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WBS Young Entrepreneurs Scholarship Programme 2020/21

Note - for information and applications for the 2021/22 Young Entrepreneurs Scholarship, see here: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/wbs/undergrad/welcome/students/youngentrepreneursscholarship

Warwick Business School is pleased to invite highly motivated Young Entrepreneurs from under-represented backgrounds to apply for the 'Young Entrepreneurs Scholarship'.

The school is thrilled to continue offering this scholarship, specifically centered around entrepreneurship, for the academic year, 2020 - 2021. This will continue the school's work to recognise passion, commitment and an outstanding dedication to entrepreneurship amongst young people.

The Young Entrepreneurs Scholarship (YES) is awarded to one individual per year who has entrepreneurial ambitions. Applicants are invited to detail their business idea as a part of the application. The YES will provide the financial means to enable study for a Bachelor’s Degree at WBS, and meanwhile provide the study-related support to achieve on the undergraduate programme, and the business-related support and skills to succeed as an entrepreneur.

What will scholars receive?

The successful candidate will receive the following:

  • Full tuition fee bursary for 3 academic years.
  • A £3,000 yearly bursary to contribute towards living expenses.
  • One-to-one guidance and mentoring from Senior WBS faculty.

The Young Entrepreneurs Scholarship is available exclusively to those who:

  • Have a household income as assessed by the Student Loans Company of below £35,001,
  • Are ordinarily a resident in the UK and eligible to pay fees at the home rate,
  • Have firmly accepted an offer of a place on a full-time undergraduate course at Warwick starting in October 2020, or have successfully completed the Foundation Year,
  • Have not previously studied for a first degree,
  • Are eligible for both the tuition fee and maintenance loan, even if you have not taken out one or other of these loans.

You must also satisfy at least one more of the following criteria to be considered.
(Please note that we will consider only applicants entering higher education for the first time):

  • Have spent time in local-authority care.
    (Applicants meeting this criterion are not required to meet any of the other criteria below).
  • Attend/attended a school where average performance of students achieving 5 A*-C GCSE including English and Mathematics was below the national average and/or attending a school/college with below the national average performance at KS5.
  • Attend/attended a school or college with above national average entitlement/eligibility to Free School Meals.
  • Are a first-generation entrant to higher education i.e. neither parent has attended university.
  • Live in a low participation neighbourhood (POLAR 4, quintile 1) or an area which has a high level of deprivation (Index of Multiple Deprivation, 0-20%).*
    * To find out if your home postcode is in a low participation neighbourhood you can use the following postcode tool (when you type in your postcode you should look at the number in the first category ‘POLAR4 young participation quintile’.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I apply?

Applications for the Young Entrepreneurs Scholarship 2020/21 can be found on the following webpage: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/wbs/undergrad/welcome/students/youngentrepreneurseligibility/applicationform2020/. The closing date for applications is 12:00pm (midday) BST on Friday 31st July 2020.

What is the selection process?

Candidates are invited to submit a written powerpoint presentation of no more than 15 slides outlining their entrepreneurial plan for a business or social enterprise start-up. Candidates should also submit a written personal statement of no more than 500 words outlining how they would benefit from the Scholarship.

The submission will be judged on the following criteria which may be applied to either commercial or social enterprises:

  • Size of the market served or the size of the problem solved by the enterprise,
  • Route to market launch,
  • Barriers to entry for competitors (including any intellectual property),
  • Pre-existing team, or plans to build a team to support enterprise,
  • Evidence of steps already taken to implement the plan (if any),
  • Path to profitability (or financial self sufficiency if a social enterprise),
  • Estimates of investment or financial support required to implement the plan.

How will I be notified of the outcome of my application?

Shortlisted candidates will be invited for interview with a panel of WBS Faculty, and following this you will be notified of the outcome of your application by email. Specific interview details, dates and times will be confirmed again via email at a later date.

Given the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic it may be that these assessments will take place virtually. More guidance about this will be provided closer to the time.

I have another question, who should I contact?

Please contact Prof. Simon Barnes (simon.barnes@wbs.ac.uk) for questions regarding your entrepreneurial project; or Charlotte Beesley, Senior Student Experience and Widening Participation Coordinator from the Undergraduate Programme Team for general questions (charlotte.beesley@wbs.ac.uk).