The “Skills Agenda” continues to dominate the discussions around HE and innovation. Reports, such as The Future of Jobs 2025 suggest that the labour market will undergo major reshaping by 2030, driven by demographic shifts, technological advancements, and the push for sustainability and the “green transition.”

Technology is already transforming education. Nearly all (92%) students using AI tools creating a clear need to review our assessment practices (through ideas such as ‘reverse scaffolding’) to ensure we teach students how to use it effectively, as well as avoiding a new digital divide. UK Govt is keen to address this, with a new Digital Inclusion action plan, ensuring digital skills strengthen the UK’s skills pipeline in support of Industrial Strategy.
The Russell Group universities have outlined their “pathway to growth” response to the Industrial Strategy, outlining 5 contributions focused on skills, partnerships and start-ups.

Our graduates are widely recognised as contributing significantly to innovation and productivity, as a Universities UK report emphasising the pivotal role of graduates in driving economic growth, showing how skills align closely to the government’s defined growth sectors as well as to regional growth(stating that the most productive regions of the UK have the highest proportion of workforce graduates). Such recognition underpins EEUK’s response to the recent OfS Consultation, where we proposed graduate outcomes statements such as “I am equipped with the entrepreneurial competences (skills and knowledge) to innovate and drive positive change in my chosen field” and “I actively share and apply my skills and learning within collaborative environments, contributing to innovation and positive impact within and beyond my communities/academic community.”

The focus on innovation also sees appointment of Sir Ian Chapman as the CEO of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), developing the government’s growth agenda through the industrial strategy, research and specifically, Horizon Europe, whilst Lord Willetts is shaping the regulatory approaches needed for new technologies such as drones, through the new RIO (Regulatory Innovation Office). However it is clear that support content for starts increasingly needs to be tailored as league tables recognise that it’s not just Business Schools or Tech that start graduate businesses.

In this evolving landscape, the government seeking to understand working from home, and potentially looking at summer HE white paper. EEUK reviewed its latest research, on the realities of an enterprise educator echoing the latest EDGE UCL report also looked at the changing roles across “third spaces” confirming shifting roles and diversifying support needs. With so much change underway, staying connected is more important than ever—see you at IEEC!

Rumours abound when enterprise education is omitted from key discussions surrounding the student experience, and whilst the consultation on the strategy of the Office for Students may feel outside your day-to-day work as it focuses upon the effective regulation of HE, with 3 priority areas, quality, wider student interest and sector resilience, enterprise educators wish to see the regulatory tools support student ambitions (see the critique of former Education Minister Jo Johnson) whether they are intrapreneurial, entrepreneurial or enterprising! We are urging you to ensure that your English HE institution is indicating that benefits of enterprise education which are not highlighted – either as a benefit of employing an graduate (enterprising or intrapreneurial), or as a benefit to tax payers (supporting UK Growth ambition) or as part of the “hopes and dreams” of any student. With enterprise education potentially providing so many transformational benefits, its omission is worthy of note. Don’t delay in supporting your institutional response (deadline of 20^th ).

There is also talk of sector reform, coming the shape of a White Paper this summer, but few expect any new funding. Many had hoped that education could form a central role in the new government vision for Growth but within the current climate, this opportunity may be missed due to the financial crisis in the sector which is seeing loss of social capital through staff losses.

The debate surrounding AI sees a divided use across the sector, but a new report shares the potential of effective integration, adding to global discussions around effective assessment and #EntEd ones around EntreComp and AI. Others of you may be looking for some quick wins in the office through AI, so check out some free and cheap AI tools to improve meetings, support planning, research or generate a quiz. However many remain cautious, JISC is also highlighting the need for data literacy in the workplace given the increased data load in our roles.

JISC is also capturing Trends in Assessment (Jan 2025) in a new report exploring programme level assessment,  co-design and also looking the need to rethink given AI, given the Russell Group’s 5 Principles, to understand how students use AI and can provide evidence of learning that demonstrates creativity or analyses AI output.

With these themes in mind, we were delighted to see EEUK Directors and members, sharing their case examples from their work across the ‘3Es’ (Norton and Penaluna, 2022) as the pillars that support the success of our students and the wider community. This new Advance HE report (Jan 2025) provides case examples to compliment the key topics coming through AI discussions (above) with sections on co-creation and assessment as well as employer engagement, providing inspirational examples throughout.

2025 is already shaping up to be the year to get your voice heard, share your 3E practice, shape the future and draw in the resources and expertise you need!

