the trophy. And the political side of the game is arguably more obvious than ever.

This year’s Champions League tournament started out with Russian energy giant Gazprom as a principal sponsor, with the final due to be held in Vladimir Putin’s hometown of Saint Petersburg.

After the invasion of Ukraine, the final was , and the deal with Gazprom terminated. So despite being sanitised of Russia’s influence and of fortunes made through oil and gas, the match still represents two of the key players in the modern game: politics and business.

, Global Professor of Sport | Director of Eurasian Sport, and , Researcher of Sport Business,

This article is republished from under a Creative Commons licence. Read the .

Lynn Sheppard, Director of the commented: “The annual Venture Further competition is an opportunity for our students and early stage graduates to pitch their start-up ideas and win a significant cash injection to help realise their business goals.” 

25 teams reached the final round, across five categories – Environmental, Healthcare, Services, Social and Technology – five teams competed for the top cash prize of £10,000. Second place winners were awarded £3,000 and third place £2,000.

This year’s winners are:

Environmental Category

Urban Panel: Steve Philip, MEng. Civil and Structural Engineering, School of Engineering

A building material manufacturer and building contractor who are seeking to streamline the construction industry.

Healthcare Category

Organoid Solutions Ltd.: Chrisoula Chappell, Ph.D. Materials, School of Natural Sciences and Dominic Williams, Ph.D. Materials, School of Natural Sciences

A biotech start-up rebuilding fat tissue by utilising an artificial blood capillary network, for women that have undergone complete mastectomies due to invasive breast cancer.

Services Category

91ֱ�� Students’ Group: Farris Ramzy, LLM Healthcare Ethics and Law, School of Social Sciences (Alumni Class of 2019)

An online platform enabling instant communication and sharing with the student community, providing a tool for them to find themselves by finding the right things to do and the right people to do them with.

Social Category

Alternative Football: Bethany Barnes, Ph.D. Cellular Biology, School of Biological Sciences

Providing the first inclusive, adult women’s and non-binary football league in the North of England, creating an atmosphere that each individual is comfortable with, regardless of skill, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion or financial background.

Technology Category

Praeferre Ltd.: Abhishek Ghosh, MBA, Alliance 91ֱ�� Business School (Alumni Class of 2019)

Praeferre is strengthening privacy management with blockchain. The Praeferre SaaS platform provides individuals with a single point of control for data privacy and customer rewards across all their digital touch points.

Organiser of the Venture Further Competition and Enterprise Business Development Executive at the , Ellie Buckley, said: “It’s been wonderful to celebrate our finalists in person. The standard and quality of business proposals submitted were impeccable.  

As we saw in the celebration video, Venture Further is a springboard for success, giving student and graduate founders that vital support required to start their business. We look forward to supporting all the winners in furthering their start-ups and making them a success.  

This is just the beginning for our finalists. There are exciting things to come, so watch this space.”

Venture Further Awards 2022

Venture Further 2022 was supported by:

IBM and Slalom.

To further support students in their entrepreneurial journey we are proud to announce three 50% scholarships to students for the fully online, part-time Postgraduate Certificate in Entrepreneurship.

This course provides another way to bring your business ideas to life, with support from the University of Manchester's team of leading entrepreneurial minds.

Introducing our three scholarships

Diversity Scholarship

Africa and Latin America are two of the most enterprising regions in the world with small/medium businesses making a large contribution to the regions’ economies.

We would like to support a candidate to gain the knowledge and tools to:

• investigate or develop a business idea, or
• to cultivate a more entrepreneurial mindset to bring innovative ideas while working in a more established corporation.

This scholarship is also open to people displaced from conflict zones trying to establish themselves in new locations, who have an interest in learning about entrepreneurship.

Women Making a Difference

Are you a woman with a commitment to make a difference in the world?

For example, are you a woman:

• involved in social responsibility initiatives in your organisation or community?
• making a difference working in a not-for-profit organisation?
• making a difference through creativity and entrepreneurial initiatives?
• involved in sustainability and conservation initiatives?
• inspired to make an impact in the world?

Start-up/Innovation Scholarship

Do you a have an idea for a start-up but need some structure, knowledge and tools to focus your entrepreneurial spirit and bring your idea to life? Tell us about it and gain a chance to win a scholarship and learn how to move forward with your idea.

