The Coventry University Entrepreneurs Grand Launch, which took place on Tuesday 10 October, was hailed by all as a resounding success. The number of attendees was double that of the previous year and there was a steady stream of people queuing outside the Law Faculty building throughout the evening. This indicates that it will be a bumper year for the CUE business plan competitions which have given away over £280,000 to student and staff businesses to date.

More than 270 people crowded into the lecture theatre to listen to speeches from successful CUE alumni such as Mark Grant, Billy Boyle, Gerhard Symons, Shamus Husheer and Nicola Dee as well as a speech by the University of Coventry Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research, Ian Leslie. "The CUE committee have laid on a stunning launch event," said CUE President, Rahul Vohra. "I've had several people tell me that they found the evening truly inspirational. There is a great atmosphere and I can't wait to see what kinds of business ideas will enter this year."

The audience was composed of undergraduates, postgraduates and University staff from a wide range of different disciplines – many of whom confirmed their intention to participate in the £1k Business Ideas Competition, in which entrants need to submit a 1500 word summary of their business idea. The audience also included venture capitalists and successful entrepreneurs, who were busy networking with the eager crowd. Competition teams were already forming during the networking session and several exciting ideas have already been suggested.

All those interested are encouraged to attend our £1k Boot Camp which will be taking place in November. The £1k Boot Camp will teach entrants how to write a winning executive summary and will be an excellent opportunity to network. Potential entrants are also encouraged to Enterprise Tuesday, a free evening programme organised by the Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning. The first event, on Motivation, will take place at 6 p.m. on 24th October at the Engineering Department.

Click here to see photographs from the Grand Launch.