Manchester teams pitched their ideas amongst entrepreneurs from other universities for a place on a new online accelerator programme designed for students and graduates across the UK with socially responsible enterprises. The four-month social sciences accelerator aims to support and scale socially responsible ventures.
Twenty enterprises in total have been selected to participate in the Aspect Accelerator - three being from the University of Manchester - all of whom are solving pressing socio-economic and environmental issues. This new online accelerator brings together students and grads from across the Aspect community to collaborate and develop their businesses.
Aspect (A Social sciences Platform for Entrepreneurship, Commercialisation and Transformation) is a network for organisations looking to make the most of commercial and business opportunities from social sciences research.
Samuel Mugisha, Computer Science graduate and winner of the Masood Entrepreneurship Centre’s Venture Further 2020 start-up competition, has been offered a place on the accelerator with his social enterprise, Tatu Nurse; a mobile phone application that enables nurses to work smarter by providing them with the right information at the right time, hence improving the efficiency of bed-side monitoring.
Samuel said: “I’m delighted to have been offered this unique opportunity, I’m looking forward to learning more about social leadership and how to measure impact. I also hope to get mentorship from industry-leading experts and founders, and learn from their journeys.”
Enterprise teams will engage in a range of fortnightly online training boot-camps hosted by both academics and practitioners from the Aspect network, complemented by tailored online resources; community outreach assignments; mentoring; workshops; and a tailored speaker-series. They will also receive a small stipend, conditional on full participation.
Jessica Grocutt, Enterprise Officer at the Masood Entrepreneurship Centre commented: “The entry process was tough and highly competitive. The first round involved submitting a detailed application and recorded presentation. Those shortlisted were then invited to pitch their idea to a panel of enterprise professionals, before being interviewed about their motive, leadership style, and future plans.
She added: “We’re extremely proud to have had three of our teams accepted onto this prestigious accelerator, and look forward to working with them to further grow their businesses.”
If you are a student, recent graduate, or member of staff of The University of Manchester and have an idea for a business please get in touch at enterprise@manchester.ac.uk to discuss the support that is available to you.