How to apply

To apply for one of our scholarships you'll need to for PG Cert Entrepreneurship through our application portal. Following your application for the course, please submit a 4-5 page presentation (PowerPoint or PDF) telling us about your background, achievements and how the PG Cert in Entrepreneurship will help you with your aspirations by Tuesday 31 May 2022. Scholarship winners will be announced in June 2022.

Find out more at our next live event

If you'd like to find our more about our new scholarships, join Lynn Sheppard, Director of the Masood Entrepreneurship Centre, at thewebinar on 10 May 2022 at 12:30 BST.

Discover how to apply for the scholarship and develop your business idea.

Alternatively, send your CV for review and arrange a personal consultation with Hazel (Course Advisor, studyonline@manchester.ac.uk) to find out more.

Evolutions of Capitalism: Historical Perspectives, 1200–2000

Back in 1943, eight year old Joe won a 60 yard race (thanks to the family spiked running shoes) and he won a Webster’s Dictionary. Little did eight year old Joe know, years later he would be scouring the pages until he found the perfect name for his sneaker company. Mercury Sports Footwear was founded in 1958 before changing its name to Reebok (rhebok; a small South African antelope) eighteen months later.

Reebok became a quick global phenomenon, reaching as far as outer space in Aliens in the form of alien stompers worn by Sigourney Weaver. Joe tells all in his new book Shoemaker: The Untold Story of the British Family Firm that Became a Global Brand. He joined Lynn Sheppard, Director of the Masood Entrepreneurship Centre, to discuss the Reebok journey and offer his best advice for young entrepreneurs.

Joe’s words of wisdom for entrepreneurs is an important factor that many of us forget – have fun!

Entrepreneurs should learn, absorb and take risks but also have fun while you’re doing it.

Entrepreneurs@91ֱ�� Series: Joseph Foster, Founder of Reebok

Joseph Foster was speaking as part of the Entrepreneurs@91ֱ�� speaker series organised by the Masood Entrepreneurship Centre. Entrepreneurs@91ֱ�� invites the UK's leading entrepreneurs to The University of Manchester to share their insights and talk candidly about their highs, lows, and lessons learnt. These are real stories from those who have done it - from initial concept through to enterprise.

If you’re a student or recent graduate of The University of Manchester and have an idea for a business then please do get in touch with us at entrepreneurship@manchester.ac.uk.

Andrew Jervis: I received a Master of Enterprise (MEnt.) from the ,  Alliance 91ֱ�� Business School. Having studied a more generic business degree for my bachelors and having worked for a couple of years post my bachelors, I knew I wanted to dedicate my life to entrepreneurship and the MEnt. was completely unique and exactly what I was looking for.

MEC: Tell us more about your time at The University of Manchester and your motivations behind starting your business

AJ: 91ֱ��ing at 91ֱ�� was incredible on a number of levels. Firstly the  Alliance 91ֱ�� Business School and the Masood Entrepreneurship Centre were first class in terms of quality of courses, teaching and facilities. Every lecture was genuinely very exciting for me. Furthermore, coming to 91ֱ�� was my first taste of living in a major city which was very exciting in terms of the opportunities that opened up for me during my time. In terms of the motivation to start , I first had the idea while at the University and entered and won the Venture Out (now known as ) competition. From there I then went onto write my Masters thesis on the problems that existed within the car repair industry and models to alleviate them and the rest as they say is history!

MEC: Wow, you managed to get involved with all sorts of activities during your studies! How did you juggle a demanding degree with starting up and running your business?

AJ: It was a massive challenge and in hindsight I definitely took on too much but it taught me a valuable lesson about the importance of focusing and having a bigger impact in fewer areas. Having said that  essentially I just worked really damn hard. Long hours, late nights and working weekends! But often it did not feel like work so I really enjoyed it and was lucky enough to leave with a distinction and the embryo of two businesses with ClickMechanic and PieBoy Clothing!

MEC: Did you face any barriers to starting up? If so how did you overcome those?

AJ: As an entrepreneur and founder of a start-up the odds are immediately stacked against you as most start-up companies fail. Companies can fail for a huge variety of reasons from cash flow issues, not solving a big enough problem, lacking the right expertise and so many more. In the same way as I tackled balancing my degree with starting a business I tackled the barriers of starting up by just working extra hard. Working evenings, weekends and not giving up. A fear of failure can be a positive thing and channelling that energy into surviving and then thriving was really important.

