Saltire Foundation launches ‘Talent Matching’ programme to aid innovative Scottish companies

For the first time, the Saltire Foundation, the entrepreneurial leadership programme and the philanthropic arm of Entrepreneurial Scotland, is introducing a ‘Talent Matching’ programme to this year’s Saltire Fellowship.

Twenty Fellows will take part in the 13-week course, which combines theory and practice guided by Entrepreneurial Thought and Action principles and provides Fellows with an unparalleled chance to engage with global thought leaders and entrepreneurs.

In the past, companies have been able to engage with Fellows at the conclusion of the USA leg of course, which has been likened to a fast-track MBA - but the number of Fellows has always been substantially less than the number of enterprises wishing to avail themselves of their services.

Now, for what is being described as a “modest fee, which is much less than standard consultancy rates”, companies can pre-select the Fellow with whom they want to engage and have a guarantee that they will benefit from his or her services when they return to Scotland.

Sandy Kennedy, chief executive of the Saltire Foundation, said: “This is a rare opportunity for forward-thinking companies. The Saltire fellows are the business talent of the future and firms will be able to engage with them before they embark on the course so that the Fellows can tailor their training to the companies “needs.”

The 2015/16 Fellowship programme runs from August 31, 2015 to April 2, 2016. The cohort will consist of entrepreneurs, who have founded or want to found their own companies, and intrapreneurs, who are sponsored by their companies or organisations to take part.

Sandy Kennedy, added: “Fellows will spend 13 weeks in a dynamic learning environment in Babson College in Boston, working together to address real world business challenges.”

Over the programme, the Fellows will undertake two projects and have the opportunity to work at Massachusetts Institute of Technology or in California’s Silicon Valley.

They will also spend a week in Shanghai, learning from entrepreneurs operating in China and a residential week at the RBS Business School in Edinburgh.