Firstly, whilst national consultations take place on role of the Office for students and their future strategy, please encourage disabled entrepreneurs to share their experience  for the next The Lilac Review which seeks to identify the barriers faced by disabled founders in the UK to develop action plan to remove them.  *Why not also check out the wider work of Small Business Britain, who lead on this, as they also offer resources like walks and meet-ups, virtual events, as well as podcasts, and videos (such as those exploring side hustles) so take a look and signpost others!

Also keep an eye on opportunities for you  to share what you do – such as  Advance HE’s Employability Symposium on the 3Es (Employability Enterprise and Entrepreneurship) which aims to spotlight new and evolving themes such as AI integration, future-proofing graduates, authentic assessment, and sustainable development.

It is clear that “AI” will remain a key area to watch especially as some obvious freelancer opportunities are being lost to our future graduates, as is the “first rung” on the work-experience ladder, which once taken away will fundamental shift careers and futures.  EEUK will keep you posted on its impact, sharing observations, reflections and identifying critical shifts, such as how AI has impacted applications for jobs (as” everyone” can  apply for “all” the jobs) and highlight discussions that  help use “reframe the work-ready myth” from a binary state (“ready” or “not”) as  we  keep an eye on “what do graduates do” (report). In addition to committing to “mainline” AI, the Labour Government also created youth guarantee declaring an expectation ‘that every young person is earning or learning’ so expect the skills agenda to continue to dominate education.  Whether you work from your own institutional graduate attributes, EntreComp,DigComp, LifeComp and GreenComp or the Universal Skills Builder, check out approaches like the “topical talks” from the Economist and expect to see a “changing world of employer-university collaboration” (take a look at JISC’s “vision for 2030” which recognises that the world of work is changing so rapidly that neither employers nor universities can address this alone).  Collectively such change will inform and drive our conversations at IEEC, as we focus on “Disruptions, Futures and Enterprise Education” – put the IEEC dates in your diary (10^th-12^th Sept 2025) now and look forwarding to seeing you there!

EEUK Practitioners, whether you are coaching, advising, mentoring or inspiring starts or businesses, you always need to keep one eye on the wider eco-system, whether that is potential advantages provided by your local eco-system, such as the Small Business Britian’s 2024 Tour, focus on Small Business Saturday,  or the sector/national changes, such as those seen in areas such as the employment allowance (which allows smaller companies to reduce their National Insurance liability) which increased from £5,000 to £10,500.  This first Labour Budget – Autumn 2024 which has impacted on business and employers, with a rise in the minimum wage as well as ensuring support in accessing finances (through Start Up Loans or Growth Guarantee Scheme) and the continued governmental commitment to Invest in Women Taskforce.

The government stated its commitment to “Horizon” and promised £6.1bn to research, through  long-term certainty through 10-year budgets.
There was a boost for the creative industries, as the budget 2024 confirmed funding for Create Growth Programme; video games (UK Games Fund) and grassroots music and regional  Creative Industries Clusters programme, including pipeline support for 11-18 year olds – and news of the creation of a new social impact investment vehicle to “mobilise private investment to deliver positive social impacts” and although details aren’t yet clear, this may support the HE funding gaps that are currently being faced.

This Autumn budget came off the back of the consultation paper on the UK industrial strategy – Invest 2035 – which was welcomed for its potential to place HEIs within a national strategy of growth  and prompted wider discussion on the role of innovation, with Chi Onwurah MP, Chair of the Science, Innovation, and Technology Committee calling for “incentives and examples that we can set to inspire more entrepreneurial cultures in our universities”. This ultimately may result in wider changes, such as a currently-speculative calls for a 10 year international visas for STEM grad and government recognition for the role of research and innovation, from “labs to start up”. (so although @WonkHe’s hope that graduate outcomes would feature in the industrial strategy failed to materialise, the HE sector has responded with clear vision for the potential for further HE innovation in response documents such as  Russell Group stats/evidence

Outside of this, there are national calls for partnership, which in the  wider context of  the “civil society” which seeks to “reset” the relationship between government and social enterprises through the civil society covenant so may create impact, value creation and community knowledge exchange opportunities for our students.

And finally with our regular call to “show off” your work, your students and your institutional achievements, for the benefit of yourselves and your students, this month we invite you to shout out about your GEW events, as GEN call upon education to showcase your activities!

