Annual Report 2012 - Highbury College

Entrepreneurship
At Highbury we have high ambitions for what our students
can achieve. A key part of our vision is to become
increasingly entrepreneurial and place enterprise at the
heart of our work. In 2011/12 we launched the Centre for
Entrepreneurship, which is leading on the promotion and
delivery of enterprise and entrepreneurship across the
College for the benefit of students, staff and the
community.
Highbury teamed up with several organisations to develop
entrepreneurship at the College. In January we became a
founder member of the Gazelle Colleges Group. Gazelle
draws on the experience of entrepreneurs to bring their
knowledge and experience of building and growing
successful enterprises to the FE sector.
In May, two Executive Directors from the College attended
the Price-Babson Symposium for Entrepreneurial
Educators at Babson College, Massachusetts, one of the
most highly ranked universities in the world for
entrepreneurship education. The intensive four-day
programme of lectures, seminars and workshops explored
the entrepreneurial process in depth and examined the
‘art and craft’ of teaching and learning entrepreneurship.
We also become an active member of the National
Association of College and University Entrepreneurs
(NACUE), which seeks to stimulate enterprise in UK
colleges and universities. Through NACUE we obtained
funding to create our student-led Enterprise Society called
Collective Futures, which will support and advise students
wishing to start their own businesses.
At the start of the year we were accredited by the Peter
Jones Enterprise Academy to offer BTEC Diplomas in
enterprise and entrepreneurship. Founded by Peter Jones
CBE, this new initiative will help young entrepreneurs
develop the attitude and skills they need to succeed,
whether they want to start their own business or shine in
an existing one.
In September our students travelled to Sheffield for MADE:
The Entrepreneur Festival, which attracted more than
3,000 visitors and 50 high-profile speakers, including Vince
Cable, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and
Skills. Co-sponsored by Gazelle, the three-day event was a
chance for our students to get involved and learn from the
experience of people who have succeeded in business.
Students were similarly inspired following a Live Unlimited
workshop in October. Supported by the National Lottery,
the initiative will support 16-21 year old students who
want to make a difference in their communities by
developing a social enterprise project.
Other activities in 2012 included a visit from the Start-Up
Britain bus, for students to meet business advisors and
entrepreneurs, a 'Pantrepreneur’ competition which
encouraged students to create and sell Olympic-themed
pants, and Market Maker, a business competition where
students pitched their ideas to a panel of experts - top
prize, a trip to New York.
At the end of the year we were delighted to welcome
entrepreneur and Dragons’ Den star Doug Richard to
Highbury for a series of Challenge Workshops delivered
by Gazelle and the Entrepreneurial Institution. The lively
two-hour sessions were open to students, staff and
members of the public, and challenged our knowledge
of entrepreneurship and how it functions within an
educational environment.
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