Skip to content Accessibility statement

York hosts China UK Entrepreneurship Challenge

Chinese and UK student entrepreneurs will take part in a Dragons’ Den style competition this week as the University of York hosts the international final of the China UK Entrepreneurship Challenge.

The annual competition aims to encourage new business ventures between China and the United Kingdom and to simulate the real world process of entrepreneurs soliciting start-up funds from early-stage investors and venture capital firms.

Chinese students come to study here knowing the University of York helps run the competition and that it has led to some real success stories

Professor Kiran Fernandes

Held at the Ron Cooke Hub on 13 October, the event will see three student teams from China and three from the UK competing for a chance to win a share of £11,000 prize money.

The teams will face tough questions from the ‘dragons’ - Professor David Brown from Lancaster University, Professor Richard Harrison from Queens University Belfast, Dr David Chapman of UCL Advances, venture capitalist Martin Bloom and entrepreneur Parvin Ali OBE.

Organised by the York Management School at the University of York, University College London, Lancaster University, Queens University Belfast and the China Innovation and Development Association UK, the China UK Entrepreneurship Challenge has two strands – to showcase both the talents of student entrepreneurs and UK businesses hoping to work with Chinese partners.

Five UK businesses were shortlisted to take part in a programme of business support including masterclasses on leadership, finding funding and aspects of international trade. These include two York businesses, Yatterbox and Inclusive Innovations. The founder of Inclusive Innovations, Dr Kin Kam, won third prize in the student competition last year.

Professor Kiran Fernandes, from the York Management School, said: “Each year the event puts York on the international map as it is always well-covered in China by local and national media. Chinese students come to study here knowing the University of York helps run the competition and that it has led to some real success stories.

“At York it provides us with an excellent way of engaging our management students in international business, particularly emerging economies such as China.”

A delegation of Chinese business leaders, politicians and students will visit York for the competition, including representatives of large Chinese corporations.

Professor John Local, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research, said: “The University of York enjoys strong links with China. We have a number of multilateral collaborations with universities, including our Worldwide University Network colleague institutions, Zhejiang and Nanjing Universities.

“Our Department of Computer Science has established a research centre with Beijing Jiaotong University to explore safety critical systems in high speed rail developments, and we also have strong cultural exchange links with Peking University in art history.”

Further information