Sign up to shout out! And don’t forget to check out the release of new resources, highlighted at IEEC2024 Belfast, as Entrepreneurship for All https://entrepreneurship4all.eu/ launched its bitesize online materials!

Responding to the opportunity of a new Westminster government, Universities UK have created a HE blueprint report by bringing in ‘big hitters’ to author thematic chapters, building on momentum seen in NCUB’s report which seeks to “unlock” SME interaction to “arrest the decline”, as well as Conservative Think Tank report “Venturing out” on commercialising business relationships and engagement. 

This UUK blueprint calls for 5 significant shifts to 1) expand opportunity 2) improve collaboration across the tertiary sector 3) generate stronger local growth 4) secure our future research strength and 5) establish a new global strategy for our universities (see summary here).  

Ultimately this could impact on how we work with business/SMEs and the expectations of such partnerships (for example, the recommendation to aim towards 100 per cent cost recovery for industry-sponsored research, unless engaging with small or emerging businesses). However, whilst these remain recommendations, there is no detail or confirmation, but does lead EEUK to question whether this could be heralding a new era where business partnership and engagement is not just encouraged, but becomes an essential part funding the gap. Changes in this relationship could put knowledge exchange, enterprise and entrepreneurship back on the radar of those institutions who had been looking for cost savings in these areas, and we continue to call upon members to raise the profile, and impact, of the work they do within their communities and regionally.   

• Looking  at impact? why not check out this blog post, exploring the development of an impact framework university–industry collaboration by Professor David Bamford at our 2025 IEEC Hosts, MMU  

• Or if you focus on business starts,  the Entrepreneurs Network (TEN) shared a vision for “united growth” looking for economic growth across all regions (through research with business owners in 12 UK regions) so check their state of the nation to appreciate the issues for your graduate businesses. 

And as term starts, it’s always good to know about the resources available to support you. Following the strong inclusion message throughout IEEC2024, it is worth checking out Lloyds Bank support for female entrepreneurs, and following the release of materials and live masterclasses within the new European Project E4ALL – why not dig into their resource library to find bite size online solutions to use with your students? 

2024/2025 academic year brings clear challenges for the enterprise educator.

Working within a difficult academic environment, that has seen voluntary redundancies, attacks on the value and worth of specific courses and HE in general, the new term brings some inevitable challenges.
Reflecting on last year, and looking ahead to a new Westminster government with a different approach to Europe allows EEUK to create a call to action for all enterprise educators.  This call is to “future proof” your work by seizing the opportunities for you and your students (which potentially could include the movement of young people to work and study in Europe) and capturing and evidencing the impact of your work.

As “third space” professionals Enterprise Educators see the transformation of students, the connection and the community and are often the reason why students are on campus. EEUK calls upon you to shout about – prove your worth, and showcase your achievements through those of your students – and in her keynote to IEEC Belfast, Alison makes the case to:

Showcase your work: Post-lockdown sector research (including the work of The Sutton Trust and the government itself, which shows the proportion of home students disclosing mental health condition to their university at over 5%) has shown our young people to be more anxious, less connected, and less able to embrace the university experience in a political climate where its value was questioned.

However, last year also provided notes of celebration, such as UCAS (2024) reporting a record number of disadvantaged Scottish students getting their place in university and key reports suggest that graduates are positive about the experience. Our challenge is now to support all the students coming through to have this.  Working in the “third space” enterprise educators have the opportunity to engage with our students and be the reason they come on campus.

 Ensure AI doesn’t add to the digital divide: find opportunities to be inclusive The current discussion in HE suggests that AI can be embraced; though it is clear that in future proofing our students, we need prepare them for the arrival of Sora and the next generation of AI, not by ignoring or second-guessing it, but by ensuring they engage and are supported to understand its potential.  Whether you can share AI innovation tools to compare the speed of the experience with the passion of the group work thinking  process, or need to follow QAA and the advice of others speaking about “doing good”, it is key that you are not furthering the digital division.

The opportunity to really offer Inclusive entrepreneurship asks that you to understand who you are working with and explore whether you are providing the support to their needs and how you can best help those who you have yet to engage with.

Inclusivity also means understanding the international. With a significant change from Westminster, this will mean ensuring your offer is right for all.

Build Skills – develop competences – use EntreComp to develop your people Futureproofing our nations by developing the skills of a workforce has been a strong political message recently as we see HEFCW rebrand from CTER to MEDR (skills in Welsh) and Skills England is created by the new Starmer government. This upskilling includes us as enterprise educators! so connect with EEUK to access support and use EntreComp to help track, and evidence, the development of your students, starts and even your own team.

