Silicon Valley Comes to Cambridge, 19th – 21st November 2009

The Silicon Valley Comes to UK Programme brings together leading Investors, iconic serial entrepreneurs, ambitious students and successful angels with leading Silicon Valley Serial Entrepreneurs and Investors to discuss, debate, create and fund today’s most disruptive internet and green technologies that will change our world in the years to come.

Come and meet iconic entrepreneurs, including Reid Hoffman (Linkedin), Peter Thiel (Paypal), Biz Stone (Twitter), Caterina Fake (Flickr), Elon Musk (Tesla) and investors such as Allen Morgan (Mayfield) and Brett Bullington (Angel).

Register at  SVC2C and take part.

Marshall Group Centenary

Cambridge-based company Marshall Group celebrates its 100^th year in 2009.

Founded in 1909 by David Marshall as a chauffeur drive company, the Marshall Group now has an annual turnover in excess of £700m and nearly 4,000 employees. Headquartered on an 320 hectare site at Cambridge Airport in the UK, the Group operates worldwide in the fields of aerospace,  military vehicle and engineering and design, together with a network of over 40 franchised automotive dealerships in the UK.

This family-owned enterprise is now headed by Michael Marshall, and Robert Marshall represents the 4^th generation.

On Sunday 20^th September, Marshall Group held an employees, family and friends open day, attended by more than 15,000 invited guests. Cambridge airport was the venue for a spectacular air show, featuring the RAF Red Arrows and many aircraft types that have been significant in Marshall’s history.

IBM UBC Universities Business Challenge 2009 – 2010

Every year 240 teams from the UK’s universities compete in this premier undergraduate business competition.

Be part of Anglia Ruskin’s great success story:-

2006           2^nd in the national Grand Final to Manchester Business School

2007           semi-finalists

2008           1^st in the national Grand Final

2009           Grand finalists

I am recruiting teams to compete in the IBM UBC from now until 3^rd October 2009.

The first stage heats of the UBC run from October to December. Winners of the heats go through to the semi-finals in January and February 2010. The Grand Finals are in March at IBM Europe headquarters.

Anglia Ruskin's winning team in 2008

Anglia Ruskin's team in March 2009

Form a team and give your details a.s.a.p. to:

Robert Jones

Programme Leader Executive MBA

Lecturer in Entrepreneurship and Innovation

COS 301     0845 196 2549               robert.jones@anglia.ac.uk

Summer holidays in Cornwall

Cornwall is a superb holiday destination.

Worth a visit is the Eden Project inspired by social entrepreneur and conservationist Tim Smit.

A unique experience is to watch a play at Minack Theatre, an open air arena overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. We went to a splendid production of Coram Boy by Shattered Windscreen Theatre Company , with music by Handel.

We stayed at the Ship Inn in Mousehole, sampling the products of independent family brewer St Austell Brewery and Healey’s Cornish Cyder Farm. Travelling around, the famous Cornish pasty provided excellent sustenance. See Economist article “Under the Crust”.

Chinese students study Entrepreneurship and Leadership

On Monday 27th July at Fitzwilliam College in Cambridge, Robert Jones made a guest presentation to a group of visiting students from Tsinghua University and Peking University etc. and the  China Center for Economic Research.

The students were in Cambridge to study Entrepreneurship and Leadership and this was the theme of Robert’s session. Case study entrepreneurial leaders from business, social enterprise, politics and the military were covered:- Richard Branson (Virgin group), James Dyson (Dyson company), Tim Smit (Eden Project), John Bird (The Big Issue), Winston Churchill (twice Prime Minister) and admiral Lord Nelson.

Mannheim students examine the Cambridge Cluster

Students from DHBW Duale Hochschule Baden-Württemberg Mannheim took part in Robert Jones’s interactive session looking at the economic conditions for Cambridge hi-tech enterprise on Thursday 16th July 2009.
One group of students played the role of hi-tech entrepreneurs aiming to launch their innovative product; a second group role-played the potential investors, Dragon’s Den style; the third group presented the case for establishing an enterprise in the Cambridge Technopole; the fourth group examined national conditions for business in comparison with other nations, using World Bank and World Economic Forum data.

Student consultancy team working with Cambridge business

Enterprising students Andrea Doerr and Christiane Woessner (MA International Business MAIB programme) and Anglia Ruskin graduate Jonita Macyte have been working with Robert Jones on an EEDA-funded consultancy project.

On Thursday 25th June, in the Learning Zone at Anglia Ruskin University, Andrew Hatcher (founder of The Working Knowledge Group) made an online presentation of his MAPP decision-making product. Our consultancy team canvassed the views of Dr Mike Ashmead (Managing Director of Cellbond Ltd , Mykon Systems , Zing Bikes) and Encocam ) and John Pedretti (Portfolio manager, Skanska Infrastructure Development – and Anglia Ruskin MBA graduate).

EEDA East of England Development Agency is the driving force behind sustainable economic development in the East of England. EEDA’s Innovation Vouchers are designed to help businesses in the East of England purchase academic expertise from the region’s universities to support innovation and business improvement.

Dragon’s Den – now online

Dragon’s Den – online

The famous Dragon’s Den BBC2 television series is off-air at present. But it continues online with two new Dragons who make investment decisions on entrepreneurs’ business start-up presentations.

Edinburgh based Shaf Rasul has made his millions in property and computers. His E-net Computers business is worth £35m. Interests in Dubai and property take him to £82m. “Let’s get down to the numbers”.

Straight-talking American Julie Meyer heads an investment firm backed by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs and has raised hundreds of millions of capital for start-ups, particularly in the technology and media sectors. “Where would you see this business in five years time?”

Gerry’s Big Decision – new Channel 4 business programme

Sir Gerry Robinson is a well known and highly successful British businessman. His quest in this new Channel 4 TV programme takes him into the lives of two couples, both of whom have built award-winning enterprises, but are now equally desperate for his cash. Watch the show at Gerry’s Big Decision

Cambridge Tech DEMO Night

Cambridge UK is known for top science and engineering talent and research. More exciting is that many of these innovations and ideas are leaving the lab and are being commercialised by start-ups created in Cambridge.
The first Cambridge Technology DEMO Night, on Thursday, June 18th 2009 hosted at Anglia Ruskin University AIBS, featured 7 minute demos from three great Cambridge start-ups:

True Knowledge – answer (search) engine based on ontological principles;

Timetric / Inkling Software – statistical software for time-series charts, and Mini-Seedcamp London winner;

Broadersheet – Hyper Personalised Newspaper

In the audience were 75 entrepreneurs, technologists, researchers and students. Professor Stuart Wall , Head of Dept AIBS Cambridge, welcomed attendees to this inaugural meeting which was chaired by its instigator Jed Christiansen. Dr Chris Mitchell (Anglia Ruskin PhD graduate) of Audio Analytic helped to organise the event.