The Leonardo Project is a three-year venture, designed to unleash the combined creativity, entrepreneurship and genius of UK Scientists, Technologists, Engineers & Designers. It will sow the seeds for a significant shift in the way that the UK’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Design sectors do business, and lay the foundations of a new and exciting future for British industry. It will mean that UK-invented products are developed by UK companies, and that the benefits contribute to the UK economy
At the heart of The Leonardo Project is a 12-month, part time training programme that will enable participants to access their entrepreneurial spirit, unleash their creativity and develop their business skills and ideas in the real world
The project will change both the perception and the reality of the world in which the UK Science, Technology, Engineering and Design sectors operate. It will result in them being recognised as world leaders in commercial innovation as well as invention and design
The main objectives are:
1. To kick start the creation of new and sustainable UK based SMEs, with the ability to invent, innovate and manufacture tomorrow’s new products and processes, by harnessing the power of diversity
2. To transform the culture of innovation in the UK to one of openness, trust and collaboration
3. To deliver an exciting and dynamic Entrepreneurship Development Programme that dramatically reduces the time taken for innovative projects to be commercialised and brought to market
4. To harness the collaborative power of the web to engage the wider community (particularly young people) in the world of Science, Technology, Engineering and Design and to enable the world wide “Pro-Am” community to participate in projects addressing some of today’s major issues
5. To research the degree to which specific attitudes and behaviours influence entrepreneurship and creativity, and to what extent individuals can actively and effectively develop these traits
We recognise both the UK’s strong tradition of innovation in the academic sector, and the urgent economic and environmental need to stimulate a new wave of innovative projects that reinvigorate a sustainable UK manufacturing base
The Leonardo Project will be innovative, courageous, insightful and bold; and will reach outside the walls of traditional business education to ensure we unlock the talent of all our people
The Leonardo Project partners include Oxford, Cambridge & Portsmouth Universities; MIRIAD; Nanotechnology KTN; KaosPilots, Denmark
