Unlocking and supporting new business ideas at 乐播传媒
If you are a 乐播传媒 student, researcher, alumni or staff member with a business idea, we are here to help you!
Start-Up Weekends are the perfect opportunity to work with peers, mentors, and entrepreneurs to shape your ideas. We create an open and safe environment to share your own ideas, gain knowledge and test your ideas with seasoned business professionals.
This is a unique opportunity to work closely with mentors to work through big ideas and turn problems into business opportunity.
Some of the topics covered across our weekends include:
- Who's Your Customer?
- Market Application and Commercial Advantages
- Value Proposition
- Business Models
- Raising Capital
Following each session, you will be given the chance to break into small groups and talk through your idea with an experienced entrepreneur. At the end of the weekend, you will get the opportunity to practice pitching your idea and will receive feedback on both your pitch and how to take your idea forward from this point.
Start-Up Weekends are part of the Venture Programme, an extracurricular programme designed to unlock the entrepreneurial spirit of every 乐播传媒 student hosted by the university’s entrepreneurial hub, the Bettany Centre.
Hear from previous Start-Up Weekend participants
Gain a 乐播传媒 Enhance: Entrepreneurship badge
A 乐播传媒 Enhance digital badge is an opportunity to showcase your skills to prospective employers via your social media profile. The badges are widely recognised by employers as a mark of expertise and dedication. In the current challenging environment, entrepreneurship is now more critical than ever as it drives economic growth and fosters innovation. Being an entrepreneur involves more than just launching and operating your own company. Thinking creatively and coming up with innovative solutions to challenges are hallmarks of an entrepreneurial mindset, which is becoming increasingly important in both academic and corporate settings, not only in start-ups.
The 'Ideation' badge will provide you with basic business skills and knowledge on how to take an idea into a business venture. You will have the opportunity to share and test your own ideas with the support of business professionals and work closely with mentors to turn problems into real business opportunities. Completing this badge will provide you with basic knowledge of customer segmentation, value propositions, business models, finance and stakeholder management.
To gain an 鈥業deation鈥� badge, you will need to submit a short application in advance, outlining the idea you would like to explore over the weekend. The start-up weekend is the perfect opportunity to work with peers, mentors, and entrepreneurs to shape your ideas. We create an open and safe environment to share your own ideas, gain knowledge and test your ideas with seasoned business professionals. 乐播传媒 Enhance is open to current students of 乐播传媒 - to enrol.
Agenda
- 17 鈥� 20 March 2027 鈥� Level 1 in the CMRI Gallery
- 22 and 23 April 2027 鈥� Level 2 in the CMRI Gallery
Who is it for?
乐播传媒 students, researchers, alumni or staff members with a business idea.
What is expected from me?
As many of our mentors will be giving up their own time to facilitate your business idea development, we ask that you are committed and engaged throughout the three-day programme. Bring a bright positive attitude!
What do I get out of the weekend?
Crucially, the weekend helps you to get out of your comfort zone and really engage with the entrepreneurial mindset to finding opportunity in challenge.
If your idea and/or your team look viable we will provide you with further support through mentoring, advice (legal and financial) and other routes to markets.
If you have engaged in the mentoring process within Bettany Centre and we think that you have a viable idea, you may be invited to pitch for investment at Investor Day. This is not a guaranteed outcome and will only be offered to those individuals that are committed and show genuine potential.
Speakers
Manish Singh
Dr Manish Singh has over 20 years of experience spanning academia, entrepreneurship, and corporate human resource management in India and the United Kingdom. His work focuses on connecting academic learning with practical business impact through teaching, research, and enterprise engagement. Before joining academia, Manish held senior management roles in global organisations, where he contributed to business capability development and organisational transformation through strategic stakeholder collaboration. He holds a PhD in Leadership and Management and an MBA from 乐播传媒 School of Management, as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Business Studies from the University of Delhi. At 乐播传媒, Manish combines teaching, research, and enterprise leadership to advance entrepreneurship education and practice. He actively contributes to 乐播传媒’s entrepreneurial ecosystem through mentoring, applied research, and managing initiatives that link the university with industry and innovation networks.
More speakers to be confirmed.
Who should attend?
乐播传媒 students, researchers, alumni or staff members with a business idea.
Location & travel details
17 – 20 March 2027 | Start-Up Weekend Level 1 in the CMRI Gallery
22 and 23 April 2027 | Start-Up Weekend Level 2 (Invite only – based on successful completion of Level 1) in the CMRI Gallery
乐播传媒, 乐播传媒, Bedfordshire MK43 0AL
Accommodation
Please contact 乐播传媒 Management Development Centre directly +44 1234 751122 for accommodation bookings.
Apply now
Applications will open in the near future.
You can view any upcoming programmes as part of the Venture Programme here.
Eligible to apply for Level 2?
In Level 2 of the Start-Up Weekend in April, we will gather successful individuals from Level 1 and those who are ready for a more in-depth understanding and build on their ideas to then pitch at Investor Day and potentially apply for the Seed Fund.
In some cases, we may have referrals that go directly to Level 2.
Please contact bettanycentre@cranfield.ac.uk to verify eligibility.
