The winners of the 1st National Enterprise Educator Awards were announced at the IEEC2009 in Edinburgh on 3rd September.
Enterprise Educator Award
Fernando Lourenco, David Taylor and Anthony Taylor
Manchester Metropolitan University Business School
The team, from Manchester Metropolitan University, who won this award for looking to the future, but being underpinned by the past by literature and experience, were also recognised for collaboration and integration that clearly supports creative endeavour, as well as a fantastic team effort that simply hit all the buttons.
“We have developed of an innovative three-year UG elective programme to allow students to experience the whole entrepreneurial process, to develop their enterprising skills and to facilitate graduate entrepreneurship. The main factor that led to winning the award is our design methodology that facilitated us to integrate our programme in other faculties, other HEIs (home and abroad) and facilitated the commercialisation of such programme. This award helped us to build quite a lot of credibility in terms of our practice and our product/services”.
Enterprise ‘Champion’ Award
Clare Griffiths
University of Brighton
Clare Griffiths was recognised as the ‘Champions’ winner in 2009 for introducing a unique, effective and valued brand. Clare also impressed the Competition Panel with her ability to make connections, make different stakeholders, different disciplines to share tools, methods, and concepts all of which were done with energy and flair.
Clare says: “Since winning the Enterprise Champion award in 2009, I have been busy developing the entrepreneurship education offering at the University of Brighton. On a practical level, I have developed our extra-curricular entrepreneurship programme offering, delivering enterprise skills workshops and lectures across the university to about 450 students per year. My colleague has also developed our one-to-one business support programme, and from the 120 students/graduates who have accessed this support, 84 students and graduates are now trading, or in the process of starting up a private or social venture. In terms of new developments, I recently designed an extra-curricular enterprise programme, which we are now delivering at two Further Education colleges in the Gatwick Diamond area. This has been a great opportunity to share our learning and expertise with our local colleges, and raise the aspirations of their students. On a strategic level, I am working closely with the Careers Service to develop enterprise-related learning outcomes which will be embedded across the curriculum. This will mean that soon, every student at the University of Brighton will have access to enterprise education within the curriculum”.
Student Educator Award
York Entrepreneurs
University of York
The York Entrepreneurs Society (student led society at the University of York) who were deserving winners of this award in 2009 for recognising and seizing opportunities to support the community with local initiatives, which has resulted in significant projects. They were also praised for finding unique solutions to problems and making a “step change” in activities across the university.
The York Entrepreneurs Society prides itself on its ‘learn by doing’ mentality, which was laid down as one of the founding principles of the society by George Hudson in 2004. While many Enterprise Societies organise and run workshops in how to sell, writing business plans or product development, The York Entrepreneurs Society will organise events where students will have to carry out these objectives for themselves. This has led to many innovative events, for example students have been challenged to design a children’s toy and then to pitch those designs in front of judges who are leaders in their field. Teams of students have been challenged with making a 30 second TV commercial for a new perfume which they had to design. It is the learn by doing mentality that sets The York Entrepreneurs Society above the rest as we provide accomplishable challenges set within real world environments and thus provide a learning environment like no other.
Matthew Freckelton says; “The Award has been great honour to have for the past year and has allowed The Society to exercise considerable leverage in gaining new sponsors and support. As well as allowing The Society to expand its work beyond Universities students and engage more with the local community”
Outstanding Achievement Award
Professor Allan Gibb
L-R: Professor Allan Gibb pictured with Matthew Freckelton, York Entrepreneurs (Student Educator award winner)