Student led network launches to boost entrepreneurial skills
A student led project to boost entrepreneurial skills and help employers in the West Midlands to innovate will be launched this evening, Wednesday 30 January, at the University of Birmingham with an event featuring West Midlands Mayor, Andy Street and Emma Jones, Founder of Enterprise Nation.
In the planning since June 2018, the Birmingham Enterprise Community (BEC) is a student-led collaborative project with a focus on developing enterprise skills and collaborative links between student bodies, featuring participation from the University of Birmingham, Birmingham City University, Newman University, University College Birmingham and Aston University.
The group was created by a collective of students, supported by staff from the University of Birmingham Careers Network, the Birmingham Skills for Enterprise and Employability Network start-up programme (BSEEN) and Enterprise Nation.
Mohammed Ali, Business Start-Up and Entrepreneurial Development Manager at the University of Birmingham and supporter of the BEC, said:
“Entrepreneurial skills in the workforce are vital to the continued growth and innovation of the region and beyond. I am delighted to see the city’s students, including our own Guild of Students Start-Up Society, collaborate and make this happen. We look forward to welcoming the community and the Mayor of the West Midlands onto campus to work together towards the realising the enormous potential of the region.”
The BEC aims to provide a platform for young people to experience the close networking ties between business around the region, as well as build a hub of cross-university start-up groups – boosting not only entrepreneurial skills and thinking, but also widening the understanding of how intrapreneurs (innovators within a company) can help our region’s employers to innovate.
The launch event at the University of Birmingham’s Business School will see the students responsible for establishing the network join the Mayor, Andy Street, Emma Jones, Founder of Enterprise Nation alongside local businesses and students from across the region come together to celebrate the launch.