MEC: Has developing entrepreneurial skills helped you in your career/degree?

AJ: 110%... Essentially I am entrepreneur in terms of starting and growing businesses so to be able to develop and harness entrepreneurial skills is vitally important to make a success of building such companies.

MEC: You’ve recently been awarded Start-up Business of the Year, Congrats! What are your aspirations for ClickMechanic?

Thank you! We have a clear vision for ClickMechanic which is about making car care easy for everyone everywhere. In terms of what this means in practice we’re dedicated to the customers on our marketplace to make everything about maintaining their car easy and when it comes to the mechanics who are on our marketplace we want to make it as easy as possible for them to build and manage their own businesses.

MEC: What do you enjoy most about being an Entrepreneur?

AJ: Making a positive impact in the world. Being an entrepreneur is about solving problems and delivering value and if you can do that people will join you, back you and support you to do amazing things. We’re lucky to have such a great team, great customers and great partners who have joined us on a journey to make car care easy!

MEC: What does “Entrepreneurship” mean to you?

AJ: For me great entrepreneurship is about bringing positive change and impact to people and the world we live in!

MEC: Any hotspots or tips for potential students looking to study in 91ֱ��?

AJ: Embrace the city! I lived for two years in 91ֱ�� and absolutely loved it. It's diverse, creative, friendly and affordable. I got so much out of my two years there but I probably only got as much as I did by throwing myself into as much as I could. So my one tip to potential students looking to study at 91ֱ�� is to take advantage of as many of the opportunities presented to you as possible!

MEC: Finally, What Advice would you give to a student or recent graduate looking to start up alongside their degree?

AJ: Tough question! Start by reading “The Lean Startup” this will give you an incredible framework for building your business. Next, be prepared to work exceptionally hard if you want to make it a success and finally try to enjoy it! You won't enjoy every day and some you will find incredibly hard but it’s an incredible journey with so much to learn along the way so enjoy those days where things feel like they are falling into place.

Entrepreneurs@91ֱ�� with Andrew Jervis, Founder and CEO of ClickMechanic

Andrew Jervis was speaking as part of the Entrepreneurs@91ֱ�� speaker series organised by the Masood Entrepreneurship Centre. Entrepreneurs@91ֱ�� invites the UK's leading entrepreneurs to The University of Manchester to share their insights and talk candidly about their highs, lows, and lessons learnt. These are real stories from those who have done it - from initial concept through to enterprise.

Keep up to date with ClickMechanic across social media IG: @Click_Mechanic Twitter & Facebook: @Click Mechanic And tune into our next E@M talk by checking out our page.

The idea for MishiPay originated when Mustafa Khanwala, CEO and Founder, waited in a queue at a supermarket for 20 minutes in the summer of 2015 to buy a single can of soda. Frustrated, he thought there must be a better way to do this, for both stores and their customers. And thus, the journey began...

MishiPay is the new way to shop in-store. With MishiPay you can use you own mobile phone to scan the barcodes on products, view enriched item and promotion information in real time, and then pay with the tap of a button using a variety of convenient digital payment methods - all from the comfort of your own device.

MishiPay has recently expanded their deployment with travel retailer Paradies Lagardère to 20 more airports in the US.

Mustafa shared the importance of finding the right co-founder, especially at the early business stages. He cites fellow The University of Manchester alumni, Co-Founder Tanvi Bhardwaj as an important asset to MishiPay with her skills in Computer Systems Engineering.

Mustafa’s best advice for students looking to start a business is – Just do it! Don’t fear getting started at a young age as you’re able to fail more with less repercussions – giving young entrepreneurs more chance to learn and develop.

Mustafa reiterated that nothing anyone can do or say will matter as much as going out there and trying, failing and learning yourself. Even if the first, second, third ideas are the wrong ideas for you – his best advice is just do it and don’t be afraid to ask for help!

Entrepreneurs@91ֱ�� with Mustafa Khanwala, Founder and CEO of MishiPay

Mustafa Khanwala was speaking as part of the Entrepreneurs@91ֱ�� speaker series organised by the Masood Entrepreneurship Centre. Entrepreneurs@91ֱ�� invites the UK's leading entrepreneurs to The University of Manchester to share their insights and talk candidly about their highs, lows, and lessons learnt. These are real stories from those who have done it - from initial concept through to enterprise.

