MBAs from Europe's leading business schools come to Cranfield to compete in Europe's longest running business plan competition

For the second year running Cranfield School of Management will be hosting the European Business Plan of the Year Competition (EBPYC).  MBA students from Europe’s leading business schools will come to Cranfield to reveal their ideas for businesses of the future.

Now in its nineteenth year, The European Business Plan of the Year Competition is Europe’s longest running business plan competition.  It is designed to encourage entrepreneurship and new business creation among MBA students and to help them develop and apply venturing, commercial and business skills that are so vital in today's business world.

The EBPYC will take place from 3 – 4 June at Cranfield, with 15 leading business schools from across Europe taking part including; London Business School, SDA Bocconi, EM Lyon, Stockholm School of Entrepreneurship, St Gallen, IESE and Erasmus.

The teams from each school will submit their business plan prior to the event and then pitch in front of the judging panel at Cranfield. The winning team will be announced on the closing day of the competition.

The panel of judges includes; Ian Lobley (3i), Steve Lewis (Living PlanIT), John Incledon (IDJ), Nigel Grierson (Doughty Hanson), Diana Nye (Ariadne), Modwenna Rees Mogg (Angel News) and Paul Fitzsimons (former Partner at Apax).

A number of the business ideas that were presented at last year’s competition have been launched over the past few months.  From Cranfield, Executive MBA student Tim Winchcomb launched ‘PingaPint', a service that enables people to buy their friends a drink in the pub when they can’t be there themselves, using a mobile phone. Tim said: ”Since the competition the business has really moved forward, we now have all the technology in place and will be trialling the system in Cambridge over the next few months.  Competing in the competition encouraged us to take our strategy to the next level, and the business plan we presented formed a solid foundation for the company’s progress in the months since the competition.“

Dr Stephanie Hussels from the Bettany Centre for Entrepreneurial Performance & Economics at Cranfield is again the lead organiser of the event, she commented: “The competition provides the perfect opportunity for MBA students to test their business ideas and get feedback from experts.  There have been many success stories since the competition began. Dr Ioannis Arabatzis from ALBA Graduate Business School won the competition in 2005, with his business idea to develop new concepts in the field of nanotechnology. His company Nanophos SA, which uses nanotechnology to solve everyday problems with products such as self cleaning surfaces, has since gone onto win many business awards.  The EBPYC gives participants the boost and inspiration they often need to take the leap and start their own ventures.”

Living PlanIT, the global IT company that develops innovative and sustainable large scale technologies is the lead sponsor of the competition, their CEO Steve Lewis said: “We are delighted to sponsor this important event for a second year. Living PlanIT is a technology company that is based on a new business model for Smart Cities and we understand how important it is to  provide an incentive for students to develop the new models and business skills that will ensure an efficient and responsible future for us all, and also to look at challenges completely afresh, realising that new approaches are important and that they need to be developed with intelligence, passion and imagination.“

For more information about the EBPYC please visit www.ebpyc.eu.

Ends

Notes to editors

Event sponsors

Living PlanIT, The Financial Times, Newcastle Science City, Doughty Hanson, The Emmanuelle Kaye Foundation, The Doughty Centre and Edelman.

The Bettany Centre aims to enhance the management and understanding of performing ventures through cutting-edge entrepreneurial research, teaching and practice.

Cranfield School of Management is one of Europe’s leading university management schools renowned for its strong links with industry and business.  It is committed to providing practical management solutions through a range of activities including postgraduate degree programmes, management development, research and consultancy.    www.som.cranfield.ac.uk

For more information on Cranfield School of Management or to arrange an interview, please contact: Marie McCormack on: T: +44 (0) 1234 754425 or E: or email:  marie.mccormack@cranfield.ac.uk