The Saltire Foundation
Encyclopedia
The Saltire Foundation is a charitable organisation, created in 2006 in conjunction with Scottish Enterprise
, with the aim of promoting and developing Scotland
's rich pool of up-and-coming business talent.
The Foundation operates two distinct schemes: The Undergraduate Internship programme and the Saltire Fellowship. The Foundation's Chairman is Peter Lederer, who is the current chairman of the Gleneagles Hotel
group and VisitScotland
. The Foundation's motto is: Invest. Inspire.Succeed.
. Crawford Gillies, a member of the IAB and now Chairman of Scottish Enterprise, championed the creation of the foundation, to expose upcoming Scottish business leaders to companies of scale, particularly in North America. In conjunction with this, world-class education would be on offer as an alternative to other business education options, to equip potential leaders and entrepreneurs with the tools required to build high growth, scale concerns in the Scottish Economy. The foundation was created through seed funding provided by the Scottish Government, however it aims to raise an endowment of £30 million to allow it to be self financing for years to come.
. The programme is a mix of formal business education, taught by the prestigious Babson College
and experiential learning through placements with large and small firms in Scotland and around the world. The course has been described as a "experiental MBA, focused on the creation of entrepreneurial leaders" . Whilst not a formal MBA by qualification, it is a credible alternative for individuals interested in business growth, development and leadership. Each Fellow is sponsored by the Foundation for the cost of the education, food and accommodation. Fellow's generally will leave their previous careers and use the opportunity provided by the Fellowship program as a point of inflection along their career paths.
The structure of the Fellowship Programme is constantly under review to ensure that it offers the participants, and the Foundation, the greatest amount of value.
Blog
To document their experiences the fellows keep a blog during their time on the course this can be accessed *here
Scottish Enterprise
Scottish Enterprise is a sponsored non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government which encourages economic development, enterprise, innovation and investment in business...
, with the aim of promoting and developing Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
's rich pool of up-and-coming business talent.
The Foundation operates two distinct schemes: The Undergraduate Internship programme and the Saltire Fellowship. The Foundation's Chairman is Peter Lederer, who is the current chairman of the Gleneagles Hotel
Gleneagles Hotel
The Gleneagles Hotel is a luxury hotel near Auchterarder, Perth and Kinross, Scotland.- History :The hotel was built by the former Caledonian Railway Company and opened in 1924, originally with its own railway station...
group and VisitScotland
VisitScotland
VisitScotland is Scotland's national tourism agency. It is a public body, with offices in Edinburgh, Inverness, London as well as other parts of Scotland...
. The Foundation's motto is: Invest. Inspire.Succeed.
Inception
The Saltire Foundation was a positive reaction to Scottish Enterprise's International Advisory Board (IAB) identifying a shortage of aspirational and entrepreneurial leaders as a problem for the Scottish EconomyEconomy of Scotland
The economy of Scotland is closely linked with the rest of the United Kingdom and the wider European Economic Area. Scotland has the second largest GVA per capita of countries in the United Kingdom after England, though it is still lower than the average of the United Kingdom as a whole...
. Crawford Gillies, a member of the IAB and now Chairman of Scottish Enterprise, championed the creation of the foundation, to expose upcoming Scottish business leaders to companies of scale, particularly in North America. In conjunction with this, world-class education would be on offer as an alternative to other business education options, to equip potential leaders and entrepreneurs with the tools required to build high growth, scale concerns in the Scottish Economy. The foundation was created through seed funding provided by the Scottish Government, however it aims to raise an endowment of £30 million to allow it to be self financing for years to come.
The Undergraduate Internship Programme
The Undergraduate Internship Programme allows penultimate year students to embark on a 8-12 week placement with a large international company with the goal of promoting a culture of enterprise amongst undergraduates within Scottish Universities. The programme tries to identify Scotland's most talented and ambitious students to work with world-class organisations to expand their horizons. This was the first scheme operated by the Saltire Foundation and has been in effect since 2007. Most placements are sourced via Scottish Enterprise's GlobalScot network and have in the past been in locations such as Boston, New York, Tokyo, Sydney, Dubai, Poland, Germany, Florida, Chicago, Singapore, Schenzen, China, and the Cayman Islands.The Saltire Fellowship
The Saltire Fellowship is aimed at more experienced, ambitious and business-minded individuals who want to progress and lead organisations of scale for ScotlandScotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. The programme is a mix of formal business education, taught by the prestigious Babson College
Babson College
Babson College is a private business school located in Wellesley, Massachusetts near Boston.- History :Babson College was founded by Roger Babson on September 3, 1919, as the Babson Institute. It was renamed "Babson College" in 1969...
and experiential learning through placements with large and small firms in Scotland and around the world. The course has been described as a "experiental MBA, focused on the creation of entrepreneurial leaders" . Whilst not a formal MBA by qualification, it is a credible alternative for individuals interested in business growth, development and leadership. Each Fellow is sponsored by the Foundation for the cost of the education, food and accommodation. Fellow's generally will leave their previous careers and use the opportunity provided by the Fellowship program as a point of inflection along their career paths.
Fellowship Programme Structure
The structure of the 2009 Fellowship programme consisted of:- Four months of intensive business education at Babson CollegeBabson CollegeBabson College is a private business school located in Wellesley, Massachusetts near Boston.- History :Babson College was founded by Roger Babson on September 3, 1919, as the Babson Institute. It was renamed "Babson College" in 1969...
- A three month placement with a large (>$1Billion Revenue) North American Company
- Two weeks of review and further education, provided by BabsonBabson CollegeBabson College is a private business school located in Wellesley, Massachusetts near Boston.- History :Babson College was founded by Roger Babson on September 3, 1919, as the Babson Institute. It was renamed "Babson College" in 1969...
in Scotland - A three month placement within a small, potential high growth Scottish company
- A final week of education and the graduation in Scotland
The structure of the Fellowship Programme is constantly under review to ensure that it offers the participants, and the Foundation, the greatest amount of value.
2009: The Charter Class
2009 was the first year of the Fellowship programme, with 14 students embarking on 7 months in the USA and 5 months in Scotland. The 14 Charter Class Fellows are:- Simon Boyle
- Neil Campbell
- James Duffy
- Ruairidh Henderson
- Mubbasher Khanzada
- Iain McDougall
- Verna MacErlane
- David Miller
- James Murray
- Paul Reynolds
- Ian Stevenson
- Lesley Sutherland
- Martyn Tulloch
- Ian Webster
2010 Cohort
- Bec Ewing
- Fahd Baig
- Joanne Hagerty
- Claire MacDonald
- Amina Nabi
- Madhu Nair
- Sandrine Sienche
- Mark Simmers
- Steve Tigar
- David Toy
Blog
To document their experiences the fellows keep a blog during their time on the course this can be accessed *here