We are sharing a series of upcoming Ecosystem Builders Meetups on behalf of The Entrepreneurs Network.

These informal, free-to-attend gatherings bring together professionals whose work supports innovation, strengthens entrepreneurial ecosystems, and develops thriving innovation communities across the UK.

Following a successful meetup in Shoreditch earlier this year, additional events are now taking place in Birmingham, London, and Exeter.

These sessions provide an opportunity to:

• Connect with fellow ecosystem builders

• Share insights and challenges from your region

• Strengthen cross-regional collaboration

• Contribute to shaping the UK as a stronger place to start and grow a business

Spaces are limited, and registration is subject to approval.

Ecosystem Builders Meetup – Birmingham

The Compound, 80 Water Street, Birmingham, B3 1HL
Thursday, 5 March 2026
11:00 am – 12:30 pm

Hosted at The Compound, a beautifully reimagined textile factory, this is the first Birmingham edition of the meetup, offering a valuable opportunity to connect with fellow ecosystem leaders across the Midlands.

RSVP: https://luma.com/myjfmavt 

Ecosystem Builders Meetup @ Level39 (London)

39th Floor, One Canada Square, Canary Wharf Estate, London, E14 5AB
Thursday, 9 April 2026
9:30 am – 11:00 am

Taking place at Level39, one of London’s leading tech communities and coworking spaces, this session brings together ecosystem leaders from across the capital.

For those travelling from outside London, a complimentary Level39 day pass is available for the first 20 approved sign-ups.

RSVP: https://luma.com/t9v2nfor 

Ecosystem Builders Meetup – Exeter

Exeter Innovation Hub, Princesshay, Dix’s Field, Exeter, EX1 1GF
Friday, 24 April 2026
11:00 am – 12:30 pm

This is the first Ecosystem Builders Meetup in Exeter, hosted at Exeter Innovation Hub in the city centre. The session aims to grow and connect the South West’s innovation and entrepreneurship support community.

RSVP: https://luma.com/r0oaeg6n

Who Should Attend?

These meetups are designed for professionals who:

• Support founders and startups

• Work in enterprise education or innovation policy

• Build entrepreneurial networks and communities

• Strengthen local or national innovation ecosystems

All events are free to attend, but places are limited and must be pre-approved.

We encourage members to share this opportunity with colleagues and partners who may benefit, particularly those based in Birmingham, London and Exeter, as these regional networks continue to grow.

Applications for the Richard Beresford Development Bursary are now open, with up to £1000 available for successful applicants.

The bursary supports the personal development of enterprise and entrepreneurship educators and practitioners, to positively contribute to their practice and to share the story of their learning experiences with the wider EEUK membership.

Who can apply?

You must be employed by an EEUK member organisation (UK only) and should have been an enterprise educator or practitioner for no more than 5 years. Directors of EEUK are not eligible to apply.

The deadline for applications for the Spring/Summer call is 27th March 2026

Full terms and conditions and application form available here.

The second edition of the Water Discovery Challenge is now open, offering £7.5 million in funding to support bold, early-stage innovations addressing some of the biggest challenges facing the water sector.

Part of Ofwat’s wider £600 million Water Innovation Fund, this national competition supports innovators at TRL 3–6 to develop, test and validate new solutions, with direct access to water companies and sector experts.

The Challenge is actively seeking ideas from outside the water sector, making this a particularly relevant opportunity for enterprise educators supporting:

• student, staff or graduate entrepreneurs

• researchers exploring commercialisation pathways

• interdisciplinary teams applying digital, AI, energy, construction or systems-based approaches to real-world problems

Up to 20 teams will receive £100,000 to develop their ideas, with up to 10 finalists progressing to receive up to £550,000 to further scale their solutions.

Beyond funding, the Water Discovery Challenge also presents a live innovation brief that can be adapted into teaching, workshops or challenge-based learning, helping learners build real-world innovation, systems thinking and problem-solving skills.

