The Yorkshire Enterprise Fellowship

The Yorkshire Enterprise Fellowship (YEF) is a Yorkshire Forward initiative which helps cutting-edge innovation born in the region’s universities to become a commercial success.

YEF enables university researchers to create new businesses based on their research, knowledge and ideas. Building on the highly successful Bioscience Yorkshire Enterprise Fellowship scheme launched in 2004, this new initiative delivers practical support and funding to help commercialise work originating in the universities in Yorkshire & Humber.

How does it work?

YEF selects academic fellows (on a part-time basis) who are provided with access to a fully managed proof-of-concept support scheme, with a tailored science and business development programme.

What’s on offer?

  • Up to £10,000 to develop your science
  • A personal development programme (including topics such as business finance and accounting, IP management and leadership skills)
  • Help in identifying potential investors and other sources of funding
  • Personal business mentoring
  • A dedicated extranet and online project-management facility
  • An experienced and focused programme-management team.Who will benefit?

Over the course of the programme, which runs from 2007 to 2010, a total of 60 fellowships will be awarded across the eligible disciplines of:

  • Bioscience—any development using modern biological techniques to develop products and/or services to serve human or animal health, agricultural productivity, food processing, energy & renewable resources, or the environmental industries
  • Healthcare technologies—industries and associated academic and clinical activities in the fields of medical devices, pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals
  • Chemicals—all aspects of chemical-related activity, including refining, organic/inorganic, pharmaceutical, medical, paint, coatings, fibres, etc.

Who is eligible?

The programme is open to post-doctoral academic staff and contract researchers from Yorkshire & Humber's nine universities:

  • Bradford
  • Huddersfield
  • Hull
  • Leeds
  • Leeds Metropolitan
  • Sheffield
  • Sheffield Hallam
  • York
  • York St John.

Other sources of help

Talk to your university—many of them run programmes to help students and graduates with starting a business:

Anyone who believes they could launch a start-up company from within a Yorkshire & Humber university department should also visit our enterprise section and funding for enterprise.

Find out more

For further information, please visit the  YEF website.

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