entrepreneurs have been sharing their successes with students and graduates embarking on new ventures.

In an event staged by the University of Sunderland's Business School, Spirit of Innovation Awards winner Julian Peck, from Innoverce Products in Newcastle, joined a group of established entrepreneurs and business support organisations to encourage the next generation of North-East innovators.

It marks the first anniversary of the Active Enterprise project, which includes a range of venture creation programmes.

More than 50 students and graduates were at the event to find out how other entrepreneurs transformed their ideas into marketable products, and about the business support available.

Mr Peck had already achieved commercial success with a new kind of corkscrew before starting on his second project, to produce a new bicycle pump, in 1998.

The pump will be available in shops next spring, costing about £20.

He said: "The biggest challenge with any invention is to turn the original concept into a marketable product that is competitive among its counterparts, of interest to manufacturers and affordable to its target audience.

"There is a great deal of help and expertise available across the region to help innovators transform their concepts into developed products, and events such as this help to encourage young innovators by offering access to invaluable support and advice."

For details on how to enter the Spirit of Innovation Awards, contact Victoria Walton on 0191-516 6045.