If you want to follow in Mustafa’s footsteps, why not sign up to and help kick start your business idea. For more information on support MEC can offer, please email entrepreneurship@manchester.ac.uk

Managed by the (MEC), based within Alliance 91ֱ�� Business School, the VFA’s nurture and highlight the wide range of entrepreneurial students and graduates across The University of Manchester. Giving innovative hopefuls the chance to turn their ideas into reality, the VFA’s provide entrants with the chance to win significant early stage funding to start their own business.

To enable students and graduates from all backgrounds to enter the competition, there are five categories: Environment, Healthcare, Services, Social and Technology. No matter what faculty a student or graduate is from, they should find a suitable category for their idea.

With a whopping prize fund of £75,000, the VFA’s will fund fifteen new business propositions. It's not all about the cash though; this competition opens the door to a world of support programmes, workshops, mentors, and networks.

Acting as a stepping-stone for students to launch their dream business, the VFA’s allow students to get moving quickly. Rijul Shukla, winner of the Business category in 2020 and founder of , launched his business a mere 3 months after his big win. Since launching, Spice Story has gone from concept to product with its 100% plant based Indian frozen curries now stocking in nine different stores across Greater 91ֱ��. With a mission to help people live more sustainably and reduce the impact of food on the planet, Spice Story has collaborated with Too Good To Go and has also featured in the Guardian Weekend Magazine.

Entries to the competition should be viable and credible business proposals with real potential to succeed. Applications close on Thursday, 24 February 2022 and following the deadline, up to 25 finalists will be invited to pitch their business proposal to a panel of expert judges for a chance to win one of the cash prizes. To ensure entrepreneurs get the most out of the competition, MEC are offering a variety of support sessions between December 2021 and the competition finals in March 2022, to all aspiring entrepreneurs looking to enter the competition.

Last year’s competition was a huge success, with its brand new look and performance from Mike Dignam live at the 91ֱ�� Museum during the VFA21 . This year’s competition promises to be just as exciting.

Ellie Buckley, Venture Further Awards organiser said: “Entrepreneurship is powerful and our students and graduates are a force to be reckoned with. So many fantastic businesses have emerged from this competition over the years and I cannot wait to see what this year has in store for us. We truly believe in entrepreneurship for all and the Venture Further Awards form a brilliant platform to enable this.”

If you’re an aspiring start-up founder who wants help to become an entrepreneurial warrior then get in touch with MEC to apply to the competition. Be your own boss, venture further…

For more info:

Venture Further is organised by the Masood Entrepreneurship Centre and kindly sponsored by Slalom. Further sponsors to be announced shortly.

There are more than 1.2 million Black and mixed-race women of Black heritage in England, many of whom work in organisations in diverse sectors and of varying types and sizes. However, despite their valuable contributions, they encounter several barriers that negatively impact their professional trajectories and hinder their progression to leadership positions.

Much of this can be explained by the fact that they live at the intersection of sexism and racism, a system of perverse discrimination that perpetuates inequalities and prevents career advancement. However, little is known about the barriers that they have to overcome to reach leadership positions.

The researchers examined the experiences of Black Professional Women (BPW) through interviews and an online survey, in addition to analysing the major research trends exploring the topic, in order to identify the unique barriers imposed on them at the workplace as well as to examine how they have defied and overcome those barriers.

Among their main findings, social, organisational and personal barriers were identified as main obstacles that Black professionals face in England, and a four element, racism, was present in all of these levels.

In the organisation or workplace, they found that lack of social capital and lack of transparency in promotion opportunities are the most prevalent barriers. They found that BPW face more than merely a racialised glass ceiling - they come up against a ‘concrete ceiling’ - an almost impenetrable barrier which requires exceptional skill and force to break through.

Participants perceived that organisational culture is set by those who lead and steer it. Without exception, the senior leadership of the organisations for which the interviewees work was shown to be entirely white and, commonly male.

Such lack of diversity at senior levels impacts the decisions taken and the direction, tone and culture of the organisation, all of which affect the lives of employees. The biases and stereotypes of BPW led to many participants feeling voiceless, or the need to ‘neutralise’ their cultural identity.

The researchers propose a number of recommendations to address this, including a proposal that organisations should engage in strategies to create safe space for active listening, sharing & allyship in the workplace, and that they develop a programme or set of materials to better understand, acknowledge and support diverse employee identities.

