The Worshipful Company of Entrepreneurs has long recognised that entrepreneurial thinking has an important role to play beyond the commercial world. One of the Company's most valued partnerships reflects that belief.

Established through the vision of Past Master Sir Paul Judge and formally agreed under the leadership of Past Master Kate Jolly in 2017, the Company's affiliation with the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom encourages innovation, creativity and enterprise within a Defence context. Since 2019, the Company has awarded its annual Entrepreneurs' Prize to the Advanced Command and Staff Course student or student team who best demonstrates entrepreneurial thinking in tackling real-world Defence challenges.

The 2025 award was presented during the Election Court Banquet on 1 July, where members of the winning team, Team Vulcanus, were formally welcomed by the Master Entrepreneur and guests.

Introducing the winners, Lt Cdr Tim West from the Defence Academy explained that modern Defence requires leaders who clearly understand the need for an entrepreneurial mindset.

 "We now live in an increasingly contested global security context" he said. "The recent Strategic Defence Review highlights the need to be agile, harness innovation and adapt at pace to deter our adversaries."

He described how the Academy's Hacking for Defence programme encourages students to work with academia, industry and Defence partners to solve genuine operational problems. "The work of defence isn’t always glamorous but solving technical challenges to make Defence more efficient and effective is vitally important."

Team Vulcanus exemplified that philosophy. An international tri-service team of four officers, the team tackled the long-standing challenge of managing obsolete military parts by developing an innovative data-driven prioritisation tool capable of improving operational readiness, strengthening supply chain resilience and unlocking new capabilities across Defence.

Far from being a purely academic exercise, the team's solution has already secured funding, is being integrated into Defence systems and is delivering operational benefit. Their work demonstrates how entrepreneurial thinking can transform complex organisational challenges into practical, scalable solutions.

Receiving the award on behalf of the team were Lt Col Ben McNeil, Lt Col Mark O’Sullivan MC, and Wg Cdr Garreth Winn-Morgan, whose presentation highlighted the impact their work is already having across Defence. Congratulations were offered, in absentia, to Maj Jin Namgung of the Republic of South Korea - his certificate will be sent on to him to be presented in Seoul.

The success of Team Vulcanus is a powerful illustration of the values underpinning the Worshipful Company of Entrepreneurs' partnership with the Defence Academy: that curiosity, collaboration and entrepreneurial leadership can deliver lasting benefits not only for business, but also for national security and public service.