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.
By Richie Turner, Incubator Manager at University of South Wales
The University of South Wales (USW) believes that entrepreneurial education is part of our institutional DNA.
Yet our mission is not only to embed enterprise and entrepreneurship skills across all our courses, but to also support individuals in our local communities to become successful entrepreneurs. USW has become the ‘entrepreneurial university ‘of Wales (having been ranked 1st in Wales for graduate startups for the past 5 years). Our aim has always been to support social and economic regeneration of the whole of South Wales – from the old coalfield communities, to the rural communities in Monmouthshire and the Vale of Glamorgan to the cities of Newport and Cardiff (where we have campuses alongside those in Pontypridd).
Two examples of our successful student and graduate programmes are firstly, LAUNCH+, a salary replacement programme to buy graduate startups out from their ‘Catch 22’ position; of having a part-time job and hence not being able to fully commit to their new business idea, but not committing means not fulfilling their potential. Secondly our Startup Stiwdio incubator spaces (in Cardiff, Newport and Pontypridd) and dedicated services which support freelancers and graduate companies for free, for up to 3 years, have given us the confidence to extend our provision to all communities in South Wales.
This began with our Women’s Entrepreneurship Programme that ran for 3 years, thanks to funding from NatWest, reaching over 500 women from all backgrounds. In addition to building a new regional network of women entrepreneurs, a mix of online (during COVID) and in person development programmes saw around 20-30 women establish a new businesses each year.
Then a funding opportunity secured by Creative Cardiff, enabled us to partner with local authorities in Newport and Rhondda Cynon Taf to run ‘Creative Industries Cluster Hub’ pilots that covered all the Gwent, Rhondda and Cynon Valleys areas. The pilots established creative business networks– for freelancers, startups and existing businesses; updated research data on these creative local economies, and crucially for USW, enabled us role out our Creative Entrepreneurship Bootcamps for aspiring freelancers and startups in those areas. If the participants completed the programme they could apply to join our Startup Stiwdio and benefit from the same level of support and services as our graduates. Many have taken up this opportunity, which has created a new vibe in our incubators, particularly as many of our community entrepreneurs are older, and dare I say, wiser from their previous life experiences, which they often share with our graduate entrepreneurs.
Further funding, from Newport City Council, and partnerships with a third sector startup agency, Welsh ICE, have meant USW can currently continue its commitment to local and regional place-based community startup initiatives, including dedicated programmes for anyone from D/deaf, disabled, neurodivergent, global majority, LGBTQ+ or socially/ educationally disadvantaged backgrounds. Which has diversified our peer community of entrepreneurs even further.
We have even extended our entrepreneurship partnership and programmes to a university in the Bangalore region of India. Tumkur University has the same mission as USW, i.e. to not only support its students and graduates through innovation and entrepreneurship programmes, but to extend these into their local communities – especially for women – many of which are not part the tech startup ‘cluster’ in the city, but are looking for local solutions to local (and global) problems, such as the impact climate change is having on agriculture and food production in southern India.
We are extremely proud of our place-based community entrepreneurship work to date and alongside our support for student, graduate and staff startups we believe this is what truly makes USW an entrepreneurial university. Moreover, we starting to see improvements in our widening participation recruitment and businesses engagement collaborations through greater awareness of the university via our community entrepreneurship programmes.
For more information, please click here: https://www.southwales.ac.uk/alumni/startup-stiwdio/
Stories like this show how universities can make a real difference in their regions and communities — and the NCEE Entrepreneurial University Award exists to recognise and celebrate that impact.
If your institution is embedding entrepreneurship in ways that respond to local context and community need, now is the time to step forward. Share your work, showcase your impact, and submit an application.