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Lancaster Team wins Environment Competition
Story supplied by LU Press Office
L - R: Alasdair Monteith, Stephanie Sdepanian, Apostolos Papadopoulos and Neil Mullinger
A team of young researchers from Lancaster University and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology have won a national competition for environmental entrepreneurs.
The Environment YES (Young Entrepreneurs Scheme) - sponsored by the Natural Environment Research Council - is an innovative way of raising commercial awareness among postgraduate students and postdoctoral scientists.
Teams are allowed to assume a technical breakthrough in an environmentally related technology, so they have some intellectual property (e.g. a patent), with which they can then plan a new business. However, the rest of the business plan must be based on reality, which means real market research and real costs. The team must then pitch their theoretical business plan to a group of 'investors' to raise the necessary finance to start up their business.
This year's team undertook three days of intensive training in Oxford. During this they presented a business plan based on a novel conductive polymer, enabling high efficiency low cost solar cells to be produced for home electricity generation.
The team was presented with a cash prize and a trophy following the final of Environment YES's sister competition, Biotechnology YES in London on 3rd December.
Team member Stephanie Sdepanian said: "The competition has been a great opportunity to further understand the possible applications of environmental research within the business sector and the means by which resulting technologies can be used to benefit the wider public. It has been a steep, exciting and highly informative learning curve, that we would not have had the chance to experience otherwise."
Thu 13 December 2007
Associated Links
- Environment YES - NERC's Environment YES (Young Entrepreneurs Scheme) is designed to help increase the level of entrepreneurial awareness in the environmental sciences
- Lancaster Environment Centre - Innovation, training and research for a sustainable future
Latest News
Lancaster set to receive funding boost to stimulate UK's economy
Lancaster is amongst leading universities who are set to benefit from a £50 million investment in cutting-edge research and innovation projects to drive growth. Lancaster's project will use the strong international reputation and links in China, in particular with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, to address the Government's priorities to focus on high-growth SMEs and to increase exports. Using expertise from across the University, it focuses on improved leadership and new technology...
Story supplied by LU Press Office
Fri 17 May 2013
Billion-year-old water could hold clues to life on Earth and Mars
A UK-Canadian team of scientists has discovered ancient pockets of water, which have been isolated deep underground for billions of years and contain abundant chemicals known to support life.
Story supplied by LU Press Office
Thu 16 May 2013
How do we find out about cyber criminals?
Security Lancaster and the Department of Mathematics and Statistics held a workshop to form a new collaborative group who will widen the knowledge of cybercrime and start developing innovative approaches to obtaining information on cyber criminals. The workshop included security researchers and statisticians, solicitors specialising in cybercrime, and experts from government agencies.
Thu 16 May 2013
First, carbon footprints... now you can calculate your 'nitrogen footprint'
Scientists at Lancaster, Virginia and Oxford universities have produced a web-based tool that allows anyone living in the UK to see their own 'nitrogen footprint'.
Story supplied by LU Press Office
Wed 15 May 2013