“We have seen a growing interest in race-related issues recently, but there is a long way to go for this to translate into a real impact on Black lives,” said Fernanda Teixeira of Alliance 91ֱ�� Business School. “For this reason, we focused on listening to the experiences of Black women at work and, based on the barriers to career progression reported by them, we propose some recommendations so that organisations' interest in having a more diversified leadership is transformed into action.”

It is hoped that this research, which was facilitated by Collaboration Labs, based at The University of Manchester with funding from the Economic and Social Research Council, undertaken in partnership with She Leads for Legacy, an organisation which seeks to reduce the barriers faced by Black female professionals aspiring for senior leadership and board level positions - will contribute to a wider conversation about gender and race inequality, and lead to positive change in the workplace.

“The unique challenges that Black women face in the workplace are real, pervasive and result in complex layers of discrimination and inequality – yet, despite a wealth of anecdotal evidence, there is a woeful lack of research into them,” said Sharon Amesu, Co-Founder of She Leads for Legacy. “We are delighted to partner with The University of Manchester and the researchers of Breaking the Glass Consultancy on this report, and to help organisations find better ways to support Black female colleagues.”

Outputs from the project were a comprehensive research report yet to be published, and its findings and recommendations will be taken forward in a as part of the ESRC Festival of Social Sciences.

are a 91ֱ��-headquartered enterprise software firm producing software systems for cloud data warehousing, now one of the most successful enterprise software companies in the UK.

This year Matillion become Britain’s latest 'unicorn', raising $150m in a deal that values the company at $1.5bn.

Matthew began by discussing his own personal entrepreneurial journey and early motivations for starting a business. He founded his first start-up aged only 18. After then working in commercial IT and software development for fifteen years, he founded Matillion. Matthew described his initial ideas for the company and how it subsequently developed.

Discussion of the pivot in Matillion’s product focus highlighted the importance of the ability to adapt and be open to new opportunities. Matthew emphasized that for entrepreneurs, it is not all about the first idea. You don’t need the ’perfect’ idea to start a business. Market analysis though is very important  to develop product-market-fit.

Innovation is vital to business success - the world’s best companies foster innovation. Innovation is also enshrined in the vales of Matillion. One of the company’s six values is that ‘We innovate and demand quality’ - the company recognise that ‘no person, no process and no product is ever finished’.

Entrepreneurs need to keep learning at an accelerated rate: the most important part of innovation is our own personal innovation.

For entrepreneurs and team leaders to innovate, they also have to focus on culture, team and people - the right team and right culture to allow ideas to flourish, providing a culture where staff feel both safe and inclined to innovate.

Matthew then answered audience questions and provided advice on developing B2B tech start-up businesses, approaches to networking and mentoring, and perspectives on managing risk and resilience.

Matthew’s key tips for students thinking about starting a business were:

• It’s all about people - the most important thing is the team. The core of an entrepreneur's or CEO's role is to build a world-class team, aligned to a mission, to give them an environment in which to succeed.
• Outcomes are always correlated to effort - innovation is a mechanism.
• Culture is key: personal and in your company/team - identify your values and those you want your company to follow.
• Never compromise on your own integrity.
• Have confidence in your ambition to take your ideas forward.

Entrepreneurs@91ֱ�� with Matthew Scullion, Matillion

Matthew Scullion was speaking as part of the Entrepreneurs@91ֱ�� speaker series organised by the Masood Entrepreneurship Centre. Entrepreneurs@91ֱ�� invites the UK's leading entrepreneurs to The University of Manchester to share their insights and talk candidly about their highs, lows, and lessons learnt. These are real stories from those who have done it - from initial concept through to enterprise.

If you’re a student or recent graduate of The University of Manchester and have an idea for a business then please do get in touch with us at entrepreneurship@manchester.ac.uk.

This start-up competition gives entrepreneurial students and graduates across the University the chance to turn their ideas into reality and win significant early stage funding to start their own business. A huge £75,000 prize fund is available across five categories, which will allow winning teams to get their businesses off to a flying start.

It’s not just about the cash though. We are going bigger and bolder than ever before with some exciting new partners and support sessions, fresh for 2022. By registering an interest early, students and graduates can connect with the at the start of their journey, discuss potential ideas, and most importantly secure development support, advice and guidance to submit the best application possible.

