The Engineering Design Show is launching The Springboard, which aims to encourage engineering start-ups and entrepreneurs. Supported by British luxury automotive supercar maker McLaren Automotive, it will provide early-stage companies a platform to share their innovations among thousands of engineering professionals with the power to influence and lead them to future success.
The show is the UK’s only event solely dedicated to engineering, electronics and embedded design. It is also the only design engineering event powered by Eureka, New Electronics and, for 2021, The Engineer publications. The show offers the perfect environment for design engineers to profit from direct access to the latest products, services and innovations in the sector.
With this new initiative, up to eight businesses will be provided with a free stand in the Springboard area and entered into the inaugural Springboard Awards. To qualify, businesses must be below three years old with a product or service related to engineering.
The awards will take place at the show. Each exhibitor will be invited to present their innovation on stage to a panel of expert judges, including McLaren Automotive chief executive officer, Mike Flewitt. The winner will receive a free stand on the main floor at the show the following year, as well as PR and marketing support, together worth £10,000.
Chair of the judging panel and editor of The Engineer, Jon Excell, said: “We are delighted to announce the inaugural Springboard event and awards supported by McLaren Automotive. We are sure it will unveil some inspiring and innovative UK engineers whose inventions across a range of sectors could profoundly change the way we live and work. We are very much looking forward to seeing and judging the entries, which we are sure will be very exciting.”
Mike Flewitt, chief executive officer, McLaren Automotive, said: “As a company that likes to push the boundaries of innovation ourselves, we are proud to be supporting this initiative which will provide start-ups across the sector with a valuable platform for sharing their ideas and earning much-needed recognition and brand awareness among thousands of engineering professionals.”
Engineering Design Show event director, Gordon Kirk, said: “Start-ups and early-stage businesses have faced a number of very difficult hurdles over the past eighteen months. We hope that providing them with a means to showcase their innovations to a wide audience will allow engineering professionals and others to see for themselves how they will contribute to the future of the industry and the UK economy.“
The Engineering Design Show, Coventry, 19-20 October 2021. Headline sponsors are Würth Elektronik and Solid State Supplies.