With a new business development dimension to the Young Scientist competition, smart students may see their products go to market, writes DICK AHLSTROM
THE JUDGES at the next BT Young Scientists and Technologyexhibition will be choosing the 2010 Young Scientist of the year, but will also be searching for something extra – the next Google, Microsoft or Elan.
Sponsor BT has added a completely new dimension to the competition, something that could certainly have an impact on the development of Ireland’s smart economy. It will see students with promising new ideas being given an opportunity to develop business plans around their research and possibly even bring products to market.
“The top 40 students from the event in January, those with a great project but also showing entrepreneurial spirit, will be selected for entry into our new programme,” says BT Ireland chief executive, Chris Clark. Each year the exhibition is guaranteed to throw up ideas that have obvious commercial potential. “It just blows me away. I have to believe that out of this year we will create one or two firms.”
Planning for the project began last March, encouraged by the consistently high quality of the best projects. While companies might follow, the goals of the scheme, the BT Business of Science and Technology Programme, are little different to those of the Young Scientistexhibition itself, Clark says. "What is the objective of the BT Young Scientist? It is to make science, engineering, maths and technology exciting and practical in the hopes that it will get more kids interested in studying these subjects at Leaving and third level."
He believes the new programme will do the same, with the added excitement of developing ideas that might ultimately make some money. “The students already put huge effort in pursuing their research and putting together their results. In a sense the new programme helps to answer a key question for these students: ‘Where does it leave me?’ ” Clark says.
Career paths are far less obvious for the sciences than say accounting, law or medicine. “I did science and I didn’t have a clue what I was going to do with a science degree,” Clark admits. “This shows that science can have something to do with business.”
The students will already have the science part done so the new programme has another key role, demystifying business. “The purpose isn’t to make them feel intimidated by this,” he says, the programme is designed to help the student see what is involved in bringing their scientific discoveries to market.
To accomplish this, BT has lined up a selection of “mentors” picked from among some of the leading technology companies here including IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Bombardier, Bord Gáis, IP Innovations, UCD, TCD, Engineers Ireland and Bank of Ireland.
“The students will have the opportunity to work with a number of mentors from North and South.” They will be divided into eight groups of five and during next February and March they will go through a series of workshops, master classes on a whole range of issues related to the business aspects of product and service development.
These include developing a business strategy, finance, marketing, trading internationally and the interpersonal dynamics of working as part of a team. Controlling intellectual property (IP) will be a central feature of these sessions and one that enters the equation very early in the process.
The battery of Young Scientistjudges will search out winning individuals and group winners, but will also watch for innovative ideas that might provide a business opportunity. Once identified, the IP can be immediately registered on behalf of that student so that it remains under some level of protection in case the student does engage with the new programme and manages to float a company.
There was no difficulty finding companies and individuals who wanted to work as mentors, Clark says. “They were all very keen and readily got involved.”
He saw several things in play that helped this along. These companies already have a degree of contact with one another. All see the value of having an event such as the Young Scientistgiven its potential to encourage more students into science, engineering and maths. And they also believe that they have a responsibility to foster the next generation, who may in time look for work in these technology-driven companies.
Students will have an added incentive to participate. The top six performers will be given an opportunity to go on summer placements in higher education institutions where they can take their projects to the next level. While this is most likely to provide research support for a good idea, Clark said they would also attempt to help a top student in need of non-technical support, say in marketing or distribution, by placing them with a relevant company.
For those who view this as so much pie in the sky, consider the case of Patrick Collison. Overall winner in 2005, two years later he co-founded a company, Auctomatic, based on his ideas, and sold it 10 months later for $5 million. Then there is the case of Niamh Chapman, Rhona Togher and Eimear O’Carroll, runners-up in 2009 with a project on relieving tinnitus. Their project has lead to the setting up of Restored Hearing Ltd, which is already trading online.
Clark has no illusions about what this programme might deliver. It is not going to reverse the recession or deliver 10,000 jobs. “We’re not trying to over-play what this is,” he says. “But there is absolutely no reason not to aim high.”
