The Engineering Design Show, taking place at the Coventry Building Society Arena in England, 19-20 October, is launching The Springboard, a platform designed to encourage engineering start-ups and entrepreneurs.
Supported by British luxury automotive supercar maker McLaren Automotive, The Springboard will give early-stage companies a platform to share their innovations with thousands of engineering professionals.
Under the initiative, up to eight businesses will be given a free stand in the Springboard area and entered into the inaugural Springboard Awards. To qualify, businesses must be under three years old with a product or service that relates to engineering.
The awards will be conducted at the show and will see each exhibitor asked to present their innovation on stage to a panel of judges, including McLaren Automotive chief executive officer Mike Flewitt. The winner will receive a free stand on the main floor at The Engineering Design Show the following year, as well as PR and marketing support, together worth £10,000 (USD$13,829).
Chair of the judging panel and editor of The Engineer magazine, Jon Excell, said: “We are sure [the Springboard event] will unveil some inspiring and innovative UK engineers whose inventions across a range of sectors could profoundly change the way we live and work."
McLaren Autootive's Flewitt said: “As a company that likes to push the boundaries of innovation ourselves, we are proud to be supporting this initiative which will provide start-ups across the sector with a valuable platform for sharing their ideas and earning much-needed recognition and brand awareness among thousands of engineering professionals.”
Engineering Design Show event director Gordon Kirk said: “Start-ups and early-stage businesses have faced a number of very difficult hurdles over the past eighteen months. We hope that providing them with a means to showcase their innovations to a wide audience will allow engineering professionals and others to see for themselves how they will contribute to the future of the industry and the UK economy.“
Applicants will need to complete the Application Form and send it to martha.townrow@markallengroup.com. The deadline to enter is 31 August.
