While I was doing my PhD I entered a Business Planning Contest which taught me a lot about how to think about starting a new enterprise. From writing the business plan, securing funding. In fact, what struck me most was how similar starting a business can be to getting a new academic project off the ground.

The process gave me a lot more confidence in my ability to consider enterprise as a real option.

There are lots more competitions. e.g. The Shell Live Wire Grand Ideas which runs every month. http://www.shell-livewire.org/awards/

If anybody knows of any more competitions please post them here.

Which universities have the best business planning competition then?

I know Cambridge and Oxford have big entrepreneurs societies that run their own with prizes of the order £5k

Research Councils UK also run an annual Business Planning competition which aims to specifically help researchers (postgraduates, postdocs and academic staff) turn research into business ideas. The competition is open to UK researchers with ideas which both stem from their research as well as non-related ideas.

http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/innovation/fundingkt/bpc/default.htm

The RCUK Business Plan Competition provides researchers who have ideas with commercial potential the skills, knowledge and support needed to develop a first-rate business plan. This is provided through expert trainers, coaches and mentors.

I know some people who have previously entered this competition and have found many aspects of the competition very useful, particularly because the support is tailored to researchers starting-up. They have had the opportunity to go on residential workshops covering all the basics that they need to know about starting-up a business as well as being motivated by competition deadlines to actually build-up to producing a full business plan. There is also detailed feedback given at different stages of the competition and making it to later rounds of the competition gain you access to a business mentor.

If you have an idea and what to work towards building it into a viable business plan, keep an eye out for when the competition next opens.

Only 24 days left to enter Shell Livewire Young Entrepreneur of the Year

http://www.shell-livewire.org/