An initiative in research, development and innovation activity for businesses in Cornwall & Isles of Scilly, led by University of Exeter with partners University of Plymouth, Falmouth University and Duchy College.
Entrepreneurial Futures aims to nurture, embed and accelerate an entrepreneurial culture in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, with a focus on businesses working within Clean Energy, Geo-resources, Robotics/Automation, Agri-food, Net zero & Biodiversity, Immersive Technologies, and Business Circularity.
Businesses within these sectors are able access advice, support, academic collaboration and use world class facilities to innovate new ideas, products and processes, enabling them to improve productivity, reduce costs and reach new UK and export markets.
This film highlights some of the organisations that have benefitted from the project including:
Restord: A biochar start up in Liskeard who have been able to advance their research into the potential application and benefits of biochar for farms in the UK. They also received support from the University of Plymouth to recruit a graduate intern to help with branding, marketing and strategy.
Wildanet: As part their mission to build a better workplace as theire business continues to grow, Wildanet took part in University of Exeter’s ‘Good Work’ programme which looks at good work in the form of pay, conditions, productivity, skills and sustainability. The company was paired with a graduate intern to research new and evolving BCorp standards and help implement relevant action plans for the business.
Greenham Women CIC: The live arts organisation benefited from access to expertise at Falmouth University’s Centre for Blended Realities. They used the facility to understand how emerging immersive technologies might be used to facilitate and diversify what their organisation offers.
More businesses supported by Entrepreneurial Futures:
Circular & Co.
The award-winning company has been supported with a market analysis focused on the commercial viability of a new Returnable Cup Scheme.
The market analysis focused on possible venues and businesses in the hospitality, education and event sectors across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. An analysis of the commercial viability of the businesses was done, considering the size of the organisations, and the average amount of users.
Dan Dicker, CEO and Founder, thanked the Entrepreneurial Futures team: “This expert market analysis has supported Circular & Co. in advancing the drinkware returnable agenda by showcasing the commercial viability of our Returnable Cup Scheme which addresses the urgent need for sustainable packaging solutions.
The carbon savings of our Circular Returnable Cups is up to 158 grams of Carbon Emissions from one cup, they can be used over 1000 times and provide carbon savings after just 3 uses”.
Lisa Beverley-Jones, Entrepreneurial Futures SPF Programme Manager said: “By demonstrating the commercial and environmental benefits of the returnable scheme, Circular & Co. can effectively connect with key Cornish businesses, foster partnerships and roll out exemplary returnable schemes. This analysis provided actionable insights and identified potential businesses and organisations to engage, reinforcing the feasibility and strategic value of the Returnable Cup Scheme in reducing resource usage and waste production, thereby contributing to a more sustainable Cornish economy”.
Cornish Gems
University of Exeter student, Nancy Mansell, completed a successful internship at Cornish Gems sustainable holiday-letting agency. The internship was arranged through the Institute for Cornish Studies’ ‘Good Work in Cornwall’ initiative, which provides Cornwall-based businesses with student interns who have the opportunity to gain valuable skills, knowledge and career experience through meaningful work.
The scope of Nancy’s placement at Cornish Gems was to support the company’s expansion of its eco-conscious property collection and carbon-reduction plan. Nancy made significant contributions in her role, including:
- evaluating and updating green-grading information and Cornish Gems’ Eco-Conscious collection of properties
- presenting her work to the Senior Team
- collating the company’s carbon-footprint data to support its carbon-reduction plan
- reviewing and updating the ‘responsible visitor information’ (which is now available in guests’ digital welcome folders)
- supporting the business’s application for a King’s Award for Sustainable Development using the company’s sustainability statement, B Corp Accreditation data and other sources
- writing company blog posts
“Cornish Gems has provided me the opportunity to develop a variety of skills. I’m keen on a career in Sustainability PR and marketing. The placement has been instrumental in my career inspiration” – Nancy Mansell.
Emma Fashokun, ESG Strategy Lead at Cornish Gems and Nancy’s mentor said: “As a company, we wanted to give Nancy the opportunity to get involved in market research, data collection, marketing and strategy. The goal was to provide a tailored experience suited to her skillset, interests and career aspiration. Nancy engaged well with all departments and her presentation to the Senior Team was a particular high spot.
