Latest News
Entrepreneurship Educators Challenged to Think Globally |
|
| 22/11/2006 | |
| Leading UK and North American academics specialising in enterprise and entrepreneurship teaching and research gathered in Manchester and Sheffield during Enterprise Week to debate global developments in the field; explore opportunities for collaboration; and celebrate the success of the UK’s brightest and best student entrepreneurs. The UKSEC International Enterprise Conference opened with Gene Luczkiw, founding director of both the Institute for Enterprise Education and the Centre for Entreplexity, Brock University, Canada, providing a vivid metaphor of entrepreneurs ‘riding the tsunami of innovation’. The emergence and significance of the global entrepreneur was debated and Gene urged delegates to think globally; build international networks; and work with business, education and government to create the condituons for global entrepreneuship. UKSEC, which represents the UK Higher Education community of enterprise and entrepreneurship educators, has recently expanded its remit to enterprise in the arts and humanities while maintaining its purpose related to science, engineering and technology entrepreneurship. The theme of the conference ‘New Networks, New Horizons’ reflected this broader focus and the non-formal and innovative structure of much of the event provided fertile ground for the cross-fertilisation of ideas suitable for practical application. Phil Weilerstein, executive director of the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA), a membership organisation that attracts serious sponsorship, stimulates entrepreneurship and shares best practice in the USA, made an impressive case for the value of such organisations and challenged UKSEC to develop into an equivalent body in the UK. Bob Handscombe, chair of UKSEC reflected that “US colleagues seem to have discovered how to use public sector support to leverage private sector income rather better than we have. This gives them a greater opportunity to create entrepreneurial universities and binds the private sector closer. It is a trick we need to learn”. In his summing up of day one, Allan Gibb, former Director of the Small Business Centre at Durham Business School, challenged the audience to take a more global view of entrepreneurship and to build meaningful networks where they actually do things with each other not just sit on boards. Allan questioned whether we are learning internationally from entrepreneurs in China and other growing economies; whether we are building effective global networks; whether we are driving inter-disciplinarity; and whether there is a sufficient body of weight within UK universities to sustain our work. The impact of enterprise education on the UK’s student population was vividly demonstrated at the evening gala award ceremony for the UKSEC National Business Plan Competition supported by Search Recruitment, Marks and Clerk patent and trade mark attorneys, the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA) and the Scottish institute for Enterpise (SIE). First prize of £15,000 cash, £5000 mentoring support and £2000 IP support was awarded to Emma Killilea of Sheffield Hallam University for her company Delicious Alchemy Ltd. Sharon Bamford, Chief Executive of SIE, organiser of the competition and Chair of the judging panel, commented that the overall quality of entries was exceptionally high but that the judges were so impressed with Emma’s business plan that they unanimously agreed to award the first prize to her and her company which provides astonishingly good, allergen-free food solutions to the food service industry. Sixteen finalists selected from over 70 entries received certificates in recognition of the high quality of their entries and the many hours of hard work dedicated to the development of the plans. |
|
| External link | |