News and Events

Top award for BU design graduate

6 June 2008

BU Product Design graduate wins place on prestigious Flying Start Programme, taking her to USA’s top universities and companies.

BU Product Design graduate Franziska Conrad has been awarded a place on the prestigious Flying Start Global Entrepreneurs Programme by the National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship (NCGE).

As a Flying Start Global Entrepreneur, her experiences will include six months’ support in the UK and six months in the US on an all expenses paid internship and entrepreneurship fast track programme.

The NCGE’s Flying Start Global Entrepreneurs programme recognises and supports outstanding entrepreneurial talent in design and engineering in the UK.

During the first six months of the programme, Fran will work with BU to develop her business idea. For the remaining six months, she'll receive world-class entrepreneurship education, spending time in top US universities such as Harvard, MIT and Stanford, and a 12-week placement as an intern at a leading, innovative global company.

Reacting to the news of this exciting opportunity, Franziska said: “Becoming a Flying Start Global Entrepreneur enables me to concentrate on the development of my latest project – a biodegradable shelter – with the help of the Fellowship expertise and BU’s Commercialisation team.

“The American part of the programme is going to be an amazing opportunity to network and learn the business and trade skills I need to start a successful business. On top of that, being able to have this sort of opportunity is always going to be a great addition to my CV!”

Fran has already successfully converted her final year undergraduate project into a commercial product, with the help of BU’s Centre for Research & Knowledge Transfer (CRKT). ‘The Quick Pitch’, her pop-up tent design, is now being manufactured under license by Gelert – one of the UK’s favourite camping brands.

The tent sold over 40,000 units in 2007 and the BU team now supports Franziska in developing an innovative range of tents in partnership with Gelert.

Fran is the third student that BU has submitted to the NCGE for this global programme. Two earlier submissions (Simon Phelps and James Reed) were both awarded places - a 100% success rate for BU.

The current crop of innovative creations by this year's design graduates can be seen at this year’s Festival of Design and Innovation. Opening to the public from Friday 27 June, the Festival presents the largest showcase of graduate talent in the South and West of England.

To find out more, please visit the Festival’s website.