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Catalyst

Catalyst is an intensive 10-week programme delivered in partnership with The Institute for Ethical AI. It is especially for businesses with a strong tech element.

About Catalyst

Delivered over an intensive 10-week programme in partnership with The Institute for Ethical AI, this tech accelerator is aimed at ambitious entrepreneurs.

Catalyst runs over the summer months on alternate years. Entrepreneurs are selected to join the programme through an assessed application. Once on the programme, they receive weekly training and regular mentoring to help strengthen the foundation of their business, so they become investment ready.

Please note that to be eligible, the business must be registered with Companies House and should be led by a Brookes student, staff member, graduate or alumni. Ideally the business should also be based in, or operating from, Oxfordshire.

Case Study

Find out how Duray Pretorius is helping underrepresented businesses to rank higher on search engines.

2021 Speakers

This programme runs every two years. Past speakers included:

AI for Good in Healthcare - with Microsoft

Tom Lawry, National Director for Artificial Intelligence at Microsoft, talked about AI for Good in Healthcare.

Artificial Intelligence helping people with motor neurone disease – with Rolls-Royce

Dr. Muhannad Alomari talked about Tech for Good initiatives at Rolls Royce, specifically on their Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology that helps people with motor neurone disease (MND).

The importance of Responsible AI - with PWC

Maria Luciana Axente, AI for Good lead at PWC talked about responsible AI, the relation between ethical AI and good business outcomes and how this can impact every one of us.

IBM: Science for Social Good

Dr Kush R. Varshney, talked about the past 5 years of progress in Tech for Good initiatives at IBM, including tackling poverty and evaluating cancer treatments.

Developing Strategic Partnerships - Graphcore

Victoria Rege heads up Strategic Partnerships at Graphcore, working with key customers and leading Research & Universities AI engagements. Graphcore is a Unicorn in the UK tech world, with a $2.77 Billion valuation. Victoria talked about developing strategic partnerships and advised our cohort on their next strategic step.

Market positioning and developing clear branding with Seedcamp

Natasha Lytton heads up brand, marketing, and network strategy at Seedcamp. Natasha presented the 3rd module in Catalyst, focused on developing clear branding and market positioning.

Sales Masterclass with Spotify

Darren Thompson, Director of Sales at Spotify, joined the programme to provide a Sales Masterclass to our cohort. It was a closed session with the opportunity to ask questions at the end.

Pitching practice with Rolls Royce

Arevinth V. Sarma, Venturing & Incubation Lead at Rolls Royce R2 Data Labs conducted a pitching masterclass session and provided feedback on the cohort’s pitch decks.

12 Month Action Plan

Jessica Rogers, business and executive coach, joined the programme in its penultimate week to talk about developing a 12- month action plan after Catalyst. She provided tips and tricks, and answered questions.

Find out more

Benefits

access to an extensive network of investors and partners
1:1 coaching with industry experts
opportunities to get a funded Oxford Brookes intern to work with
a bespoke training programme
support in making grant funding applications and fund raising advice
investment readiness training
guidance in how to build leadership and management skills, resilience and an entrepreneurial mindset
free annual membership to Enterprise Nation – The UK’s largest network for small businesses
access to co-working space at BEHive (Headington campus) and ICE Qube (Wheatley campus) for 12 months.

Eligibility

Applicants must

be Oxford Brookes University students, staff members or recent graduates (up to 3 years), or be a tech entrepreneur based and operating in Oxfordshire
apply as a team (minimum of two)
have at least one team member, but preferably more attend the programme sessions each week
have an MVP with a clear value proposition
be registered with Companies House by the time applications to participate in the programme close
be able to host an intern into their team for the duration of the programme (ten weeks)
operate as a trading company or be one that is ready to take that definite step
operate with an identified business bank account (in order to receive any prize awarded through the programme)

Programme Dates

Further details will be published soon.

Funding Awarded

Companies selected for Catalyst have the opportunity to pitch their business proposal to the Catalyst Panel at the end of the programme and through this, have a chance to win one of four £10,000 prizes sponsored by The Institute for Ethical AI.

After Catalyst

After Catalyst, companies will join a network of entrepreneurs who have been through the programme and have access to the co-working spaces at the Headington and Wheatley campuses for the next 12 months. During this time they will continue to receive support from Brookes Enterprise Support, mentors and the extensive network of professionals and experts the team is able to draw on.