Simply register via and outline the business idea. Upon completion of this survey, individuals will be added to the Venture Further mailing list ensuring all interested applicants are made aware of any key information, guidance, resources and workshops that are relevant to the development of their entries and business proposals.

The competition will open formally for applications on Monday 15 November 2021 at 09:00, with the deadline for entries closing at midday on Thursday 24 February 2022.

Register your interest today! Be your own boss, venture further…

Venture Further is organised by the .

Programme Director Dr. Lynn Sheppard and Course Advisor Hazel Craven presented an overview of the course, discussed what students will lean and how the course would benefit their career.

The new online Postgraduate Certificate in Entrepreneurship allows you to study part-time alongside your working life and learn how to take your business ideas into practice.

Whether you already have your business idea and are looking for support in getting it up and running, you are an existing entrepreneur or you are looking to pitch your ideas within your current company, this course will develop your skills with support from industry leading academics.

Find out More

The full PGCert Entrepreneurship online course details and admissions information are also now available from the University website. 

Haldane, who will operate as a Permanent Secretary as part of the civil service, will report to both the Prime Minister and Michael Gove, who last week was appointed to run the new Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities following a Cabinet reshuffle.

Haldane will be on secondment from his job as Chief Executive of the Royal Society of Arts for six months, and will now play a key role in defining and delivering the flagship policy.

In an  with Alliance MBS earlier this summer, Haldane discussed how productivity, skills and devolution were key to the levelling-up agenda, and said you could not tackle levelling-up in isolation from all three.

However he said bringing the three elements together was much easier to do locally than nationally. "What you need to be doing is joining up policies around education, health, transport and business support at the local level."

He added that success in levelling-up also came down to "delegating powers, people and finances" and that further devolution was essential. "You need to craft local plans that speak to local problems and devolution is an essential pre-requisite for making progress on levelling-up."

Five outstanding teams were shortlisted and pitched their graphene-related business proposals to a panel of professional judges in a bid to secure funding to drive their novel ideas forward. First prize of £50,000 was awarded to Dr. Vivek Koncherry, Research Associate (Department of Materials) and his team for Space Habitat Architecture - Graphene. This venture aims to utilise the unique properties of graphene and research expertise in advanced robotics at The University of Manchester to develop an architectural scale-model of a proposed design for permanent human settlements on the Moon and Mars. Materials like graphene and composites will play a key role in space technology due to their damage tolerance, lightweight, strength, radiation shielding, thermal and electrical conductivity.

(SOM) USA, the global architectural firm behind the world's tallest building, Burj Khalifa in Dubai and with experience in designing space habitation architecture, are supporting the team with design and engineering concepts.

Vivek commented: “I am thrilled to win the prestigious Eli and Britt Harari competition and excited about manufacturing the scaled model of Space Habitat using Graphene composites as well as advanced robotics. I would like to thank The University of Manchester and its visionary leaders like Dame Nancy Rothwell, Prof. Luke Georghiou, James Baker, Lynn Sheppard, and many others who provided the platform for my dream business opportunity. I look forward to working with Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM) and am open to new collaborations.”

In second place and claiming the £20,000 prize were Niting Zeng and the team from CATALight 2D Technologies, using 2D materials to reduce energy consumption during wastewater treatment. By using natural sunlight to degrade pollutants in wastewater, the so-called “photocatalysis” mechanism, minimum or no extra energy input is needed by their device. Integrating novel 2D materials, this product reduces costs in many aspects of the treatment process including electricity usage, machinery investment, maintenance, and construction activities, hence reducing the overall energy consumption and operating costs in the water sector.

Niting commented: “We are absolutely delighted to receive second place for the Eli Harari Graphene Enterprise Award! We are deeply grateful to everyone involved in the competition and are very excited to take our idea forward. We have spent the last year developing a deep understanding of what is needed for our business to expand. With this award, we can take an important step forward with prototyping and developing our product; we can now get in the lab and follow our action plan at full speed.”

Physics alumnus and founder of global flash-memory giant, SanDisk, Dr. Eli Harari joined the event as a guest speaker, live from the USA. He described the aim of the competition, since it started in 2013, to encourage students, researchers and visionaries toward innovation and risk taking. He also highlighted 91ֱ��’s development as the ‘Graphene City’ and how this was reminiscent of the early years and potential of Silicon Valley.

