Business involvement

[Paul Callaghan]

Dear all

Some thoughts about sponsorship and commercial support. 

Since we're aiming to increase the level of skills in the area, it would be great to get support of various forms from local agencies and companies. Endorsement first would be excellent,  some recognition of what we're aiming to do and recommendation that more people get involved. Modest Sponsorship for the early stages would also be useful,  eg help with hiring rooms and doing  advertising. 

Later on, I hope that companies realise this is a great way to train their staff,  and to attract and identify new talent,  and that they start to subsidise courses or even pay outright. Eg new students could be given 20 hours of study vouchers, or compete for larger subsidies etc.

So,  does anyone have contacts in suitable organisations through which we can start to explore these issues? I'd be grateful for any suggestions,  or if you could start the discussion with them yourself - highlight our plans and generally spread the word. 

Cheers

Paul