In our last article showcasing those universities shortlisted for the THE Awards Outstanding Entrepreneurial University 2021, we look at how Teesside University foster an entrepreneurial mindset in staff and students.
What makes us an entrepreneurial university?
There are lots of ways to define an entrepreneurial university, and just as many ways to measure its impact: every institution, and every context, is different. Here’s what it means for Teesside.
Being entrepreneurial isn’t just about commercialisation and start-ups – though business creation and tech transfer are a massively important part of it. It’s much more about fostering the mindset in staff and students to explore, partner and innovate. For us there are five key drivers: a clear and authentic mission; the right leadership; a culture of encouragement, collaboration and ambition; an enabling infrastructure; and finally, a strong and diverse external network.
First, our mission:
“Through education enriched by research, innovation and engagement with business and the professions, we transform lives and economies”.
This mission isn’t merely words on a page. It’s a crystal-clear reflection of what we stand for, using our intellectual and physical assets to make a real difference for our students, and for our wider community.
Second is leadership from the top and across the institution. Making our mission real and lived is down to communicating a clear strategic vision, involving the university community in its delivery, and actively encouraging innovation and new ideas. A key example is our £5.6m University Enterprise Zone, based on campus and involving all academic Schools. Underpinned by research strengths in AI, AR and intelligent gaming, it promotes tech start-ups, university-business collaborations on new digital products and processes, and exciting futures for our students and graduates.
Third, our culture, which stems directly from leadership and the embeddedness of our mission. A collective ambition for our students and our institution makes us open to possibilities, embracing opportunity and working together to make it happen. That openness and collaborative ethos is something that can’t easily be created, but you can almost feel it on campus, and it’s very distinctive to Teesside.
The fourth essential ingredient is the right support mechanisms to stimulate and foster an entrepreneurial mindset. This means the right policies and processes, including reward and recognition; but most importantly the right people to help make it happen. Our Enterprise Team are a prime example. They work tirelessly with students and graduates to embed enterprise in the curriculum and promote faculty enterprise projects and start-ups, joining up with external partners to widen opportunity and impact. A great example is the Big River community bakery in our Launchpad centre, running baking employability programmes to support the long-term unemployed and disadvantaged groups.`
The bakery is also testament to Teesside’s strong outward-facing and civic engagement remit, which sees us working in strategic partnership with key public, private and third sector organisations, along with the active involvement of staff and students in social and economic activities. These range from volunteering and business events right through to major innovation, KT and scale-up programmes, and cornerstone facilities, like our National Horizons Centre, set up to serve the needs of the regional and national bioscience industry. We’re a fundamental part of the economic and social ecosystem, and recognise the role we have to play in helping it to thrive.
Our business start-up work demonstrates how all the above is put into action.
Creating and supporting viable businesses that stay in the region to generate wealth and jobs is a big priority for us. It’s fantastic to see companies grow, with the right support, from an ambitious business idea to an innovative, exciting venture. Chloe Clover and Wander Films, the video marketing agency she co-founded, are a great example. Supported through the University’s start-up, accelerator, leadership and internship programmes, Wander is going from strength to strength – 14 staff and growing, and a £700k turnover with plans to expand into 5000sq ft. No surprise, then, that Chloe is named in the 30 under 30 Forbes list and has just won the coveted title of Tees Valley Businesswoman of the Year.
What would winning Outstanding Entrepreneurial University mean to you?
It would be a fantastic national accolade for the efforts and achievements of our staff, students and graduates, and the partners we work with. These awards are a real badge of honour, so winning this one would be a real source of pride, not just for our University, but for our region and the impact that our entrepreneurial approach is delivering for the people who live, work and study here.