Students put money where their mind is

The student union at Stanford University in the US is backing its members to invent the next big thing – with cold hard cash.

Venturebeat reports that the business arm of the Stanford University student government, Stanford Student Enterprises, has created a $US13 million venture capital fund to invest in startups launched by students at the university.

A world leader in technology research, Stanford attracts students from the US and around the world who are keen to build the next Google or be the next Bill Gates.

The new fund, called SSE Ventures, will invest between $US50,000 and $US100,000 in ideas it thinks have merit in an attempt to give students a leg-up – and get in on the ground floor on the next big thing.