United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Entrepreneurship in the UK has long been a vibrant and thriving sector. The country has a favourable business environment, a strong support system, and a culture that encourages innovation and enterprise. Our longest and most established work has been in the UK.
Entrepreneurship also comes with challenges, such as finding the right talent, and navigating market dynamics. The work UK universities undertake continues to ensure that the UK remains a good place start and grow businesses.
Our work in the UK takes many forms including:
- Supporting the development of policy and understanding including our work on national and local impact of higher education, and our higher education enterprise annual stocktake
- Promotion of enterprise and entrepreneurship, increasing the profile both in the UK and across the globe including awarding the Outstanding Entrepreneurial University of the Year, in partnership with the Times Higher
- Professional development and training, and building entrepreneurial leadership skills our Entrepreneurial Leadership programmes have engaged over 300 people across 20 countries
Connect to Innovate:
This year NCEE will be 20 years old, and it is time for us to revisit our pledge to support universities to be more enterprising and entrepreneurial. With Enterprise for Life and X-Forces Enterprise, we have launched our campaign to create a more entrepreneurial UK.
Working with universities and industry and our strategic partners – the Federation of Small Businesses and Universities UK – we will revitalise entrepreneurship in the UK. We will support universities and industry to work together to create a step change in entrepreneurship in the UK, and how universities and business partner together.
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Our work in the UK takes many forms including:
- Supporting the development of policy and understanding including our work on national and local impact of higher education, and our higher education enterprise annual stocktake
- Promotion of enterprise and entrepreneurship, increasing the profile both in the UK and across the globe including awarding the Outstanding Entrepreneurial University of the Year, in partnership with the Times Higher
- Professional development and training, and building entrepreneurial leadership skills our Entrepreneurial Leadership programmes have engaged over 300 people across 20 countries
News and updates
Beyond Startups: What the Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2026 tells us about the future of global universities
“It’s a structural shift—and it’s happening fast.” That is one of the defining messages from the Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2026 (GSER).
What the UK’s Young People and Work Interim Report tells us about the need for entrepreneurial leadership
The publication of the UK’s Young People and Work Interim Report, led by Alan Milburn, should give all of us involved in higher education pause for thought.
What Have We Learned from EDGE Series 1?
Across the latest series of NCEE’s EDGE sessions — Entrepreneurship, Digital, Growth and Education — we have brought together a rich mix of voices: senior leaders, practitioners and researchers, each offering a different perspective on what it means to build an entrepreneurial university.
Cranfield University: Fostering a culture of innovation and enterprise
The Universities in Place series showcases how universities are embedding entrepreneurship within their regions, supporting local communities, and contributing to economic and social renewal. In our third profile, we visit Cranfield University.
Imperial College London as a University in Place: From West London Roots to Global Impact
The Universities in Place series showcases how universities are embedding entrepreneurship within their regions, supporting local communities, and contributing to economic and social renewal. In our second profile, we visit Imperial College London.
How University of South Wales supports placed based entrepreneurship
The Universities in Place series showcases how universities are embedding entrepreneurship within their regions, supporting local communities, and contributing to economic and social renewal. The series opens with the University of South Wales, highlighting its place-based approach to entrepreneurship and regional impact.