Business education charity broadens vision to drive UK tech growth

The UK’s leading charity promoting the importance of business education for engineers and scientists has announced a new name to reflect recent changes in its vision.

Formerly known as Engineers in Business Fellowship (EIBF), the organisation will now be called Engineers and Scientists in Business Fellowship (ESBF), following its 2024 decision to support scientists as well as engineers.

Each year, the charity awards more than fifteen £50,000 Sainsbury Management Fellows scholarships to talented individuals pursuing MBAs at world-class business schools.

Founded in 1987 by Lord Sainsbury of Turville, the programme was created to equip engineers with business skills to launch high-tech businesses or to take leadership roles in major UK companies. The charity was set up in 2012, with its mission broadened to include scientists in 2024.

With it, MBA students who gain scholarships can study at UK business schools such as Imperial Business School, Said Business School Oxford, Cambridge Judge Business School, Manchester Alliance Business School, Cranfield Business School and Warwick Business School – as well as a series of high-profile overseas schools like Harvard, MIT and Stanford.

The programme has been very successful since its inception, with more than 400 individuals graduating from top international business schools. Known as Sainsbury Management Fellows, these business school graduates have created over 300 new companies valued at nearly £5 billion along with more than 21,000 jobs in the UK.

Working in a diverse range of sectors including manufacturing, engineering, energy, finance, IT, telecommunications and technology, Fellows combine their technical skills with a world-class business education to make a difference in today’s world. 

It is hoped this wider vision will help to make the UK a science and technology superpower.

As well as providing a platform to progress their careers, the scholarship and network also provides SMFs with further opportunities to promote the values of combining business and technology. This includes invaluable mentoring to young engineers and scientists. 

In addition to the scholarship scheme, ESBF also funds more than 50 enterprise competitions featuring engineers and scientists each year at UK universities. These culminate in a Champion of Champions Competition held at the Royal Academy of London each year.

David Falzani MBE, President of ESBF, said:

“This small but important name change reflects our expanded mission to support engineers and scientists across the UK and help the country become a science and tech superpower.

“Since our inception, we have empowered individuals to transform their technical expertise into commercial success. With our broadened scope, we, along with our strategic partners, remain committed and determined as ever to provide opportunities to individuals to succeed.”