Working as part of knowledge exchange, to build your KEF “perspective” explore what this might mean for local business and keep your eye out for opportunities!

Futureproof by showcasing your #3E work, ensuring your students are tax-ready online and you are in a position to maximise  institutional opportunities through KE, Skills Development, whether through micro-credentials which offer particular benefits, or through your wider work in the community (KE).

So if you are feeling that education is in turmoil, whether you are working in curriculum or as a practioner, then Track, Evidence, Action and Report – take the time to “show off” your students and your impact)! Embrace the metrics as they show that are doing a good job – hold yourselves to account and deliver for your students – be the reason they come on campus and the reason they leave ready for the challenges ahead!

Post Election, EEUK is looks forward to hearing the details behind the manifesto promises.

With many looking for a new model for HE, picking up on issues across the sector as well as ones that impact our work directly, such as visa issues.

EEUK is seeking a vision and long-term commitment which might with the call from  The Entrepreneurs Network and YBI (Youth Business International (June 2023) for enterprise education in schools (Empowering the Future) based on their previous work as to “what applied learning really looks like” (Jan 2023). This calls for under-18s to be able open business bank accounts without credit facilities to help them separate personal and business finances from a young age, as well as calling for transversal skills to be the key (which EntreComp is) seeking that essential skills that necessary to be entrepreneurial are embedded across the curriculum from primary school/

Ensuring the education system is “fit for an entrepreneur” is a message also being heralded across Wales, with the launch of their new resources for schools which draws upon competency-based questioning as progression points and shares links to additional resources

Wales has also announced that CTER will Medr (when established in August to replace Higher Education Funding Council for Wales.) which is Welsh for “skill” or ability.

This connects with the launch of the launch of the 2018 QAA UK Quality Code which outlines 12 sector-agreed Principles for academic standards, as this has been uniquely designed to apply to all post-secondary providers (to align with changes in Wales and Scotland – as @WONKHE suggest possibly, anticipating a future need in England.

At the other end of our educational pipeline, the HESA data is out, sharing the story of our graduates as freelancers and business starts with “graduates running own business, self-employed/freelancing or developing a portfolio by domicile – Academic years 2017/18 to 2021/22” as well over 21,000  (Figure 8). Have a read of “What do graduates do” which shows, that in government data for broadly the same period, which shows that English graduates were earning £11,500 more a year than non-graduates.  This links to last month’s blog discussions and a King’s College report,  which emphasised the benefit of having a degree, by highlighting the high esteem in which a UK education is held. This month, LEO datas shows from the latest (2021/22) data on graduate earnings and employment that for first degree graduates, median earnings five years after graduation reached £29,900.

All of which helps us understand our students and graduates better – it seems that we can be inspired as research (tomorrow’s entrepreneurs). with entrepreneurs under the age of 35 show that they are more than twice as likely to say their business’ primary aim is to solve a social or environmental problem than older entrepreneurs.

The future is bright – see you at IEEC Belfast 2024 to explore it all in detail!

With a general election underway, we want to focus on policy, rather than politics but working at the intersection of major policy areas, many enterprise educators continue their call for long term direction and clarity, whilst the financial constraints/staff changes across the sector make planning uncertain.

However, against this turbulent backdrop, the latest UUK research  (using LEO data) shows conclusively it is “worth getting a degree” with evidence that becoming a graduate increases earning potential across a life time.  Whilst it is worth noting that this data also shows that the gender pay gap continues, it also serves as reminds that our current students are in a different position to those being tracked in the workforce, having studied through Covid and a cost of living and now a shrinking HE/ funding crisis.  As enterprise educators we might need to understand Why university students “see little point” in attendance (May 2024) as we begin planning our 2024/5 programme especially when the initial findings from the forthcoming (2025) Lilac Review (paywall) show discrimination against disabled entrepreneurs. We need to future proof our offers to support our current students. Such review is also usefully informed by looking internationally at UK graduate outcomes International Graduate Outcomes (May 2024). It calls for improved career support, and as enterprise educators we need to consider our roles in this. The report also calls for more collaboration with employers to ensure skills are embedded in the curriculum, something which our vibrant EntreComp community supports. With further recognition for the diversity within education, the power of alumni and the need to realise the benefits of visa routes. So, plenty to think about as we support our home and international students! And a quick focus on:

Academics: SEDA is seeking your inputs on your use of AI in learning and assessment

Practitioners in Careers: join us for FAST TRACK if enterprise education is new to you!

