London South Bank University’s (LSBU) entrepreneurial journey began in 1892; rooted in south London as The Borough Polytechnic Institute. Its mission was to ‘promote the industrial skill, general knowledge, health and well-being of young men and women.’
A culture of entrepreneurship
Through strategic investment, LSBU established South Bank Innovation (SBI), to drive entrepreneurship and innovation across the institution and its wider stakeholder community; with a core mission ‘to inspire ideas that create benefit for people and planet.’
With this simple ethos, the team continue to spark an institutional culture of purpose-led entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship, driven by three key principles:
- Freedom to fail – providing a safe space to experiment with ideas
- Purpose is equal to profit – creating useful ideas that give back
- No barriers to brilliance – we create access and celebrate our diversity
LSBU employs the European Entrepreneurship Competence Framework (EntreComp) to embed a solid foundation of enterprise and entrepreneurship into the curriculum; currently the Student Enterprise Team works with over 3,000 students a year with an ambition to expand the offer to every student as part of their course. The team delivers over 4,000 hours of specialist startup support to aspiring student and graduate entrepreneurs including one-to-one sessions, mentoring and events.
LSBU’s ‘Idea Hack’ programme has successfully contributed to our start-up alumni network of over 300 founders, some of whom have appeared on BBC Dragons Den and more recently securing victory at the London Mayor’s Entrepreneur competition.
LSBU Founders Spotlight: When passion meets purpose
Stephen Addison completed his BA Business Administration degree at LSBU in 2014. During this time he took part in LSBU’s ‘Make it Happen’ competition and received funding to support his early startup ideas. In 2022, Stephen came back to collect an honorary Doctorate in recognition for his work at BoxUp Crime, a social enterprise he founded which hosts boxing training programmes for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds at risk of expulsion from school. On receiving his award, Stephen said:
‘Where I am from, this does not happen to people like me. Where I am from, people get prison sentences and funerals.’
This powerful message typifies how LSBU inspires its community to challenge societal problems by using entrepreneurship as a catalyst for change.
Students and Academics focused on positive social impact
Our students and graduates are truly inspiring. During the pandemic, our student-led advisory services – the Business Solutions Centre and Legal Advice Clinic – provided over 350 hours of pro-bono support to local communities and business owners. In addition, LSBU’s Business School delivered 37 student consultancy projects helping local businesses pivot and innovate, successfully navigating the same challenging period.
In addition to our student and graduate support, each of our eight academic schools have an Associate Dean for Research and Enterprise (ADRE). The ADREs partner with SBI to deliver training and events which develop Enterprising Academics, from PhD students through to Professors. To celebrate our enterprising academics, SBI hosts the South Bank Innovation Summit, a flagship event which aims to bring the world to LSBU and vice versa, as well as showcasing LSBU’s remarkable achievements in delivering real world impact.
LSBU Centres of Excellence
Centres like the National Bakery School (NBS), the world’s oldest bakery institution and famed for baking delicacies for Royalty, was founded in 1894 on the premise of sustainability and innovation in food.
The NBS has forged excellent partnerships with well-known brands and supported many early-stage start-ups through its world class facilities, providing services such as product development and advanced analysis. This is best demonstrated though LSBU’s European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) -funded London Agricultural and Food Innovation Clinic (LAFIC), which helps local food and beverage companies to innovate and launch new products.
NBS students also have the opportunity to develop their own products and sell them to hungry customers on campus, further contributing to our vibrant entrepreneurial environment.
Strengthening the entrepreneurial heart of South London
LSBU blurs the line between the walls of its campus and local environment. Our estate is home to over 45 SMEs who access a range of affordable workspace. Our tenants have generated over £140m in revenue employing over 100 people, as well as supporting 30 student placements and internships.
Known for its famous residents – including the likes of Stormzy, Kate Moss and Crystal Palace Football Club – Croydon is the home of LSBU’s newest campus. Launched in September 2021, LSBU Croydon is a bustling hive of activity offering co-working space for local start-ups.
The campus also has its own Pro-bono LSBU Legal Advice Clinic and Business Solutions Centre, as well as a chiropractic clinic providing musculoskeletal assessments for local people. Each of these services are designed to help students gain professional and enterprising skills whilst providing valuable transferable knowledge and services to local communities.
Our Vice Chancellor and senior executive team play a critical support role in all of this, fully contributing to the strategic development of a truly entrepreneurial culture at LSBU which we share with our extensive network of founders, civic partners, and other educational institutions, ensuring others can benefit from our knowledge and experience as entrepreneurship enthusiasts.
What would winning Outstanding Entrepreneurial University mean?
We are an entrepreneurial University by nature and will always innovate and challenge for a better future. Winning the award again would simply be the cherry on the cake as it would recognise the University for its continuous dedication and innovation in this space.