COVID-19: Support for business

We understand that organisations in our region are facing increasingly challenging times and we want to help. We’re offering organisations impacted by COVID-19 access to two new initiatives.

Innovation vouchers – access our expertise

Our innovation voucher initiative gives you access to academic knowledge that can help your business through this difficult time. It could be advice (consultancy) on how to develop your innovative idea, learning more about diversifying your business offer through R&D activities or how you should make the most of intellectual property.

Our innovation vouchers provide you with funding which can be used to access our research and innovation support such as consultancy and contract research. Each voucher is worth up to £5,000. Successful applicants will need to match the value of the innovation voucher, meaning for each £1 received from ARU, the applicant must also contribute £1. For example, if you applied for the maximum voucher value of £5,000, you would also contribute £5,000 (plus the full VAT cost). The minimum contribution from businesses is £1,000.

Internships – access our student and graduate talent

If you have a new business challenge that has arisen as a result of the pandemic you could benefit from an eight-week internship.

Our fully-funded internship programme will connect you to one of our recent graduates, giving you the opportunity to inject fresh ideas into your organisation and them the opportunity to gain valuable work experience.

Projects can vary depending on the nature of your organisation and your business challenge, but must demonstrate how the project connects to COVID-19 and its impact upon your organisation. We can work with you to identify a suitable internship project and match you to the most suitable intern based on your needs and their skill-set.

Get in touch

Find out more and register your interest by contacting business@aru.ac.uk

Additional information

• There are a limited amount of innovation vouchers and fully-funded internships available.
• Any organisation (including charities and local government authorities) can take advantage of these initiatives, regardless of size, sector or location.
• We’ll work with you to learn more about your needs and how we might be able to help you.

Don’t forget, you can also take advantage of one of our existing initiatives that support general business growth and access to student and graduate talent:

• Open Innovation Workshops
• KEEP+ - Access to funding and academic expertise to develop your business.