Key dates

• Call opens: 20 January 2026

• Deadline: 8 April 2026, 1 pm (GMT)

• Launch webinar: 29 January 2026, 1 pm (GMT)

🔗 Find out more, access entry materials and register for the launch webinar: waterinnovation.challenges.org/discovery2

As of 3 December 2025, the EIT Higher Education Initiative Call for Proposals 2025 is open for submissions.

This is a significant opportunity for higher-education institutions, businesses, research organisations, and public or NGO partners across Europe. The call offers up to €2 million per project over 24 months, with a total budget of up to €70 million, to accelerate innovation, entrepreneurship, and strategic cooperation within the European higher-education ecosystem.

Applications can be submitted under two thematic tracks:

Topic 1 – STEM
Build innovation and entrepreneurship capacity in STEM education, launch university–industry partnerships, and strengthen research-to-market structures.

Topic 2 – European Universities Alliances (EUAs)
Deepen strategic collaboration between European University alliances and the EIT ecosystem, embed entrepreneurship training, and expand cross-border innovation networks.

Enterprise Educators UK (EEUK) would be particularly interested in participating in collaborative bids, especially under Topic 2 – European Universities Alliances. We would welcome conversations with potential partners exploring joint proposals.

If you would like to discuss potential collaboration, please contact:
Steve Aicheler at steve@enterprise.ac.uk

Submission deadline: 4 March 2026, 17:00 CET

Further details and application guidance are available here:
https://eit-hei.eu/funding-support/funding-opportunities/open-calls/call-for-proposals-2025/

We would like to draw attention to the Call for Evidence currently open as part of The Maple Review, an independent, government-backed review examining the economic barriers faced by individuals when starting and growing a business in the UK.

The Maple Review seeks evidence from a wide range of contributors, including organisations, educators, researchers, practitioners, entrepreneurs, and individuals with lived experience. Submissions may include research, data, evaluation findings, case studies, policy insight, or personal and organisational perspectives that highlight barriers to entrepreneurship and enterprise, as well as effective approaches to addressing them.

The evidence gathered through this process will inform the Review’s analysis and final recommendations, which are expected to be published in Spring 2026. The Review has emphasised the importance of inclusive participation and welcomes submissions in alternative formats to support accessibility.

We encourage members of our network and wider stakeholders with relevant expertise or experience to consider contributing to this Call for Evidence.

For further information, including submission guidance and deadlines, please visit the Maple Review website: https://maplereview.uk/call-for-evidence

Applications for Track Chairs are now invited from EEUK Associate Members who are interested in participating actively and making a significant contribution to IEEC2026 in an engaging and interesting way. This will involve chairing one track throughout the conference. 

Track Chair benefits include: 

• A free full delegate place for all three days of IEEC2026 (excluding the gala dinner) 
• Professional recognition as a subject matter expert in a leadership role 
• Networking opportunities, interacting with leading academics, practitioners and influencers 
• Enhancement to a professional academic CV 

Track chairs will: 

• Review all session submission proposals via the Ex-Ordo platform 
• Decide on acceptance of session proposals after review 
• Liaise with presenters in advance of their presentations (TCs must be willing to share their email address with session proposers and presenters in order to deal with queries. 
• Chair seminars, workshops, immersive sessions or lightning talks in their allocated track (or arrange for a deputy if presenting themselves), assisting the presenter/facilitator to achieve an appropriate balance of presentation/interaction/discussion
• Gather summary information from sessions and feed back into the conference conclusions, highlighting any key themes/takeaways to benefit the wider enterprise and entrepreneurship community 
• Select the ‘Best in Track’ winners at the conference 

Full details of all tracks can be found on the IEEC website here).   

TRACK CHAIR SELECTION PROCESS 

Track chairs should have significant expertise within the relevant track. IEEC are seeking to appoint two chairs per track, one of which should be research active in a relevant area.  

