Ellen MacArthur Foundation & Schmidt Family Foundation Join Forces With Leading Universities to Support Next Generation of Global Business Leaders

LONDON, March 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation and The Schmidt Family Foundation today launch the Schmidt-MacArthur Fellowship. This global programme is set to develop the skills and innovative thinking required to map out the next economy.

Imperial College London, Cranfield University and the London Business School will form the core team which, in partnership with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, will provide expert input for an intensive summer school in London and the associated online learning platform. These institutions will be joined by; Yale University and University of California Berkeley in the United States, Euromed Management, Delft University of Technology and MIP Politecnico di Milano in Europe, and India's National Institute of Design.

The fellowship has been created in response to growing global interest around the circular economy, a model that works to decouple growth from resource constraints through creating regenerative material flows by design.

The programme will foster innovation through the conference of design, engineering and business disciplines from a number of the world's leading schools. Students and academic mentors will take part in a London summer school before returning home to focus on a postgraduate, business innovation project. Participants will have the opportunity to explore new concepts and discuss their implementation with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's Circular Economy 100 business alliance.

Wendy Schmidt, President of The Schmidt Family Foundation, said:

"Eric and I have long been advocates for innovative technology that has a crucial role to play in the transition towards an increasingly intelligent relationship between human activity and the use of the world's resources.  With higher energy costs and diminishing resources we need programmes to encourage students to develop new tools, materials and techniques that shift the way we deliver progress and prosperity.  The circular economy shows how this systemic approach can enrich our industrial base and share the benefits of a manufacturing and distribution structure that eliminates waste by design."

Ellen MacArthur: "This partnership gives our higher education work a truly international dimension, crucial when it comes to accelerating the transition towards a circular economy. This partnership is built on creativity, innovation, opportunities and involves the world's most forward-thinking universities. We are thrilled to launch this programme, and are convinced it will play a key role in helping rethink the future."

CONTACT

Ellen MacArthur Foundation
Jamie Butterworth, CEO
Lucy Hardy
+44(0)1983-296-463