Warwick Ventures’ CEO Quentin Compton-Bishop has been helping to find Europe’s best academic entrepreneurs in the 2011 Academic Enterprise Awards (ACES).

The awards were created in 2008 by the Science|Business Innovation Board AISBL, a not-for-profit scientific association formed by Science|Business and business schools INSEAD and ESADE to promote innovation in Europe.

Quentin (pictured right) joined a panel of judges representing institutions across Europe to assess entries for the contribution each has made to fostering a culture of entrepreneurship within their organisation.

Among the 12 finalists, announced today, are three UK spin-out ventures, from University College London, Imperial College, in London and Edinburgh’s Napier University. There are also two finalists from Switzerland, as well as entries from Hungary, Portugal, Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Portugal and the Netherlands.

The finalists are competing in four different award categories: Microsoft Cloud Computing; Life Sciences; New Materials and Engineering, and Young Entrepreneurs.

“The quality of entries was extremely high,” says Quentin. “Although it was tough to narrow the field to 12, it was fascinating to get a glimpse of the many innovative entrepreneurial activities that universities are engaging in throughout Europe.”

The ACES winners will be announced on 21 February at a gala dinner at the Royal Academy of Science in Brussels. More information is available from Science|Business