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Stellenbosch - Stellenbosch University (SU) is now the home of a brand-new business accelerator, called LaunchLab, in the centre of its Stellenbosch campus.
The LaunchLab, an initiative of the University’s innovation company, Innovus, is the hub of all entrepreneurial activity on the SU campus.
Besides being home to a number of SU spin-out companies, it also houses student start-up companies and external service provider companies.They will be on hand to provide mentoring and services to any tenants who require it.
The aim of the LaunchLab is to boost entrepreneurship at the University by providing networking opportunities, mentoring and affordable rental rates in an entrepreneur-friendly environment.
“Universities world-wide are establishing business accelerators not separate from the university, but closer to the university’s knowledge generation," said SU Rector and Vice-Chancellor Prof Russel Botman at the opening of the LaunchLab.
"We ask ourselves what is the profile of students leaving our University – how are they positioned and how are they prepared for the future and the economy?"
He said by the time someone gets a degree, the entrepreneurial instincts must have been sharpened to such an extent that he can start his own business and make a success of it – creating employment for himself and others.
He added that universities do not only impact individuals, but are required to make a more positive impact on towns, regions and the world.
“As a university we understand that we need strong partnerships with communities and industry to promote economic and human development. We are driven by knowledge and knowledge generation; we are driven by ideas and by thoughts," he said.
“In fact, more and more students start businesses while they are still at university, seamlessly taking it to the next level once they graduate."
He said there has an explosion at the University over the past few years, of initiatives promoting entrepreneurship.
The Stellenbosch Idea Competition (SIC) is one of these, and it has already produced several success stories of Maties coming up with innovative business ideas and putting these into practice.
The SIC competition includes a number of workshops during which entrants are taught how to draw up business plans and also how to pitch new business ideas.
The nine winners of this year’s competition, who each received R10 000 in seed capital to give their businesses a kick-start, are:
* Jacques Marais, Coffee Reservations: Aimed at providing an electronic pre-ordering system for students at restaurants;
* Luca Baumann, Christopher Furstenburg and Dylan Verrezen, Specialised Branding Company: Aimed at providing unique promotional gear to businesses and managing businesses’ promotional activities;
* Bruwer van Dyk, The Recycling Squad: Addressing the urgent need for the recycling of waste;
* Derick Truscott, Jean Breytenbach and Chris Coetzee, Cuda: Aimed at improving productivity and communication among students;
* Pierre Bernard Le Roux, Vetkuier: Aimed at supplying a web application with a mobile counterpart that will allow pubs to improve communication with their customers;
* Jared Wesner: Development of a video lecturing system for schools with the option of portable mini-computing for schools without internet;
* Michelle Laubscher: A proposed peer-to-peer education initiative in education;
* Stef Coetzee: Aimed a decreasing electricity charges with his Humpback Pipe (HBP) solution that lessens dependence on grid power;
* Alexander Matthee: Aimed at decreasing electricity charges by storing solar energy as heat in solid materials.
- Fin24
Share your experience of setting up a business or simply ask a question. Our business panel can put you on the right path.
The LaunchLab, an initiative of the University’s innovation company, Innovus, is the hub of all entrepreneurial activity on the SU campus.
Besides being home to a number of SU spin-out companies, it also houses student start-up companies and external service provider companies.They will be on hand to provide mentoring and services to any tenants who require it.
The aim of the LaunchLab is to boost entrepreneurship at the University by providing networking opportunities, mentoring and affordable rental rates in an entrepreneur-friendly environment.
“Universities world-wide are establishing business accelerators not separate from the university, but closer to the university’s knowledge generation," said SU Rector and Vice-Chancellor Prof Russel Botman at the opening of the LaunchLab.
"We ask ourselves what is the profile of students leaving our University – how are they positioned and how are they prepared for the future and the economy?"
He said by the time someone gets a degree, the entrepreneurial instincts must have been sharpened to such an extent that he can start his own business and make a success of it – creating employment for himself and others.
He added that universities do not only impact individuals, but are required to make a more positive impact on towns, regions and the world.
“As a university we understand that we need strong partnerships with communities and industry to promote economic and human development. We are driven by knowledge and knowledge generation; we are driven by ideas and by thoughts," he said.
“In fact, more and more students start businesses while they are still at university, seamlessly taking it to the next level once they graduate."
He said there has an explosion at the University over the past few years, of initiatives promoting entrepreneurship.
The Stellenbosch Idea Competition (SIC) is one of these, and it has already produced several success stories of Maties coming up with innovative business ideas and putting these into practice.
The SIC competition includes a number of workshops during which entrants are taught how to draw up business plans and also how to pitch new business ideas.
The nine winners of this year’s competition, who each received R10 000 in seed capital to give their businesses a kick-start, are:
* Jacques Marais, Coffee Reservations: Aimed at providing an electronic pre-ordering system for students at restaurants;
* Luca Baumann, Christopher Furstenburg and Dylan Verrezen, Specialised Branding Company: Aimed at providing unique promotional gear to businesses and managing businesses’ promotional activities;
* Bruwer van Dyk, The Recycling Squad: Addressing the urgent need for the recycling of waste;
* Derick Truscott, Jean Breytenbach and Chris Coetzee, Cuda: Aimed at improving productivity and communication among students;
* Pierre Bernard Le Roux, Vetkuier: Aimed at supplying a web application with a mobile counterpart that will allow pubs to improve communication with their customers;
* Jared Wesner: Development of a video lecturing system for schools with the option of portable mini-computing for schools without internet;
* Michelle Laubscher: A proposed peer-to-peer education initiative in education;
* Stef Coetzee: Aimed a decreasing electricity charges with his Humpback Pipe (HBP) solution that lessens dependence on grid power;
* Alexander Matthee: Aimed at decreasing electricity charges by storing solar energy as heat in solid materials.
- Fin24
Share your experience of setting up a business or simply ask a question. Our business panel can put you on the right path.
