CREATE, the University of Highlands and Islands’ (UHI) Centre for Enterprise and Innovation
The University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) Business Competition is a well-established and high-profile competition open to all students across 13 UHI sites. The competition reaches out through a broad regional marketing campaign to approximately 40,000 FE, HE and Postgraduate students and researchers based in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, with a strong focus on supporting students both at the application, shortlisting and post-competition stage. Although open to the wider community, the competition regularly attracts 70% of its entries from the UHI student population.
The aim of the competition is to inspire, encourage and support participants to develop enterprising and entrepreneurial behaviours and skills, as well as encourage them to consider their role in solving societal problems through innovation. It regularly attracts entries from a range of subject areas including engineering. UHI is keen to find initiatives that increase the numbers of engineers who participate and Engineers in Business helps to achieve this aim.
Positive Feedback
Entrepreneurs and start-up innovation is critical to economic growth and job creation. Universities and colleges have a significant role to play in encouraging innovation and creativity within young people and at Inverness College UHI we try to embed the importance of these skills in their thinking so they move on and achieve their full potential. It was wonderful to see such a range of exciting business ideas and I would like to personally wish every single finalist success in their future endeavours.
Professor Chris O’Neil, Principal of Inverness College UHI