Pembroke College was the scene of a modern-day fairy tale last week as, over the course of two hours, ten fire-breathing entrepreneurs were transformed into knights in shining armour.

They formed a judging panel for the inaugural Parmee Prize for Entrepreneurship and Enterprise, set up this year to foster the entrepreneurial spirit among Pembroke College students.

During the evening, five undergraduates and graduates pitched their business plans to a group of Pembroke alumni representing the fields of entrepreneurship, business and technology. In a format similar to the BBC2 programme “Dragons' Den”, each student presented a brief outline of his or her plan, and then faced the potential ordeal of expert interrogation.

In fact, the evening took a very positive turn when the ‘dragons' responded with great enthusiasm for the students' ideas, which ranged from online gaming communities to renewable energy production.

As the Prize's sponsor, Richard Parmee (Pembroke, 1970), noted, “When you come to Cambridge, you become a member of your college for life. In that way, since blood is thicker than water, we're all part of the same Pembroke family.”

In contrast to their television counterparts, the panellists responded very supportively, in some cases offering practical help and further mentoring in order to prepare ideas for market. Richard Parmee observed, “The idea behind the award was to identify students who would really benefit from support – it would have been a huge boost to me when I was starting out in the Seventies, to have had this sort of experience.”

The outright winner of the £1,000 prize was fourth-year Engineering PhD candidate Dhiraj Sinha, for his proposal involving an ultra-sensitive microantenna.

The knights' desire to reward endeavour and achievement extended to the impromptu awarding of a second prize, after intensive debate, in order to recognise the merits of another business plan.

This, worth £500, went to fourth-year PhD candidate Mark Mann, from the same research group, for his nanotechnology-based project.

Martin Gibson (Pembroke, 1988), a partner at venture capital firm Atlas Venture, said, “I have been very impressed by the quality of some of the ideas this evening. Many successful entrepreneurs start their first businesses as students, so it's exciting for all of us to hear from a new generation of innovators, and perhaps give them a helping hand.”

Dr Mark Wormald, Senior Tutor, commented: “This is a great opportunity for Pembroke students with bright ideas to be challenged and guided by successful practitioners. Though the prizes themselves will mean a lot to students on tight budgets, the ongoing access to supportive expertise is invaluable.” This continuing support may involve further stages of funding, as well as one-to-one business mentoring.

The College will be hosting another Parmee Prize next year, to harness the enthusiasm and skills of panellists and entrants alike.

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