Unlocking and supporting new business ideas at Cranfield
If you are a Cranfield student, researcher, alumni or staff member with a business idea, we are here to help you!
Start-Up Weekends are the perfect opportunity to work with peers, mentors, and entrepreneurs to shape your ideas. We create an open and safe environment to share your own ideas, gain knowledge and test your ideas with seasoned business professionals.
This is a unique opportunity to work closely with mentors to work through big ideas and turn problems into business opportunity.
Some of the topics covered across our weekends include:
- Who's Your Customer?
- Market Application and Commercial Advantages
- Value Proposition
- Business Models
- Raising Capital
Following each session, you will be given the chance to break into small groups and talk through your idea with an experienced entrepreneur. At the end of the weekend, you will get the opportunity to practice pitching your idea and will receive feedback on both your pitch and how to take your idea forward from this point.
Start-Up Weekends are part of the Venture Programme, an extracurricular programme designed to unlock the entrepreneurial spirit of every Cranfield student hosted by the university’s entrepreneurial hub, the Bettany Centre.
Hear from previous Start-Up Weekend participants
Gain a Cranfield Enhance: Entrepreneurship badge
A Cranfield Enhance digital badge is an opportunity to showcase your skills to prospective employers via your social media profile. The badges are widely recognised by employers as a mark of expertise and dedication. In the current challenging environment, entrepreneurship is now more critical than ever as it drives economic growth and fosters innovation. Being an entrepreneur involves more than just launching and operating your own company. Thinking creatively and coming up with innovative solutions to challenges are hallmarks of an entrepreneurial mindset, which is becoming increasingly important in both academic and corporate settings, not only in start-ups.
The 'Ideation' badge will provide you with basic business skills and knowledge on how to take an idea into a business venture. You will have the opportunity to share and test your own ideas with the support of business professionals and work closely with mentors to turn problems into real business opportunities. Completing this badge will provide you with basic knowledge of customer segmentation, value propositions, business models, finance and stakeholder management.
To gain an ‘Ideation’ badge, you will need to submit a short application in advance, outlining the idea you would like to explore over the weekend. The start-up weekend is the perfect opportunity to work with peers, mentors, and entrepreneurs to shape your ideas. We create an open and safe environment to share your own ideas, gain knowledge and test your ideas with seasoned business professionals. Cranfield Enhance is open to current students of 果酱视频官网 - to enrol.
Agenda
- 19 – 21 March 2026 | Start-Up Weekend Level 1 | Stafford Cripps (SC2 and SC3) and 23rd -24th April (level two) will be held in the Gallery CMRI
- 23 – 24 April 2026 | Start-Up Weekend Level 2 (Invite only – based on successful completion of Level 1) | CMRI Gallery (B38)
Who is it for?
Cranfield students, researchers, alumni or staff members with a business idea.
What is expected from me?
As many of our mentors will be giving up their own time to facilitate your business idea development, we ask that you are committed and engaged throughout the three-day programme. Bring a bright positive attitude!
What do I get out of the weekend?
Crucially, the weekend helps you to get out of your comfort zone and really engage with the entrepreneurial mindset to finding opportunity in challenge.
If your idea and/or your team look viable we will provide you with further support through mentoring, advice (legal and financial) and other routes to markets.
If you have engaged in the mentoring process within Bettany Centre and we think that you have a viable idea, you may be invited to pitch for investment at Investor Day. This is not a guaranteed outcome and will only be offered to those individuals that are committed and show genuine potential.
Speakers
Dr Orsolya Ihasz
Her research interest focuses on responsible innovation management and social impact measurement especially in public health. As well as leading the Venture Programme, she is also an external advisor to the WHO on scaling digitally enabled health interventions for tackling non-communicable diseases globally.
Ziad Jrejiri (Aerospace Vehicle Design MSc 2015)
Excellence in Achievement Alumni Award for Recent Aerospace Graduates 2022
CEO, Oreyeon
Ziad Jrejiri began his career in aerospace engineering with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Balamand in 2014, followed by an MSc in Aerospace Vehicle Design at 果酱视频官网 in 2015. His time at Cranfield strengthened his technical foundations, particularly through specialised work as a stress engineer on F 14 structural design and fatigue spectrum development. He later completed an immersive entrepreneurship programme at Draper University in 2019, adding the commercial and venture building skills that would shape his future path.
After graduating, Ziad returned to the University of Balamand as a lecturer, teaching aerodynamics, aircraft structures, aeroplane systems, materials, hardware and maintenance practices. He also held visiting lectureships at the University of Science and Technology of Hanoi, contributing to a joint programme with Airbus and Vietnam Airlines. Earlier roles included hands on experience at NAR Technologies, a young UAV start up developing VTOL drones for industrial inspection, which reinforced his interest in fast moving engineering environments.
This combination of technical training, industry insight and exposure to entrepreneurial thinking highlighted a gap he saw in the wider aviation sector: while drone and start up ecosystems advanced rapidly, safety critical aviation environments were slow to adopt deep tech solutions. Motivated to address this, Ziad co founded Oreyeon in 2020 with Rony Demerjian to develop AI driven systems enhancing airfield and runway awareness. The company has since grown into an international team supporting Tier 1 customers globally, reflecting both his engineering background and his commitment to operational innovation.
Ziad speaks warmly about his time at Cranfield, noting that, “For years since I graduated, every time I told someone I’m a Cranfield alumnus and saw their reactions, it gave me a sense of pride to see and hear what they had to say about the University.” His presentation will explore the realities of navigating entrepreneurial challenges and offer insights not typically found in online courses on building a successful business.
Facilitators
Who should attend?
Cranfield students, researchers, alumni or staff members with a business idea.
Location & travel details
19 – 21 March 2026 | Start-Up Weekend Level 1 | Stafford Cripps (SC2 and SC3)
23 – 24 April 2026 | Start-Up Weekend Level 2 (Invite only – based on successful completion of Level 1) | CMRI Gallery (B38)
果酱视频官网, Cranfield, Bedfordshire MK43 0AL
Accommodation
Please contact Cranfield Management Development Centre directly +44 1234 751122 for accommodation bookings.
Apply now
You can view any upcoming programmes as part of the Venture Programme here.
Eligible to apply for Level 2?
In Level 2 of the Start-Up Weekend in April, we will gather successful individuals from Level 1 and those who are ready for a more in-depth understanding and build on their ideas to then pitch at Investor Day and potentially apply for the Seed Fund.
In some cases, we may have referrals that go directly to Level 2.
Please contact bettanycentre@cranfield.ac.uk to verify eligibility.
