The innovative BSc Business Enterprise (BBE) at the independent University of Buckingham was the first undergraduate Venture Creation Programme in the world when it was launched in January 2006.
It offers students the opportunity to start and develop their own business, as an integral part of their honors degree.
Within four months of the course starting, students must pitch an idea to a business angel panel, with successful pitches awarded up to £5,000.
The students then develop their businesses over the remaining 18 months, whilst continuing study for an honors degree.
On graduation, BBE students can buy their business for a nominal sum and continue to its development.
About entreprise education:
Schools, colleges and universities are sometimes criticised as being too theory-oriented and lacking connection with the ‘real world’. Indeed, the rise of the accelerator movement can be seen, in part, as due to a lack of practical entrepreneurship training. Fortunately, this has changed rapidly in recent years, with many schools and colleges offering students the courses and tools needed to start their own business.
From a policy point of view, the focus is typically on persuading educational institutions to embed enterprise education within the curriculum (rather than offering as an ‘add-on’); building multiple initiatives and types of support (such as physical space, IP advice, mentorship, business plan competitions, hackathons, pitching days, student enterprise societies, connections to VCs, in-house funds, networking sessions, and so on); and nurturing an ecosystem around the institution itself (which may involve alumni, local businesses, and so on).
Read more about this type of policy instrument in Nesta's Idea Bank for policymakers.
