A programme from Stanford to support entrepreneurial venturing in organisations Designed to help technical leaders to enhance their entrepreneurship, this part-time programme in London includes a lot of work on their specific ventures

The Stanford Ignite London programme, about to start, is designed to deliver the same kind of immersive, innovative, and hands-on instruction that working professionals and graduate students at Stanford experience.

It provides exposure to both the fundamentals of management and the practical aspects of identifying, evaluating, and moving business ideas forward. It is aimed at participants with strong scientific, medical, or technical backgrounds who do not have an advanced degree in business.

Participants are taught by Stanford business faculty in London as well as those beamed in from Silicon Valley through high-definition video technology. Infosys which also hosted the Bangalore programme will host this programme at its Canary Wharf teleconference facility, using its high-definition distance video technology to deliver seamless teaching sessions from California to London.

During the programme, which runs from September to December, participants will engage with faculty and each other in interactive sessions and group projects. “This is a programme for those who are planning to start a new venture, as well as for intrapreneurs – individuals who wish to bring innovation and entrepreneurial thinking to their current role within a company,” said Stanford Ignite faculty director Yossi Feinberg, Professor of Economics at Stanford Graduate School of Business. “It provides graduate students, innovators, scientists, and engineers from leading companies the essential toolset for creating impactful ventures.”

Stanford Ignite participants have started more than 100 successful companies since the programme was introduced at Stanford in 2006. The London programme is one of seven Stanford Ignite programmes available in innovation hubs around the globe to enable audiences outside of Silicon Valley to tap into Stanford’s distinctive approach to teaching entrepreneurship and management. It is now offered in Bangalore, Beijing, Paris, New York, London, and Santiago as well as at Stanford.

The non-degree programme in London – for 50 participants – costs US$10,000 and will be held every other week on Friday evenings, Saturday and Sunday over a twelve week period. It will include training, but also a third of the time on participants’ own venture projects, which they will develop by working closely with experienced mentors and panels of industry experts from both Silicon Valley and the New York area – who will provide real-world feedback.

The programme draws on the same world-class business faculty who teach in Stanford’s MBA Programme, which is infused with the culture and practice of innovation that pervades Stanford University and Silicon Valley.

John Whatmore, June 2016