University of York’s student entrepreneurs go global
Posted on 17 November 2008
A series of events will feature students from York joining colleagues from the United States and China in addressing challenges facing business and enterprise.
Staff and students have worked together to produce what promises to be a diverse and fascinating week for anyone with an interest in enterprise
Andrew Ferguson – Business, Community and Enterprise Manager
The events are part of the University’s drive to introduce the enterprise ethos into education. They coincide with Global Entrepreneurship Week (17–21 November).
In a Business Without Borders session, students from York’s own centre for excellence in this area will join forces with counterparts from Zhejiang University to tackle two business case studies. They will be linked by Skype and video conferencing to work on the case studies which feature business ventures in the UK and China.
Tony Ward, lead academic in the Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning of Enterprise (CETLE) at York, will deliver a lecture titled Great Engineering Disasters simultaneously to students in York and the University of Illinois in the US. The lecture, delivered via video link with Dr Bruce Litchfield at the Urbana-Champaign campus of the University of Illinois, will look what lessons some of the world’s great engineering failures might have for would-be entrepreneurs.
All three universities – York, Illinois and Zhejiang – are part of the Worldwide Universities Network (WUN), a partnership of 18 research led universities in Europe, North America, China and Australia working together to promote research and teaching collaborations.
Back in York, the nationally recognised student society ‘York Entrepreneurs’ will launch this year’s enterprise challenge during Global Entrepreneurship Week. The challenge will involve refurbishing the image of traditional toys. Representatives from toy manufacturer Hasbro will be taking part along with 29-year-old Bolton entrepreneur Imran Hakim who recentlly won £140,000 of investment for his innovative new ‘edutainment’ toy, the i-Teddy on the Dragons’ Den television programme.
Tony Ward said: "At York we aim to include enterprise in all our academic subjects. The Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning of Enterprise is a physical space where budding young entrepreneurs can come and work on their ideas in a free and supported environment."
The University’s Business, Community and Enterprise Manager, Andrew Ferguson, said: "Staff and students have worked together to produce what promises to be a diverse and fascinating week for anyone with any interest in enterprise at all. The fact that we are to involve students in the USA and China is a new and exciting development."
ENDS
Notes to editors:
- The York CETLE provides a wide range of facilities for new student businesses, including computer facilities, video conferencing and a base from which to begin the first steps into the world of business.
- CETLE also provides funding and support to academics from all disciplines seeking to develop new teaching and learning in enterprise. CETLE has so far helped 21 new modules and learning opportunities get underway at York in subjects as diverse as English Literature and Biology.
- More information on the Worldwide Universities Network at www.wun.ac.uk
- The Business Without Borders course with Zhejiang University forms part of the York Award programme, the University of York’s personal development and employability programme. Students undertaking the York Award can access a range of over 25 extracurricular courses covering areas as diverse as business networking to British Sign Language. The York Award has been internationally recognised as a leader in the development of student employability.