We are seeking a diverse range of chairs representing all three of the EEUK Professional Pathways (Academic, Practitioner, Influencer) and including a range of backgrounds and experience levels.  

EEUK is committed to making IEEC as inclusive as possible. We actively encourage applications for Track Chair from individuals of all backgrounds including but not limited to race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, and socioeconomic status. 

To apply to be a Track Chair at IEEC2026, please complete the application form here by 13th February 2026.

Applications will be anonymised before being presented to the assessment panel, and the EDI questions will not be shared with the assessors (these will be used solely for EEUK’s Equality, Diversity, and Inclusivity monitoring purposes). 

The Assessment panel will consist of members of the IEEC2026 Academic Committee who will select two Track Chairs (plus one reserve) for each Track. 

We expect to be able to inform applicants of the assessment outcome in early March.  

Please get in touch with Sal Edwards, IEEC2026 Project Manager, by email at sal@enterprise.ac.uk with any questions. 

EEUK is proud to announce its partnership with Freelancer Club, CHEAD (Council for Higher Education in Art & Design), and NAHEMI (National Association for Higher Education in the Moving Image) to support the launch of the Freelance Education Think Tank – a strategic, sector-wide initiative to strengthen freelance education in UK higher education.

Freelancing is no longer a niche route for graduates, it is a growing and vital part of the modern careers landscape. Increasingly, students and graduates are turning to freelance work for its flexibility, creative autonomy, and purpose, while also navigating financial pressures and systemic barriers to traditional employment.

However, despite this growth, support for freelancers within higher education remains inconsistent. The Freelance Education Think Tank aims to address this gap by:

• Bringing together a coalition of pioneering universities and organisations;

• Co-developing a national Freelance Education Framework; and

• Building shared standards, tools, and approaches to embed freelance education across teaching, enterprise activity, and career development.

This initiative represents a major step towards recognising and supporting freelance and portfolio careers within the HE ecosystem, ensuring that students and graduates are equipped not just to survive, but to thrive in an evolving world of work.

While the inaugural Think Tank event is now at capacity, plans are already underway for a national launch in early 2026, open to institutions across the UK.

As an EEUK member, you will be among the first to hear about upcoming opportunities to engage with this initiative and contribute to shaping the future of freelance education.

Stay tuned for more details on how you can get involved.

Louisa Huxtable-Thomas (Swansea University) is inviting contributions for a forthcoming book, Cases on Entrepreneurship and Leadership, to be published by Edward Elgar.

This new volume will bring together short, co-produced case studies developed in collaboration with industry, offering practical insights into entrepreneurship and leadership in real-world contexts.

Louisa is seeking around 20 high-quality cases that represent a diversity of experiences, sectors, and perspectives.

If you are interested in contributing or would like to discuss a potential submission please get in touch directly. Louisa welcomes enquiries from educators, researchers, and practitioners keen to share their work.

Find full details of the call here: Edward Elgar Call for Cases on Entrepreneurship and Leadership

Editor: Dr. Louisa Huxtable-Thomas, Swansea University

EEUK are seeking expressions of interest to take up the voluntary role of chair/co-chair of the EE Ireland Sub-committee. The Sub-committee has a remit to promote and support Enterprise Education across the whole of the island of Ireland, working with our members in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

The full Terms of Reference can be downloaded here.

Applicants for the role are asked to send their CV (or link to an up to date online CV/Profile) plus a covering letter which sets out their suitability for the role and what they would hope to achieve to connect@enterprise.ac.uk by the 26th June. Applicants must be an employee of a current member organisation.

(A co-chair would work in partnership with one other co-chair, please include a statement in your letter saying if you would prefer to be a sole chair or co-chair, or if you have no preference.)

EEUK is currently forming a pool of training partners. We are seeking expressions of interest from experienced trainers and training developers who have expertise within Enterprise Education and related subjects.

If you are interested in working with EEUK to empower the delivery of effective Enterprise Education please submit the form below.

On receipt we will contact you with further details.