Sheffield Hallam: Graduate entrepreneurs adapt to the current challenge

An enterprising Sheffield Hallam University video production company has quickly adapted in response to the covid19 crisis, after losing scheduled work it had lined up. Open House Pictures is now offering new packages to help firms in lockdown. Supported by the university’s Enterprise Team, they are residents in its coworking space, The Hallam i-Lab. Founded in 2018 by Joe Palmer and Daniel Bale (pictured above), their enterprising new approach includes providing a complete package of support from filming at home, to editing their video and marketing guidance. This new strategy will help clients adapt in light of the current situation. Check out the crowdfunder they have launched to help them reach SME’s.

 

Huddersfield: £256,000 to support student engagement in knowledge exchange

The University of Huddersfield’s project ICE+ (Innovation and Creative Exchange) has been awarded £256,000 from the recent OfS/RE Student Engagement in Knowledge Exchange competition. Running for 2 years from September 2020, more than 750 students from across the University’s seven schools of study will take part in ICE+. Inter-disciplinary teams of students will be coached in the principles of innovation and then respond to real business problems being experienced by local SMEs. Students will complete self-audit tools to assess entrepreneurial mind-set, and members of the winning teams will be offered a paid work placement with the firm in question, where they will have the opportunity to further develop their ideas. Read more here.

 

Bristol: Undergraduates win University Start-up competition

A final-year Computer Science with Innovation project has won the University of Bristol start-up competition. The team behind Kaedim will be part of the first graduating cohort from the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and one of only five undergraduate winners in 19 years, an accolade usually held of staff, postgraduate researchers or alumni. Neil Coles, from the Centre and Director of EEUK said, “We enable the pursuit of an academic specialism and engage students with pedagogy for enterprise and innovation. In this case we have seen Konstantina and Roman use their AI knowledge to turn sketches into 3D models, then prototype it with Aardman Animations.”