YouGov has launched a summer school for student entrepreneurs. In collaboration with University College London and Imperial College, StartUp Summer invites teams of student entrepreneurs to develop a project idea, with the help of expert support.
The scheme is a pilot, and has received support from the Government and from StartUp Britain, a national initiative to support and encourage new enterprise in the UK.
The scheme starts on Monday July 18, and will run for six weeks. At the opening session, successful applicants will go through a pitching process to join one of five project teams. During the scheme, teams will have access to resources, a small budget and support from a mentor. They will attend a series of skills workshops and masterclasses run by educators from UCL and Imperial as well as successful entrepreneurs.
The teams will develop ideas such as a website that allows people to build printed photobooks, a physical “like” button that links to the online world, and an online advertising company selling the mouse cursor as inventory.
The scheme will culminate in a Dragons Den style pitch to established investors, with the winning team bagging a cash prize. 
James Eder, co-founder and commercial director of studentbeans.com will be a mentor at the scheme. “Im delighted to be involved in StartUp Summer,” he says. “Currently not enough young people realise starting their own business is a viable option post-university. It will be great to work with students who have the ideas and the passion to turn them into something real.”
YouGov co-founder and CEO, Stephan Shakespeare, who is acting as a project mentor and masterclass speaker, says: “As the UKs pioneering online polling company, innovation and entrepreneurialism remains at the core of YouGovs business. We developed StartUp Summer to inspire and encourage a new wave of entrepreneurial talent. I am excited to see the how the projects mature over the coming six weeks.”
Anyone interested in the masterclasses can go along – you can request more information or register your attendance by emailing [email protected]
