Sheffield Hallam University has put enterprise and entrepreneurship at the heart of its new strategy entitled Transforming Lives. Here Caroline Nouvellon, enterprise manager of SHU’s Careers and Employability Enterprise Team explains how students are encouraged to ‘take ownership of ideas and initiatives, take risks, and learn from their experiences in a positive manner’.
As an institution we are committed to ensuring that we produce graduates who are ‘confident, creative and resilient’. To meet this challenge, the strategy includes a component in which students are guaranteed access to enterprise and entrepreneurial support throughout their time at university.
- “Every student will have the opportunity to start their own business and engage in enterprise skills development activities”
- “Every student will have employability [enterprise] skills and development integrated into every level of their course”.
The Enterprise Team is an integral part of the University’s Careers and Employability Service and as such, has an important part to play in supporting the establishment of an enterprise and entrepreneurial culture across the University.
Today’s economic climate needs talented individuals with an entrepreneurial mindset who can drive innovation and create employment opportunities through business start-up, within the Sheffield City Region. By encouraging an enterprising and entrepreneurial environment where new and exciting business ideas can flourish, it is the University’s intention to preside over an increase in the number of students who choose to turn their innovative and creative ideas into credible and sustainable business ventures after graduation.
In order to meet this objective, the Enterprise Team has created a broad range of enterprise and entrepreneurial skills development opportunities through their curricular and extra-curricular programme. It has been designed to encourage students to take ownership of ideas and initiatives, take risks, make mistakes and learn from their experiences in a positive manner.
In addition to the extensive skills development programme, a comprehensive range of start-up support is also available to both students and our graduates up to five years after graduation. This includes free tenancy occupation in the University’s new co-working incubator space, Hallam i-Lab, which will open on the city campus in mid-October 2019.