Influencers: We will be shaping a statement for the new Government, share your concerns

See you at IEEC Belfast 2024

Once again, those working across enterprise agenda are being asked “stand up” to make the case for its contribution to student experience.

As the Financial Times (May 2024) declares “UK universities warn of more course closures and job cuts without state help” and this live tracker shows the national scale of HE change, EEUK recognises the hidden losses that started with the end of ERDF funding which has seen (some hidden) job losses in our enterprise centres over the last few years. EEUK believes that the loss of enterprise centres, departments and staff is a short-sighted move as institutions strive to provide students with community and connectivity, support their well being and deliver on the UK’s ambitions for innovation and drive. But as  last month’s report showed, if Vice Chancellors still don’t recognise the so-called ‘third’ mission of institutions, then the inclusion of #EntEd within the institutional mission fails to provide the protection it appeared to signal.

EEUK calls upon the next government to signal and demonstrate clear and consistent commitment to the enterprise and entrepreneurship educational agenda and allow UK universities and colleges to contribute to the development of the regional, national, and international educational entrepreneurial eco-systems that create innovation.

And on a practical lee, EEUK reminds you to “stand up” and shout about your achievements and those of your students – do it for yourself, the sector, and your students. Write blogs, press releases, contribute to your local news and newsletters, and let us know! (and celebrate Great British Entrepreneurs – get your start-up alumni to apply here)!

To help you make a difference in your work this month, we are highlighting:

• Careers Professionals:
  • What Scottish Graduates do
  • Role of AI
• Educators/Curriculum designers:
  • go “Beyond Blended”
• Influencers:
  • Spotlight on Spin Outs Report
  • Academic Spin Outs

And be inspired by the stories from the EntreComp Community!

With work in Scotland progressing to address the challenges of “scaling up” the educational-entrepreneurial enterprise eco-system, this blog looks at the AI, skills, and consultations. 

Firstly, this guide to AI for business leaders gives you useful background and historical overview to support the recent educational discussions (HEPI) which suggests that a large proportion of students express real concerns that AI could replace human support at university, whilst they are also experiencing ‘mixed messages’ ranging from structured use as a study support tool, through to total institutional ban. But its more than CHATGPT with specific start-up support being available to support innovators and the design process. With lack of clarity adding to students stress, work to support students during teaching with a focus on wellbeing is welcomed (check out Advance HE case studies, and details of the TESTA project’s work on assessment and feedback).   

For those thinking beyond the classroom issues of social mobility (Phoenix AGCAS) and a recognition that graduates with disabilities face persistent disadvantages within employability (Luminate) are all bringing skill development to the fore (IESBL).  

MillionPlus universities have, like AGCAS, created a pre-election manifesto putting a focus on skills, whilst a recent report suggests that VC’s focus is primarily on research and teaching, and the “dual” (not triple) mission of the university (TEF, REF, and NOT KEF) it is clear that there is still a huge challenge ahead in terms of #3Es, experiential learning and skill development. 

Fortunately this month has also seen Advance HE review and relaunch the Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Education Framework (as part of their series: “Essential frameworks for enhancing student success”) highlighting 3E (enterprise, entrepreneurship and employability) and further demonstrating its value (see case study book). 

With competences becoming more common-place currency across HE, as well as the latest dialogue across China (HE)  the new ETF “Scaffold” deck, now comes with a guide to “designing competence-orientated learning experiences”.  This echoes approaches to curriculum support but brings DigComp, EntreComp and GreenComp together. 

But if your focus is start-up and growth then be assured that the HESA data is out (April 2024) shows that universities’ engagement in the economy created 165 new spin-off companies and nearly 5,000 new student start-ups in 2022/23 – and you might be interested in these two national consultations to contribute to: 

Firstly HESA are seeking the views on proposed changes to data about knowledge exchange and the interaction of higher education with the wider economy.  Proposed changes to Higher Education – Business and Community Interaction (HE-BCI) survey data include enhanced data regarding the commercialisation of intellectual property (IP) and includes a proposal to compile a national list of university spin-outs so share you voice with colleagues institutionally to get your voice heard  

And there is also a Call for Evidence as part of our Private Business Commission project, which is looking at what more needs to be done to ensure UK companies can grow to their full potential. Looking access to funding, employees, and tax incentives this one might be outside your day job/role, but if you can contribute then the Call for Evidence closes on 23 April.