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About the Clinical Entrepreneur Programme

Are you a staff member of Northern Ireland’s NHS or Health and Social Care Trust?  Do you have an innovative business idea that could improve your workplace?

The Clinical Entrepreneur Programme (CEP) is a, one-year mentoring initiative from the NHS. Delivered by Anglia Ruskin University, it is the largest entrepreneurial workforce programme of its kind.

Funded by Invest NI and run in partnership with the Clinical Entrepreneur Team in NHS England, the Programme is championed and managed by HIRANI.  It provides advice and support to help with all aspects of starting and running a small business or project, including applying for funding and adhering to corporate governance.

Invest NI is committed to funding the Programme until March 2026.  Since its inception in Northern Ireland in 2022, the initiative has supported 20 entrepreneurs from the region.

Aims and benefits of the Clinical Entrepreneur Programme

Aims include:

  • Enabling entrepreneurs and creative thinkers to pursue their innovative ideas while continuing to work in their current roles.
  • Supporting the healthcare workforce to develop and scale their ideas for the benefit of patients, staff and the wider NHS.

Participant benefits include:

  • The opportunity to develop the skills, knowledge and experience needed to successfully build and run a start-up business to address the challenges facing the NHS.
  • Access to a series of educational events with industry mentors

The Programme also offers 1:1 mentoring, networking opportunities, education, customer matching, resources, development tools and much more.

Who can apply?

The Programme is open to both clinical and non-clinical NHS staff and healthcare professionals.  Full eligibility criteria can be found on the NHS Clinical Entrepreneur website.

How can I apply?

Applications are now open.  The closing date is 18:00 on Tuesday 29 October 2024.  Find out more on how you can prepare your application on the NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme website.

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