Kauffman Global Scholars Program, how it began

On 22 March 2006, in UK Chancellor Gordon Brown's Budget speech he mentioned that Enterprise and Entrepreneurship would be given a new focus by the government. One way this would happened is a partnership between the NCGE and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation in America. The partnership would allow 20 of the UK's top University minds the opportunity to find out about Entrepreneurship in America, with the intention of starting their own business' when they arrive back in the UK. This program was being called the NCGE-Kauffman Entrepreneurship Fellowship (quite a mouthful!)
For more info see this document

At the time I was totally oblivious to the goings on of Parliament and the NCGE. I was studying Electronics with Management in the 3rd year of a 4 year degree at York University. However around the beginning of May York University had been given the opportunity to nominate 2 candidates for the NCGE Kauffman year. Tony Ward, the head of Enterprise at York University, had asked for nominations of potential candidates from Supervisors around the University.

Out the the blue I was sent an email telling me that I had been nominated, by a lecturer I didnt know. I then recieved a second email from that lecturer to say that he hadn't nominated me but all the best with the application. This unexpected (and possibly unintended) nomination for a course I had never heard about proved to be the best opportunity I had ever recieved. I wasn't going to let it go.

Students can only apply to this program if they have a technological based business idea and a background in the Sciences or Engineering. Places are awarded to students who have this background and business idea, but they also need to have energy and drive and the desire to want to promote Enterprise back in the UK. Having gone through an intensive application and interview stage I am now one of 17 students from universities around the UK to be accepted onto the program as a Fellow.

The program is divided into two sections: 3 months in the UK and 6 months in America. The time in the UK is spent preparing for America; the time in America is spent taking intensive training courses in business, developing contacts, and an internship in a business which is in the same field as the business plan the Fellow has.

In the UK Fellows meet each other and share experiences. Each Fellow has a mentor and access, through the NCGE, to many contacts and resources which would not ordinarily be available. Each Fellow is at a different point in their business creation, and so each Fellow has different targets for when they reach America. I found myself to be the least progressed out of all the Fellows, which puts me in an incredible position to learn from everyone.

America is filled with opportunities for making contacts, learning from the most prestigious institutes and developing the business closer to reality. The time in America is broken down as follows:

• 5 weeks in Kansas City, Missouri, intensive course in business at the Kauffman Foundation.
• 1 week in Silicon Valley, learning at Stanford University and speaking to people throughout the valley
• 2 weeks in Boston, learning at the Harvard Business School.
• 12 weeeks placement with a company in the field of my business idea.
• 1 week reunion in Kansas City where Fellows share their experiences then go back to the UK.

This is the first time a program like this has been run by the Kauffman Foundation (not even students in America have had this opportunity). The Kauffman Foundation plan to run the same scheme for many different countries and because of this have decided to call it the 'Kauffman Global Scholars Program'.

What an opportunity! My only aim is to make the most of it.