News Article

The Blueprint Awards is launching its 2008 competition with a bang this year as the university business planning competition celebrates its 5th birthday.

The competition that was initially launched in 2003/2004 has seen over 130 businesses set up within its five year reign, over 690 business plans submitted and has created over 240 jobs in the region.

Now in its 5th year the Blueprint Business Planning Competition brings together all five North East universities to develop the sharpest business ideas from the region's graduates, undergraduates, staff and alumni, where they compete for the chance of winning up to £10,000 in each award category to help realise their business ideas.

Durham, Newcastle, Northumbria, Sunderland and Teesside Universities each hold their own business planning competitions throughout the year and the winners go forward to compete in the Blueprint Grand Final. Entrants receive expert business advice in the first rounds to help them turn their bright business ideas into well researched, practical business plans.

Blueprint considers business plans in three separate awards, the Blueprint Business Awards, Blueprint Science and Technology Awards, and the Creativity and Design Awards, launched last year. The University rounds commence in March of each year and run through to June, each university choosing  two winners to go through to the Grand Final.  These finalists are joined by direct entries from university staff at the Pilot your Pitch event in September, when a practice pitch is given in front of sponsors in a lead up to the Grand Final in October.

The competition, supported by ONE NorthEast, was originally devised by Professors Max Robinson and Brian Tanner as part of the North East Centre for Scientific Enterprise (NECSE) project between the five regional universities.  This year, Max has retired from the daily running of the awards, but he will still have a key role in the Pilot your Pitch event in September. 

Professor Tanner said: “I am both thrilled and proud that Blueprint is now in its fifth year and is getting stronger each year. Every year we are overwhelmed with the standard of the business entries and the amount of pure business talent that is generated from this region.

“The Blueprint business planning competition is a powerful way to ensure that enterprising students and academic staff see North East England as an area to develop their talents and it is important that we nurture and encourage that talent and reward it.

“Blueprint has already proved to be one of the most successful initiatives for generating future business and economic activity across the North East Universities.

“Max and I hope to see lots of business supporters and new talent help us celebrate our 5th Birthday. This year our final awards dinner will be a true birthday celebration!  Congratulations to all who have ever been involved in Blueprint in one way or another and Happy Birthday. 

One North East’s Head of Business, Enterprise and Skills, Tim Pain, said: “North East England’s five universities are at the heart of the Regional Economic Strategy, which highlights the importance of graduates to increasing the size of our business stock.

“But developing a more enterprising culture among our graduates isn’t just about creating more new businesses – employers are also demanding those enterprising skills, as they seek to be as productive and efficient as possible.  The Blueprint awards are a celebration of the enterprise talent emerging from our universities and we look forward to another exciting competition.”

-ENDS-

Photo Caption: The Blueprint 2007 finalists

 For further information contact: Gemma Clarke, O Communications on 0191 229 8990

Gemma Clarke

Senior Account Executive

 O Communications
Woods Pottery, Stepney Bank,
Newcastle upon Tyne  NE1 2NP
Tel: 0191 2325690
Fax: 0191 2325691
www.o-communications.co.uk