RTU FEEM students develop a product and gain acknowledgment in the “Cambridge Venture Camp”
Within the framework of the program, 40 Latvian university students have been accepted in Cambridge and during the visit they continue developing their business ideas.
During the visit, the students participate in lectures, receive advice from mentors, meet businesspeople, visit enterprises and business support institutions located in Cambridge. The “Cambridge Venture Camp” is a program for students of RTU FEEM and other Latvia universities; this program was launched in September 2015 and ran in January 2016.
Among the program participants was FEEM master level student Edvards Lorencs who together with his team won the appreciation for their product Knoq Eyes, which is a navigation system for visually impaired and blind people. Knoq Eyes was originally worked out within the FEEM study course “Product and design development” and its development continued in the “Cambridge Venture Camp” program.
“Participation in the “Cambridge Venture Camp” gave me an opportunity to achieve the set objectives in the product development. Within the program, I gained valuable knowledge, motivation and learned outbox thinking. Now, we have identified a number of problems in the prototype, found several potential partners and started cooperation. In addition, I obtained valuable contacts both in Latvia and the UK for further product development and investment attraction,” says Edvards Lorencs.
The Cambridge week of the Venture Camp focuses on learning from “The Cambridge Phenomenon” and exploring success factors to be exploited within entrepreneurial ecosystems. It combines classroom lectures and workshops with field visits and live case studies. It is participative and there is a focus on delegates developing their company plans / projects and practicing how to pitch and present.
