The Bath MBA ’s 30 Years of Entrepreneurial Success
The Claverton Entrepreneurship Programme, an integral part of the Full-time Bath MBA programme, celebrates its thirtieth birthday this year. Each year MBA students from different industry backgrounds and different nationalities spend nine months working on the business plans for their entrepreneurial ideas. The programme culminates in a business plan competition, sponsored by ICON Corporate Finance, and this year the winners are the team behind Kiwi Security.com.
Over the 30 years of the programme some interesting ideas have been proposed ranging from the incredible to the potentially lucrative. The Kiwi group’s idea is certainly in the latter category. The team: Nick Smith, Yvonne Nyabango, Xin Lu, Ledong Yang, and Stephen Mayers were commended by the panel of judges: Nicky Cotter, James Thomas, Andy Cornish MBA CEng, David Cornwell MBA, Dr John Gore, and Adrian Goodall for an uncomplicated idea which was ‘something we could all buy into’, the idea being based on a simple, domestic key security system. With clear routes to market and to profitability, and with substantial inroads having already being made with potential channel partners, the idea was judged to be the winner despite stiff competition from what James Thomas, ICON’s Investment Director and one of the judges of the competition, described as ‘exceptionally high quality presentations’.
Bath MBA students have further demonstrated their entrepreneurial skills by their success in the 2004 University of Bath Business Plan Competition. This £10,000 prize fund is sponsored by the £9 million Sulis Seedcorn Fund.
This year’s winners taking the second prize of £3,000 were Bath MBA students: Milton Barella, James Dodds, Surinder Phanda, Dex Turrall, Yueqin Zhao for their plan entitled "CLASP's, Collapsible skis" a proposal to design and produce skis that can be divided into two convenient sections: quick and easy to assemble, easy to transport, carry and store. Third prize went to another Bath MBA student, Shashank Garg and a colleague from the University’s Electronics Department for their proposal to create an "electronic wireless domestic water meter" with LCD display, wireless communication for billing, artificial intelligence for leak detection and water pressure readings. The pair’s idea was sparked over a conversation in the communal kitchen at their university accommodation, now they are discussing the next phase of development of the idea.
Shashank noted: “The resources from the competition and the lessons learnt from participating in both the University Business Plan competition and the Claverton Entrepreneurship Programme will certainly help as we take this idea forward.”
Claverton Co-ordinator, Dr Stephan Hennenberg commented; “We are always delighted to see our students taking their entrepreneurial ideas beyond the business plan stage, last year three teams pursued their ideas after the MBA course and this year we are encouraged to see more who are planning to take this exciting step. We remain supportive of their work and offer specialist facilities through the University to help them via incubators, advice and connections with venture capitalists and entrepreneurs. “
He continued: "It is not however, just the entrepreneurs who benefit from the lessons learned during the Claverton Entrepreneurship Programme, entrepreneurship is linked to all issue of management, especially regarding lateral integration of different business solutions. We look forward to seeing the success of all our students as they utilize their skills in a variety of different areas, and we look forward to welcoming them back to Bath to share their experiences with future MBA students."
From left to right: Yvonne Nyabango, Xin Lu, James Thomas (judge from ICON Corporate Finance), Ledong Yang, Stephan Henneberg (Claverton Programme Coordinator), Stephen Mayers and Nick Smith.
22 June 2004
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Liz Alvey, Marketing Officer
School of Management
University of Bath
Claverton Down
Bath BA2 7AY
UK
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Email: pr@management.bath.ac.uk
General Notes For Editors:
The University of Bath School of Management has consistently achieved both top research and teaching ratings in the UK's Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) assessments. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), the School was rated 5th in the UK for management research.
We are one of a select number of international business schools accredited by EQUIS, the European Foundation for Management Development's quality inspectorate and the Bath MBA has been accredited by the Association of MBAs (AMBA) since 1976. The School is consistently ranked among the top UK business schools by The Times, The Financial Times and The Guardian.
The centrality of research to teaching is an essential feature of all our programmes. The School offers a full range of programmes from undergraduate to postgraduate up to PhD level and post-experience programmes including the world-ranked Bath MBA. The School also provides tailored executive development programmes for middle and senior management.
The School of Management has a faculty of around 90 teaching and research staff, including visiting academics, with a support team of around 70 managerial and administrative staff. Research income averages £2 million per annum. There are approximately 2,100 students in total comprising some 200 MBA students, 370 Master’s students, 210 full- and part-time research students, and over 1100 undergraduates following BSc degrees. The School also runs joint undergraduate programmes with Departments in the Faculties of Engineering and Design, Science, and European Studies and Modern Languages.