The award is co-funded by the North American Foundation for The University of Manchester through the support of Dr. Eli Harari and his wife, Britt. It recognises the role that high-level, flexible, early-stage financial support can play in the successful development of a business targeting the full commercialisation of a product or technology related to research in graphene and 2D materials.

The Eli Harari Graphene Enterprise Award 2021

The first prize of £50,000, awarded on Friday 9 July, will go towards developing the concept further within the Graphene@91ֱ�� innovation ecosystem, alongside access to specialist equipment and expertise at the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (GEIC).

Dr Koncherry, a post-doctoral researcher in the Department of Materials at The University of Manchester, has already shown his entrepreneurial abilities around 2D materials, with his SpaceMat product using waste rubber to deliver high-performing recycled flooring to market.

This next innovation proposes to raise the technology readiness level of new composites for space applications, using the model of future habitats on the Moon and Mars.

Vivek’s team was supported with design and engineering concepts by US architects , the firm behind the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

The second prize of £20,000 was awarded to Niting Zeng, a post-doc and teaching assistant in the Directorate for Student Experience at 91ֱ��, for CATALight: a wastewater treatment system that uses a combination of sunlight and 2D materials to degrade pollutants via so-called ‘photocatalysis’.

The product will reduce costs in numerous ways, including electricity usage, machinery investment, maintenance and construction activities, crucially fitting into existing systems of water treatment.

The judging panel – drawn from senior leadership at the University, including the Masood Entrepreneurship Centre (MEC) and the GEIC – were full of praise for all five finalists in the competition and stressed the potential for further development of Deaking Bio-hybrid Materials, Clean Energy Underground and Nanocomb Technologies, more details of which are available via the links below.

• Details of the Eli and Britt Harari shortlist

Vivek Koncherry said: “I want to thank all the organisers of the awards for all the help and support they’ve given me throughout. I did my undergrad, Master’s, PhD and now post-doc all at 91ֱ��, so I feel like part of the family and there’s an ecosystem here to support innovation and entrepreneurship.

“Manufacturing a scale-model of a space habitat is an ambitious task and this award will bring my dream of doing that one step closer.

“To do something big, you need partners and we’re also open to collaboration to do something as challenging as building a permanent settlement in space.”

Lynn Sheppard, Director of MEC and chair of the judging panel, said: “Both of the winning ideas in this year’s awards truly exemplify this competition and I’m sure we’ll be seeing much more of you in the future.”

Advanced materials is one of The University of Manchester’s research beacons - examples of pioneering discoveries, interdisciplinary collaboration and cross-sector partnerships that are tackling some of the biggest questions facing the planet. #ResearchBeacons

A collaborative research team led by Prof Mikel Luján, Director of the Arm Centre of Excellence at The University of Manchester, are to work with THG, one of world’s leading e-commerce businesses on a major research project to help prevent cyber security attacks. THG has world-class technical and research teams who will be applying their findings to the cutting edge of UK and global digital security through the project.

The £5.8m project, known as Soteria, runs for three years and three months starting in January 2021. Soteria is being funded by Innovate UK’s Digital Security by Design (DSbD) initiative which aims to prevent hackers from remotely taking control of digital systems such as autonomous cars, personal computers or smart home security systems, as well as protect businesses from cyberattacks and data breaches.

The Soteria project is also partnering with Oxford University and is one of two new announced by Innovate UK. Soteria will specifically work with Arm’s technology platform prototype Morello to understand how to improve security and enable the development of new cyber security services and products.

The team at University of Manchester will contribute technical expertise on managed runtimes, such as Java Virtual Machines (JVM), software verification, smart network technologies, and business optimisation. An example of new technology that will be investigated at The University is a JVM capable of harnessing the new security features of the Morello platform central to the DSbD iniative and developed by Arm Ltd.

Managed runtimes are complex software needed to execute the most popular programming languages, such as; Javascript, Java, Python, Ruby, C#. Thus, Soteria has the potential to improve the security of a large share of the software that as society we have come to rely upon.

Research findings from projects such as these are much needed given that almost half of UK businesses reported cyberattacks or breaches last year. The global e-commerce market is also expanding rapidly, a trend which has only been further accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Online retail in the UK accounted for about 20% of total retail spending in 2019 and is forecast to be well over 50% by 2030.

