Best Practice

Dundee has always embraced an entrepreneurial spirit, and in 2022-23, enterprise became a core part of our identity. The University’s 2022 strategy, co-developed by our community and leadership, established “Engagement and Enterprise” as a cornerstone, and led to the creation of a Pro-Vice-Chancellor for “Enterprise and Economic Transformation” for the first time. Recognised nationally for our entrepreneurial strengths, Dundee was named top in the UK for supporting spin-out businesses in Octopus Ventures’ 2023 “Entrepreneurial Impact Ranking,” – many of the University’s spin-outs are in the field of Health & Life Sciences (and our School of Life Sciences was rated top in the UK in both REF 2014 and REF 2021). Our Centre for Entrepreneurship is a UK leader, with alumni achieving national and international success. Since 2017 the number of students receiving credit-bearing enterprise education annually has increased from 325 to 1,155 in 2023 – a 255% increase.

Cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset in students is crucial for fostering innovation and creativity. By exposing students to entrepreneurial concepts and opportunities, Cardiff Metropolitan University empowers them to think critically, solve problems, and take initiative. This engagement not only prepares students to be dynamic in the workforce but equips them with the skills to start their own ventures; it’s about helping them create their own futures.

Being shortlisted for this year’s THE award for Outstanding Entrepreneurial University is recognition of our attempt to empower all our students to join the growing proportion of the workforce describing themselves as entrepreneurs. There tend to be two types of “entrepreneurial” university. Some focus on generating income from intellectual property, created, for example through high growth “spin-out” start-ups. Others, like Westminster, focus on supporting students to start businesses (typically 1 or 2 person microbusinesses) while they are studying, or immediately after they graduate.