Page 121 - guidance-supporting-europe-s-aspiring-entrepreneurs-policy-and-practice-to-harness-future-potential

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

Example 25. Pre-start-up and start-up support offered by Newcastle
University

The entrepreneurial development unit in the careers service of the university offers business pre-
start-up and start-up support to students and graduates.

Enterprise pre-start support
On their first visit to the unit, students arrive in a creative open space known as the ’elevator’. There
they can do online research, test their entrepreneurial skills and assess their capabilities.
At the elevator, students have a diagnostic meeting with a start-up advisor. Start-up advisors
are members of the unit’s team who have an introductory discussion with students about their
interests and experiences and guide them through the services available at the unit. Start-up
advisors make an assessment of student needs, and make referrals to other members of staff
(entrepreneurs in residence and business advisors) or to further training, if needed. Start-up
advisors can also help students to develop key skills, such as networking, and to build their
confidence.
Four start-up advisers work full-time at the unit; they are employed by the unit because they have
good enterprise skills (innovation, creativity, resourcefulness) and are interested in personal
development.

Business start-up support
Students with more advanced business ideas can be referred directly to business advisors and
entrepreneurs in residence.
Business advisors offer technical support to students and graduates. They can guide students
and graduates through the business planning process, help them to understand the strengths and
weakness of their business idea, find sources of finance, and understand the principles of
intellectual property and company formation. Business advisors can also assist students to explore
their abilities and look at the reality of starting-up a business.
Newcastle University usually receives business advisors from a local enterprise agency called
TEDCO. Business advisors are either entrepreneurs themselves or are trained as business
advisors. The TEDCO partnership is a good example of regional cooperation because it has a
significant regional retention element; students build a local support network and this encourages
them to start-up their business in the area.
Entrepreneurs in residence are successful entrepreneurs themselves who have interesting
stories to share with students and are well aware of the challenges students might face when they
try to their business ideas into practice. They help the unit’s members of staff to deliver their
services by mentoring, providing specific technical support to students, connecting the university
with their networks and teaching some of the training sessions. Entrepreneurs in residence can
discuss the student’s business ideas, share their personal experiences and help them generate a
plan for business. The charismatic personality and wealth of business experience make
entrepreneurs in residence positive role models for students.
The university provides start-up support to around 80 students a year, of which around 25-30
will launch a new business with the support of the unit.

Many German (e.g. the University of Wuppertal) and British (e.g.
Birmingham, Cambridge, Lancaster and Leeds) universities offer in-house start-
up support to students who want to start-up new ventures. This is delivered by
established entrepreneurs or business advisors in one-to-one meetings. The
start-up service offer of the entrepreneurial development unit in the careers
service of the Newcastle University serves as another example of good practice.
As shown in Example 25, besides diagnostic meetings with start-up advisors,

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