Staff Entries
RULES AND CONDITIONS 2009/2010
Knowledge Transfer Awards
1. The competition is open to all members of staff at the North East Universities of Durham, Newcastle, Northumbria, Sunderland and Teesside. NB: Staff status will be verified.
2.Individuals or teams can enter, but if a team, then a lead name must be given. This is the person with whom we will correspond.
3. Staff may enter directly into the Regional Grand Final of the competition. Staff are no longer permitted to enter into the student categories. Universities MUST confirm their entries no later than Wednesday 30 June 2010.
4. All finalists are required to submit a 1-page executive summary via email, as further confirmation of their entry into the Regional Grand Final. The Submission Deadline, 12 noon, Monday 2 August 2010.
5. Prior to the Grand Final, finalists will be REQUIRED to attend and take part in the "Pilot Your Pitch" event. This will be held on Wednesday 1 September 2010, at the Hilton Newcastle Gateshead. This event will give finalists the opportunity to practice their pitch in front of the competition sponsors. Finalists will receive feedback and advice on their pitch and may, as a result, enhance their plan and pitch, before the final submission date.
If you intend to use an electronic presentation, this must be submitted no later than 12 noon, Wednesday 25 August 2010, to Jill at scientific.enterprise@dur.ac.uk
NB: Finalists will be expected to make themselves available to NECSE Staff and their PR Team in terms of PR Interviews, Press Releases, Publicity Shots and Website Blogs. There is also a chance you could be selected for a Television interview, this however, is optional.
6. Finalists are be required to submit X6 copies of the full business plan, by 12 noon, Monday 27 September 2010. Late entries will not be accepted. It is recommended that full Business Plans are sent by special delivery post the day before, or hand delivered to:
Blueprint – Business Plan Competition, Room GB18, Block 2 Mountjoy Research Centre, Durham University, Stockton Road, Durham, DH1 3UP.
NB: Please mark clearly which category you are entering.
7. Each finalist team will be expected to make a presentation to the judging panel prior to the Grand Final Awards Ceremony on Thursday 21st October 2010. Judging will take place during the day and the awards will be given out later that evening. A timetable and judging criteria will be provided nearer the event.
Finalists are required to submit any electronic copies of their presentations by 12 noon Thursday 14 October 2010. Presentations should be submitted in the following format: PowerPoint, Flash or an exe file. Finalists using videos within their presentations must first ensure that the video file works in the presentation prior to its submission. Any presentations submitted with video files must be sent in a zipped folder, via email or a file sharing site, along with the original video file. If you have any other questions about presentations please email Jill at: scientific.enterprise@dur.ac.uk
8. The decision of the judges is final.
9. Late applications will not be accepted.
10. All applications will be held in confidence. Judges will have previously signed an NDA prior to receiving the plans. It is the responsibility of the applicant to confirm that they have the right to exploit the intellectual property contained in their plan and to take appropriate steps to protect it. Each award category will have its own independent judging panel.
11. Prize money will only be paid by cheque or bank transfer to the name of the winning businesses. Winners will be required to have (or create) a business account into which the prize money can be deposited.
12. This award category is open to members of staff in all business sectors AS LONG AS the company is Intellectual Property‐based. The IP should ideally be initially owned by a University, but this is not compulsory.
13. Members of staff entering the competition, MUST first contact their Business Development / Technology Transfer Teams, or equivalent prior to entry.