Develop your intrapreneurial skills and gain invaluable experience working with inspiring entrepreneurs with IKEEP.
Students involved in the IKEEP programme engage in online training in a range of business areas such as managing innovation, business model canvas and leadership strategies.
From here, students can apply for a short project placement (a commitment of 70 hours per student, spread flexibly over 4 weeks), working remotely for a regional business or charity as part of an interdisciplinary team of 3 students.
Some of this year’s IKEEP participants at our IKEEP mingle event.
We spoke with Mansour Alshamsi, a student who has previously participated in IKEEP training and an industry project placement to find out about his experience in the IKEEP programme.
The IKEEP programme offers students free business training and industry experience through a paid team placement with a small enterprise.
Marketing undergraduate Nina tells us about her IKEEP project placement with non-profit Better Together and how it’s inspired her future career plans.
Nina, can you tell us about your IKEEP project with Better Together?
Better Together offers workshops and resources on online safety, specifically targeting parents, guardians, caregivers, teachers, and other professionals working with children and young people. They also provide workshops tailored to adult internet use.
Francisco is a physics postgraduate studying for a PhD in Functional Nanomaterials. He told us about his recent IKEEP (Intrapreneurial Knowledge Exchange Enterprise Pathway) placement, helping Safer Industries to develop their human resources (HR). to develop their human resources (HR). This project ran with funding from Bristol Innovations.
Francisco, can you tell us more about your IKEEP project?
Safer Industries primarily focuses on services and products for clients to improve their safety and prevent criminal activity.
We were tasked with laying the groundwork for their HR operational guidelines and policies, such as the Employee Lifecycle and Personal Development Programme.
This meant getting to know the company’s culture and goals, along with existing industry standards and best practices, the legal space the company operates within, and a fair bit of reflecting on what our ideal workplace would be and how to bring it about for future employees.
Electrical and Electronic Engineering student Tirenioluwa Omigbodun recently took on the challenge of an IKEEP placement with independent arts venue The Bristol Improv Theatre (BIT).
She was part of a student team looking at external factors impacting the theatre so they can adapt and attract new audiences.
Tirenioluwa, can you tell us about your team placement with Bristol Improv Theatre?
The placement with the Bristol Improv Theatre was on looking at their external environment. The theatre was preparing their 2023/25 business plan and needed a glimpse of the socio-economic environment. We researched their audience profiles, trends within the industry and how the BIT impacts its environment.
Some students then take on a project with an innovative SME. We caught up with epidemiology postgrad Aman Jat after he finished his IKEEP placement with medical tech start-up Microsol.
Aman, can you tell us more about the project you were working on?
Microsol is a science start-up focused on delivering AI-enabled software products for predicting aerosol properties in respiratory drug delivery. Microsol directly contribute to the advancement of respiratory therapeutics, which is beneficial to society and the economy.
The aim of our project was to plan Microsol’s public launch. A key objective was to develop a marketing campaign, find prospective investors from data and expand their network, as well as enhance their web presence.
Hi, I’m Emily! I am a third-year law student and I recently completed a project placement with PyTerra, after following a two-week Intrapreneurial course with IKEEP. I heard about the IKEEP training programme in the Careers Service newsletter, and it seemed like a great way to get interesting work experience. I got offered a 4-week work placement at PyTerra, which is a local ‘FinTech’ (Financial Technology) start-up and app where investors, developers, grant givers and corporates can collaborate to make low carbon housing projects feasible. Essentially, PyTerra’s mission is to generate finance for aggregated low-carbon projects. (more…)
Greetings from a second-year Electrical and Electronic Engineering student. My name is Alex and I completed a month-long SME internship for the company Senmag Robotics.
I was tasked with coding demos using the Unity game engine. The demos showcase the functionality and potential applications of the device that the company is developing.
In short, this device is meant to give you three-dimensional precise control and haptic feedback. This allows you to feel virtual objects and effects as if they are physically present.
I carried out my internship remotely, but I did receive a VR headset and one of their devices to play with (and by play, I of course mean responsibly troubleshoot newly written scripts and test added features!).(more…)
The IKEEP programme is designed for current students (on undergraduate, postgraduate taught and postgraduate research degrees from all disciplines) to expand their skillset through intrapreneurial training and engage with organisations as business advisors on knowledge exchange projects.(more…)
The Intrapreneurial Knowledge Exchange Enterprise Pathway (IKEEP) begins with fully funded training to equip you with the skills to drive innovation and bring fresh thinking to businesses.
Once you’ve completed your intrapreneurial training, you can apply for a project placement and get the opportunity to take your new skills and help a business solve an innovative challenge.
Andreea Patrunjel, MSc in Computer Science
Andreea Patrunjel, a postgraduate student, studying an MSc in Computer Science at the University of Bristol, took part in the IKEEP programme. She completed IKEEP’s online Intrapreneurial training and went on to apply for and take part in the 4-week project placement. She was matched with a Bristol start-up, Groundwaves, a company which have pioneered some of the most powerful haptic technology, and applied it in a footwear product, fusing the worlds of fashion and technology.
We caught up with Andreea to hear more about her experience with IKEEP…
The IKEEP Programme consists of high-quality knowledge exchange opportunities, providing fresh perspectives and skills to enable regional businesses to grow while honing the talent of future graduates.
Students involved will have participated in online training in a range of business areas such as managing innovation, business model development and project management. Student teams are ready to be placed within a company to develop business model solutions, improve market awareness and more!
Senmag Robotics’s Experience with IKEEP
Senmag Robotics took part in the IKEEP Programme this year. The student team, matched to this business, carried out market research to evaluate the most suitable markets and potential customers/early adopters for their product. They were also involved in the company’s website design, implementing improvements using HTML and CSS.
Spyros Lavetiz, the CEO and Co-founder of Senmag Robotics
Senmag Robotics is a Bristol-based start-up andNew Enterprise Competition finalist producing affordable haptic feedback technology, which allows a user to physically interact with computer simulations, making environments and objects in AR/VR feel solid.
Spyros Lavetiz is the CEO and Co-founder of Senmag Robotics and has recently completed his final year of a master’s degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Bristol.
We spoke to Spyros to find out more about his experience with IKEEP…
