Underpinning Standards

All EEUK Fellowship awards are assessed against a single, coherent set of professional standards, underpinned exclusively by the following three sources:

1. IOEE National Occupational Standards (NOS) for Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Educators and the National Occupational Standards (NOS) for Business and Enterprise Support

The NOS for Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Educators provide the foundational benchmark for professional competence in enterprise and entrepreneurship education. The NOS articulate what enterprise educators should do, know, and understand in practice, structured around:

1. Planning and delivering effective enterprise and entrepreneurship education
2. Building collaborative relationships with learners and stakeholders
3. Motivating and inspiring enterprising and entrepreneurial mindsets
4. Reflecting on and developing professional practice

In addition, the EEUK Fellowship also recognises the National Occupational Standards (NOS) for Business and Enterprise Support. These standards are particularly relevant for applicants whose roles focus on:

1. 1. business and venture support
   2. incubation, acceleration, and scale-up activity
   3. knowledge exchange and commercialisation
   4. enterprise ecosystem development
   5. applied support for founders, SMEs, and organisations

Together, the Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Educator NOS and the Business and Enterprise Support NOS reflect the full breadth of professional practice across the enterprise education and support landscape.

The EEUK Fellowship pathways (Academic, Practitioner, Influencer) are derived from this combined NOS landscape, ensuring occupational relevance, sector legitimacy, and parity of esteem across educator, practitioner, and leadership roles.

2. QAA Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Education Guidance for UK Higher Education Providers

The QAA guidance provides the sector-wide articulation of effective enterprise and entrepreneurship education, emphasising inclusive, authentic, learner-centred and context-sensitive practice. It frames enterprise education as developmental, interdisciplinary, and embedded across curricula, co-curricula, and institutional strategy.

Fellowship applications are expected to demonstrate alignment with the principles of the QAA guidance, rather than compliance with a prescriptive model, recognising institutional and disciplinary diversity.

3. UK Professional Standards Framework (PSF) for Teaching and Supporting Learning (2023)

The PSF provides the overarching professional framework for teaching and supporting learning in higher education, structured around:

1. Professional Values
2. Core Knowledge
3. Areas of Activity

EEUK Fellowship levels are deliberately aligned in spirit and progression logic with the PSF Descriptors (Associate, Fellow, Senior, Principal), ensuring credibility, transparency, and comparability with nationally recognised professional standards.

Together, these sources ensure that the EEUK Fellowship:

• is grounded in nationally recognised occupational standards (IOEE NOS for Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Educators, NOS for Business Enterprise Support)
• reflects sector-agreed educational principles (QAA)
• aligns with established professional recognition structures (PSF)

Applicants are encouraged to map their evidence to these frameworks. Assessors will evaluate whether applicants’ practice, reflection, and impact are clearly consistent with these underpinning standards.