Universities chosen in pioneering social entrepreneurship initiative

10th August 2012

Social entrepreneurship is a rapidly growing movement within the higher education (HE) sector. A £2 million HE support initiative, funded by HEFCE, and delivered by UnLtd, the Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs, has now selected 56 higher education institutions (HEIs) from across England to lead a pioneering programme to place social entrepreneurship at the heart of their culture and infrastructure.

The initiative was launched by UnLtd and HEFCE in January 2012. Over the next 12 months the chosen HEIs will be recruiting Champions from across their institutions to engage a wide range of staff and students from all disciplines.

In their applications for this funding, HEIs proposed a wide range of outreach approaches, from cross-campus ‘virtual hubs’ established to raise awareness of social entrepreneurship and the support available, to inspirational master classes delivered by high profile social entrepreneurs.

They will be testing a range of methods and approaches to finding, funding and supporting social entrepreneurs within their institutions, including developing ‘acceleration hubs’ for social venture growth; recruiting ‘social entrepreneurs in residence’ to provide one-to-one mentoring; and setting up online support platforms.

The new programme follows the success of the Higher Education Social Entrepreneurship Awards, which saw 200 social ventures established in 70 HEIs between 2009 and 2011.

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