Going beyond advice and contacts to support entrepreneurship can benefit both students and Higher Education Institutes
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Student entrepreneurship
Going beyond advice and contacts to support entrepreneurship can benefit both students and Higher Education Institutes
A rich ecosystem takes years to develop but eventually attracts those who help perpetuate it ,” said Christopher Haley in his Supporting Student Entrepreneurship blog , November 2015 , nesta . org . uk
In the article , the executive director of policy and research at innovation foundation Nesta points to the way that Lord Young ’ s report , ‘ Enterprise for All ’, The Enterprise Education Trust , Young Enterprise , National Centre for Entrepreneurship in Education ( NCEE ) and others recognise that potential entrepreneurs are not confined to business schools , but are spread across all faculties .
Successful Higher Education Institutes ( HEIs ) nurture enterprise ecosystems . Offering access to collaborative networks , resource and diversity of expertise and innovation , universities are good environments for student entrepreneurs . Recognising the economic potential of so-called ‘ third stream ’, academic
Christopher Haley Executive Director of Policy & Research , Nesta
Chris leads Nesta ’ s research work on how startups and new technologies drive economic growth . His complete blog is available through nesta . org . uk
revenue-raising activities , the vast majority of HEIs now offer students entrepreneurship support of some kind .
Student enterprise clubs , hot-desking facilities and mentoring have encouraged an increase in graduate startups and improvements in sustained survival rates of three years or more . However , student startups struggle to scale and , even with the current rapid rate of change , absolute levels of student entrepreneurship in the UK remained low in 2015 relative to those in the US . Perhaps because of a pervading fear among academics that entrepreneurship is a distraction , or because career guidance can favour ‘ secure ’ careers , HEI enterprise support schemes report low levels of student engagement .
Successful enterprise ecosystems look beyond enterprise education to a holistic approach that supports social and economic development , including physical space , IP advice , incentivised competitions , pitching days , forums , funding connections and networking .
“ It can also pay hugely to leverage alumni support . Beyond advice and contacts , some universities are experimenting with alumni crowdfunding platforms ,” said Chris . “ The growth of youth enterprise in general – and student entrepreneurship in particular – is a welcome trend which every university should embrace , for everyone ’ s benefit .” ■
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