Dr Richard Allmendinger, Business Engagement Lead at Alliance 91ֱ�� Business School (AMBS) and Senior Lecturer in Data Science, said: “It is fantastic to have been awarded this timely grant, and collaborate with THG, a global 91ֱ��-based e-commerce giant, our colleagues from Computer Science, and Oxford University on the emerging technical and productivity-related challenges around cybersecurity.

"Alliance MBS is thrilled to be making use of its research expertise in decision science and innovation to lead the work strand around understanding and quantifying the impact of cyberattacks on productivity, and then using these insights to enable optimised business decisions. The Soteria project also provides a great opportunity to complement the work of the recently launched  at AMBS.”

Professor Mikel Luján, Arm/RAEng Research Chair and Royal Society Wolfson Fellow, said: “The University of Manchester has a world-leading track record collaborating with Arm Ltd., and as such is recognised as an Arm Centre of Excellence. Soteria is a very exciting opportunity to contribute to the Morello platform developed by Arm Ltd. with our expertise in runtime systems (such as JVMs), software verification and computer engineering. This collaboration with THG and Oxford University provides a unique opportunity to transform the security foundations of the digital infrastructure of e-commerce as well as improve the security of UK companies.”

Soteria will complement existing projects led by The University of Manchester such as, and which are aimed at researching and improving digital security, privacy, identity and trust.

Digital Security by Design Challenge Director John Goodacre said: “The project led by THG will provide a crucial demonstration of the security benefits DSbD technology can bring to the ecommerce industry.”

Last year, a  was launched at COP25, the UN climate change conference in Madrid. The report identified points of leverage for coordinated international action to accelerate low carbon transitions in ten of the highest emitting sectors.

He also recently contributed to another landmark report on the state of Europe’s environment, which featured a whole chapter drawing on his work around how societies can transition towards more sustainable futures.

You can access the , with more .

The University of Manchester has received a £2.5million donation to boost the region’s capacity and capability in Financial Technology (FinTech).

The donation was made by Greensill, a leading British FinTech company founded by Lex Greensill, who is also an MBA alumnus (Class of 2006).

Greensill offers working capital finance to millions of customers all over the world, combining advanced technology and capital markets expertise to allow businesses of any size access to cash at rates previously preserved for the largest multinational corporations.

The donation will enable the University to drive the FinTech agenda in the North West with a new Chair in FinTech, as well as other key academic posts and PhD scholarships over the next five years.

The Greensill Chair in FinTech investment sees the appointment of Markos Zachariadis as Professor of Financial Technology and Information Systems at AMBS. Part of Professor Zachariadis’ role will involve managing projects which will build the University’s public profile in FinTech, as well as creating partnerships with leading businesses to work on projects.

The funding will also enable the collaboration of academics from across the University to promote multidisciplinary research and support student entrepreneurship in FinTech and related fields.

According to the latest UK FinTech State of the Nation report, $3.3 billion was invested in UK FinTech in 2018 and the number of FinTech firms is set to double to more than 32,000 by 2030.

Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell, President and Vice Chancellor at The University of Manchester, said: "This generous donation from Greensill is very forward looking and will enable the University to spearhead the understanding and sharing of FinTech expertise across business communities locally, nationally and globally.

"As well as funding the Greensill Chair position, we will also develop our teaching capabilities by creating two lecturer posts, allowing us to plan for growth in undergraduate, postgraduate and executive education in this developing field. Two postdoctoral research fellows and four PhD scholarships will also enable us to carry out ground-breaking research and help us to create strong links with businesses, policy makers and authorities, positioning 91ֱ�� at the forefront of this evolving field."

Professor Fiona Devine, Head of AMBS, said: “It is an honour to receive support from Lex Greensill as an MBA alumnus of Alliance 91ֱ�� Business School, the donation marks a significant milestone in the development of FinTech in the North West. I am delighted we have appointed Professor Markos Zachariadis as Greensill Chair in FinTech and to be able to realise our ambitions for the University’s FinTech strategy.”

Lex Greensill added: “At Greensill we are passionate about how finance and technology can change for the better the way we live and work. To that end, we look forward to developing an ever-closer relationship with Alliance 91ֱ�� Business School. We are delighted to be able to give back to an institution that was so important to the foundation of our firm.”

The partnership will be celebrated at an event on FinTech in the North West at AMBS in Spring 2020