Postgraduate Diploma in Entrepreneurship at Judge Business School, University of Cambridge.

http://www.cfel.jbs.cam.ac.uk/programmes/diploma/index.html

Is it a better alternative for people looking to start-up their own business than going for a full blown MBA?

+ Part time (Two intensive residential )
+ £10K
+ Access to CfEL, access to VCs
+ enable the venture to be implemented for real
+ People are willing to listen to you, especially in the sales pitch if you are a Cambridge guy!

Worth it or a vanity gimmick ?

No, it's not a vanity course. This is an academic credit-bearing course. You have to pass the course to earn the postgrad diploma (i.e. it's possible to fail the course). If you pass, you probably earn the letters "PGDip" after your name.

A postgraduate diploma like this is a 'masters level' qualification. I think 120 credits at FHEQ Level 7 is two thirds of a Masters. However, it's in no way as comprehensive as a full-blown MBA.

It being Cambridge, you might want to ask if this qualifies you for affiliation to a College. (If that's important to you.) Both Oxbridge universities can be picky about whether or not they let PGDip students affiliate to a College. Of course, this may not matter to you.

Hope this helps.

The FAQ says..
Are there additional college fees?
No, this programme does not require college membership so there are no college fees.

Does it matter which college at Cambridge when you try to sell your new product/service to a potential VC/customer?

Any Oxbridge guys out here?

College affiliation probably has zero influence on your business. Whilst there may be some limited networking benefits to College membership, the main benefit is what it adds to the "Cambridge experience". This may not be relevant to you.

I imagine you'd have the chance to plug into the Judge Business School network, especially as a course like this would encourage it.

This actually looks pretty interesting, and it seems like the curriculum gives a solid foundation for an entrepreneur who wants to develop his or her skills - and gives specific insight for new businesses.

I think it would probably be good for somebody who doesn't want to spend two years on a full MBA program - but who just wants to jump right in with a new business plan. It is still a big commitment (it's a one year program, but mainly online.) I also really doubt that it would offer the same peripheral benefits (networking and career services, mainly) that a full MBA program would provide.

It's still brand new too - the first cohort isn't even done yet - so we'll have to see what the real benefits are.

I would ask about alumni status. With no college membership, you are not a member of the university.

Duncan,
I have got a stupid question. What is the value of Alumni status? I am an alumnus of few UG and PG univs. Hmm... what is its worth? Any employers, VCs bother if you are alumni of so and so college/uni or just a grad of the same?

Well, alumni of top business schools get a way in to a network and other resources. For example...
- Alumni typically get access to career services and other benefits (http://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/alumni/benefits.html)
- Alumni networking can allow you to find job openings, investors and collaborators more easily, or even uniquely available to alumni
- Alumni status is a quality mark. Anyone can take a short course at Harvard, but only those with formal alumni status get access to clubs, alumni email addresses and these other benefits.