This was a really positive experience from beginning to end. As a company we believe in creating quality jobs in the hospitality sector to provide our young people with career pathways”.
Studio Cooney
From Gaussian Splatting to WebAR, exploring how introducing new scanning processes can widen the potential of professional photography services.
The Immersive Technologies strand of the Entrepreneurial Futures project offers dedicated support for enterprises in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly to explore how immersive technologies – including augmented (AR), mixed (MR) and virtual reality (VR) and 360 Full Dome – can be used for innovation, audience engagement and problem-solving across a wide range of contexts and industries.
Falmouth University’s Centre for Blended Realities invited Nick Cooney of Studio Cooney, to complete an Entrepreneurial Futures micro-residency to discover how different scanning techniques could be used to enhance his professional services. As a photographer specialising in architecture, editorial, and documentary who often carries out 3D captures of spaces, Nick was guided by the Immersive Technologist Georg Finch and got to grips with processes such as LiDAR, photogrammetry, and Gaussian Splatting, as well as using software CloudCompare to edit and manipulate data/point clouds. The final part of the residency dealt with the ways that assets can be used, shared, and displayed including 3D to 2D assets, Web AR, video display, potential site-specific installation, and 3D printing.
“The main benefit from the micro-residency was coming away with a clear understanding of how to streamline workflows for better efficiency and time management by using the most appropriate software. I now have the knowledge to obtain much cleaner data in the initial scanning phase of a project, thus saving time and effort during editing and post-production.” – Nick Cooney.
Westcountry Fabrication Ltd
University of Exeter student, Hugo Manley, completed a successful internship at Westcountry Fabrication Ltd. The internship was arranged through the Institute for Cornish Studies’ ‘Good Work in Cornwall’ initiative, which provides Cornwall-based businesses with student interns who have the opportunity to gain valuable skills, knowledge and career experience through meaningful work.
Saltash’s Westcountry Fabrication Ltd are specialists in structural and architectural metalwork, serving domestic and commercial customers across the South West of England.
Hugo Manley was recruited to help the company build an evidence base for their ISO, 4-Day Work Week, and Employee Ownership Trust accreditation journeys.
Hugo evaluated the feasibility of Westcountry Fabrication transitioning to an Employee Ownership Trust model, (intended to foster a greater sense of ownership and involvement among employees with everyone having a stake in the company’s success). Through facilitating meetings with professionals, industry specialists and similar companies that had been through the process, Hugo identified the steps the company would need to take to adopt this model.
He also assisted with the company’s environmental goals. Hugo captured carbon emissions into a dataset. This feeds into Westcountry Fabrication’s Environmental Management Strategy and provides evidence for proposed carbon offsetting and reduction initiatives in support of the company’s ISO14001 certification process.
“Hugo is exceptionally capable and got on with the task independently and conscientiously, and he has facilitated rapid progress towards our goals and shortened the timeframe of work from what would have taken me the best part of a year, to just three months.
The ripple effects of Hugo’s presence and work have impacted well beyond his objectives. We have plans to formalise our Environmental and Sustainability Strategy and are confident that we can achieve the ISO14001 certification in the spring.” – Westcountry Fabrication Ltd’s Director Samantha Hammond.
WilderMe
The Entrepreneurial Futures Net Zero Internship and Leadership programme placed PR & Marketing intern, Anju Gopi, with WilderMe to shout about their unique offer and attract new customers, so they can continue to practice good growth.
WilderMe is a social enterprise that offers eco-pod glamping with a carbon footprint 80% lower than staying in a traditional holiday home. What sets WilderMe apart from other players in the booming Eco Tourism market is their focus on supporting adults and children affected by autism and their caregivers. Co-founders Geoff and Nat understand the additional challenges these families face and are passionate about ensuring that cost is not a barrier to creating memories together in nature – but they need to ensure this values-driven model is financially sustainable.
“The Net Zero Internship and Leadership programme has made it possible for us to access the support we need to grow our business and diversify our income, while staying true to our core values. Our vision is for WilderMe to become a beacon for EcoTourism in the south west and we are looking forward to working with Anju to share our story.” – Geoff & Nat, Co-Founders of WilderMe.
Entrepreneurial Futures is made possible thanks to a £5.6m investment from the Good Growth Programme, funded by the UK Government through Shared Prosperity Fund