Finalist

Innovation and Entrepreneurship Support of the Year Award

Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Coventry University, UK

Finalist of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Support of the Year Award

International Centre for Transformational Entrepreneurship (ICTE), Coventry University - United Kingdom

"Creating better futures for all"


Have a say and vote for this entry to win the People's Choice Award!


Registered vote
500 points per vote

Provide your email address and click on "vote". You will then receive an email that enables you to verify your vote by clicking on a link.

 
Social media vote
1500 points per tweet. 500 points per retweet. 250 points for a like.

Support this entry by engaging with it on Twitter. Tweet or retweet using the following two hashtags to support this entry (use both hashtags in the same Tweet). Also, if you "like" an existing Tweet with these hashtags, the entry gets points.
#ACEEU_Awards
#2023Entry485

Live voting at Awards Ceremony
7500 points per vote

Join the Awards Ceremony online and vote live for this entry. Register here and we will send you a reminder and streaming link closer to the event.

The Award Ceremony for this entry (award category "Innovation and Entrepreneurship Support of the Year ") will take place on Ceremony date/time not found. Please contact us. .

Summary

At Coventry University Innovation and Entrepreneurship support is promoted in a coordinated and integrated manner by two units namely the International Centre for Transformational Entrepreneurship (ICTE) and Coventry University Social Enterprise (CUSE). A clear and formal conceptual model guides the activities of these two units that report to one person which again make sure that all activities are harmonized. The model starts off with knowledge transfer to promote entrepreneurship in both a narrow (e.g., specialist venture creation degree) and a broad basis (e.g., stimulating entrepreneurialism among students and staff through dedicated modules in entrepreneurship). Based on this knowledge, CUSE assists potential entrepreneurs further on their journey with dedicated start-up and spinout support for enterprises and social enterprises. These two units have consistently performed successfully over the past years and succeeded in innovating their own activities on a continuous basis.

Key People


Prof. Gideon Maas
Executive Director of ICTE Also responsible for coordinating the enterprise agenda in Coventry University
ICTE,  Coventry University



Dr Eleanor Browne
Managing Director of CUSE
CUSE,  Coventry University



Dr Cherisse Hoyte
Associate Professor ICTE
ICTE,  Coventry University



Prof Andrew Johnston
Professor
ICTE,  Coventry University



Dr Isaac Amoako
Associate Professor
ICTE,  Coventry University



Mariama Njie
Social Enterprise Programme Manager
CUSE,  Coventry University



Harriet Elvidge
Business Development Manager
CUSE,  Coventry University



Husen Ismail
Enterprise Programme Manager
CUSE,  Coventry University



Barbara Jaszczyk
Project Officer
ICTE,  Coventry University


Acknowledgements

Funders:
British Council
EU funding
European Social Fund
European Commission

Images

IMPACT STORY

Impacting lifes

1. Having been granted asylum in the UK, Andre* was facing the substantial barrier of job-search in English, which is not his first language. Andre's long-term ambition was to build a social enterprise and improve lives by inspiring others through his love of music and the arts.New business start-up support was provided on a one-to-one basis, including sessions on legal structure, marketing and networking, finance, and pitching for grant funding. In addition to this, Andre was supported with CV building workshop, English language coaching in the context of business, basic IT skills to aid job-search and applications, and assistance with understanding formal correspondence from government. As a result of the support received, Andre has now registered a new social enterprise on Companies House. Andre aims to make this a social enterprise to benefit and support other immigrants to the UK.
(*Name has been changed to protect the anonymity of the participant).
2. Skyfarer is building a blueprint for a revolution that will change the way we think about delivery by adding a new height dimension to our roads, rails and waters. Their current roadmap is taking the team on a flight path destined to support in the transportation of vital medical payloads such as blood, pharmaceuticals, vaccinations and aseptic equipment. Now based at Warwick Science Park and with a world class consortium of partners including Coventry University, NHS and Cranfield University, Elliot and his team are on their way to becoming world leaders in drone technology to save lives!

LEARNINGS

Lessons learned

Key learnings in the process of Innovation and Entrepreneurship support include, inter alia, the importance of a sound knowledge basis of enterprise and entrepreneurship, the necessity of champions in all areas of the university and the need to coordinate and utilise resources regarding entrepreneurial activities more optimally. The latter has given rise to the first conceptual model for a Coventry University ecosystem. This model acted as a focal point for various activities undertaken by Coventry University such as bidding activities, revisiting the entrepreneurship curriculum and supporting student entrepreneurs financially through the Student Enterprise Fund (SEF). Due to new challenges (such as Covid19), it is accepted that a new form of promoting Innovation and Entrepreneurship should be created. Therefore, it is essential that the way universities support Innovation and Entrepreneurship is not a static process but regarded as a journey into creating better futures for all.

FUTURE PLANS

What's coming?

Coventry University is busy with a review on how to shape Innovation and Entrepreneurship support for the future. This report will be available mid-June and will act as a basis for a modernised system to be implemented December 2022. Various focus areas will exist for the new enterprise agenda namely Knowledge transfer (e.g., developing entrepreneurial behaviour and skills, support staff in teaching in an entrepreneurial manner), Research (e.g., supporting the entrepreneurial researcher on identifying specific spin-out ideas and improving the total entrepreneurial ecosystem in regions), Start-up activities (e.g., support for opportunity and life-style business support and social enterprises), and Spin-out activities (e.g., commercialisation of research activities within Coventry University). These activities will be available for all Coventry University satellite areas (e.g., currently 7 nationally and internationally).


KEY STATISTICS

7765

Total number of participants

£5.2m

Combined turnover – ICTE and CUSE

40

Number of staff involved

ICTE + CUSE

Partners involved

13%

Increase in entrepreneurial abilities

2024 © ACEEU. All rights reserved.