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Guidance supporting Europe’s aspiring entrepreneurs
Policy and practice to harness future potential

Example 15. Newcastle University, the UK

Newcastle University (NU) is a major research-intensive university located in Newcastle upon Tyne
in the north-east of England. It has a core population of around 18 000 students.
The university is one of a number of the UK academic institutions which have integrated an
entrepreneurial development unit into their careers services. Even though similar services are
offered by other universities in the country, the scale of support provided to students at Newcastle
distinguishes it from others.
The aim of having the unit and careers service under the same roof is to strengthen the
students’ general (e.g. innovation, creativity and adaptability) and technical (e.g. business planning,
market awareness, understanding of regulations and legislation) entrepreneurial skills. By
‘mainstreaming’ entrepreneurial skills – ensuring that all students have the chance to develop or
improve their entrepreneurial skills, such as creativity and a sense of initiative– the objective is to
widen the career prospects of university students and graduates, and improve employability.
To achieve this, the unit organises entrepreneurial activities in three main areas:
• awareness-raising activities (e.g. business idea competitions and networking events);
• education and training on entrepreneurship (e.g. a university enterprise programme and
academic modules);
• pre- and post-start-up business support (e.g. online tests, mentoring, one-to-one meetings with
business advisers and entrepreneurs in residence).
All full-time and part-time students and graduates of the university are eligible to take part in the
unit’s services as well as non-Newcastle University graduates who fulfil certain predefined criteria
and seek to develop a business idea. By organising a range of different activities and ensuring that
all students of the university have the opportunity to access these, the unit seeks to attract a large
number of students, not only the ones who are ready to start their own business.
The unit provides services to approximately 10% of the student population (around 1 800
students) each year. In the past the, largest number of students attended awareness-raising
activities and only around 10% (or 180 students) would participate in enterprise training. Even fewer
(approximately 18 students) would move on and start-up their business. More recently, it has been
noticed that there is a change in attendance rates for the unit’s activities. The number of students
who attend awareness raising activities has fallen to approximately 1 000 students per year, and the
number of students who receive training has significantly increased, reaching about 800 every year.
A possible explanation for the change is that students are now more aware of entrepreneurship as a
career option and are keen to develop their entrepreneurial skills and competences. The number of
students who receive business support has also significantly increased, and it is currently around
80. Finally, each year 25 to 30 students start a new business with the support of the unit. New
businesses often involve more than one student.

Ensuring that the staff at careers services of HEIs have expertise in
entrepreneurship is one way of making sure that prospective and current
students are informed about available enterprise support and related learning
opportunities. At Newcastle University in the UK, this has been arranged by
integrating the enterprise support unit with the career service offer of the
university (see Example 15). This change was prompted by an employer survey
conducted by the careers service; the findings suggested that new business
creation is vital to the local economy and that employers value entrepreneurial
skills and are more likely to employ students who have developed these skills
and demonstrate an entrepreneurial spirit. The members of the enterprise team
at the university realised that enterprise as a means of living, working and

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