University of Edinburgh Business School has announced this year’s programme of events for Startup Festival 2017 next month. It’s the city’s biggest festival for entrepreneurs and students, to celebrate Edinburgh and Scotland as great places to start a business.

On 8 March, the School will present a day-long festival of entrepreneurship with 14 free events to offer inspiration, networking opportunities, skills and knowledge to entrepreneurs and students curious about their potential.

The day begins with a global debate bringing together leaders from Edinburgh and international startup hubs Lisbon, Portugal, and Waterloo, Canada. Chaired by Jonathan Moules of the Financial Times, the panel will discuss what strategies cities put in place to attract talent, investors and a sustainable ecosystem.

Budding student entrepreneurs will also have the opportunity to pitch their novel ideas and ventures for a chance to win a share of £5,000 in competitions sponsored by Grant Property and Santander.

Successful startup founders from a range of sectors will share their experiences through stories, one-to-one sessions and interactive workshops on sales strategies and confidence building. Speakers include Scottish sunglasses success, Tens – revolutionary custom filtered lens that works with natural sunlight – and tech enterprise Neatebox, a new app for the blind, visually impaired and pedestrians with reduced mobility to interact with the environment around them.

This year’s festival builds on the success of 2016’s inaugural event, which saw more than 1,200 people attend 11 events over 14 hours.

Professor Wendy Loretto, Dean of University of Edinburgh Business School, said: “With this year’s festival, we’re really excited to have the opportunity to bring so many talented people with inspirational stories together, to once again celebrate Edinburgh’s entrepreneurial community. With a growing and thriving ecosystem of incubators, startups, support networks and resources, all set against the backdrop of our world-leading university, Edinburgh is a great place to start up.

“We invite everyone to come together to celebrate the city’s entrepreneurial success, but also to look ahead to our collective ambitions for the future.”

For tickets and programme information, visit: https://www.business-school.ed.ac.uk/startup-festival/