Could you be our next entrepreNEWer?

Converge 2020 is now open for applications and the search is on to find Scotland’s next generation of academic entrepreneurs!

Open to staff, students and recent graduates across Scotland’s Universities and Research Institutes, Converge turns business ideas into business reality through intensive training, tailored support and game-changing cash prizes.

Whether you are an academic looking to commercialise your research or a student looking to develop a new start-up, Converge gives you the tools, support, contacts and resources you need to get you there faster.

Open until 6 April, applicants can choose between three challenge categories:

Converge Challenge – for business ideas with strong commercial potential and a solid intellectual property foundation

Impact Challenge – for new businesses with a social or environmental mission at their core

Creative Challenge – for innovative new businesses in Scotland’s Creative Industries sector

Claudia Cavalluzzo, Director of Converge comments:

“Scotland’s universities are a hot-bed of innovation but taking a bright idea from academia and turning into a high-growth business is no easy task.

By offering intensive training, a dynamic and supportive network and one-to-one guidance, Converge enables staff, students and graduates to explore the commercial potential of their research, creativity and ideas.  With our support, many go on to form businesses that not only create jobs and economic wealth but are helping to impact positively on our society and the environment.

It’s now a nail-biting wait to see what projects come through this year.  If you think yours could be one of them, then don’t miss this opportunity to apply.  It could be the best decision you’ve ever made.”