2010-11 China-UK Entrepreneurship Competition Semi Finals held at LUMS
Published 31 May 2011
On 12 May, the UK-based semi finals of the 2010-11 China-UK Entrepreneurship Competition were held at Lancaster University Management School.
Lancaster, York, UCL and Queen’s University in Belfast are the four university partners in the UK who have worked closely with the China Innovation and Development Association (CIDA) to organise this year’s UK competition. The semi final at LUMS, organised and hosted by the Lancaster China Management Centre, comprised of eight student-led start-ups and took the format of an exciting ‘Dragon’s Den’ style business pitch.
From a total of over 115 entrants, just eight teams were chosen to participate in the Lancaster based semi-finals. Each team was required to deliver a business pitch to the judging panel comprising of: Prof. David Brown (Director LCMC), Mr Clive Drinkwater (Director North West Trade and Investment), Mr Vince Cunningham (China Britain Business Council), Dr Radka Newton (Director LUMS International Office), Dr Dave Chapman (Head of UCL Advances) and Prof. Richard Harrison (Queen’s University, Belfast).
After a close contest, four teams were selected to progress to the UK based finals, which will take place at UCL on 23rd June 2011. Each winning team was also offered the chance to attend a business development session, hosted by UCL Advances, prior to the final, in order to hone their business plans and presentation style.
The winners and runners up from the finals at UCL in June will go on to compete in the International Grand Final at York University in September, to battle it out for a slice of the £9,000 total prize fund, with the Chinese competition winners and runners up.
Footage of the Lancaster Semi Finals, reported by Phoenix TV, can be viewed on YouTube here.
For further information about the UK-China Entrepreneurship competition and to read about previous competition winners, please see www.chinaukchallenge.com
