This September, Enterprise Educators UK (EEUK) brings the International Entrepreneurship Educators Conference to Nottingham for its landmark 20th anniversary.
From 2-4 September 2026, IEEC2026 will take over Nottingham Business School at Nottingham Trent University, drawing around 150 delegates from across the globe. Educators, practitioners and policymakers will gather to mark two decades of the conference and ask where enterprise education goes next, how entrepreneurial thinking gets embedded across and beyond higher and further education, how cross-disciplinary innovation gets taught rather than just talked about, and how policy can keep pace with practice.
For a milestone like this, the location is not a backdrop. It is part of the story.
Why Nottingham?
Nottingham has quietly become one of the UK’s most compelling case studies in enterprise itself. The city punches well above its weight in life sciences, healthcare, advanced manufacturing, engineering, and a fast-growing digital and creative sector, all built on genuine university-industry partnerships that turn research into real-world impact, regionally, nationally and globally. If IEEC2026 is about proving entrepreneurial thinking works beyond the lecture theatre, delegates only need to step outside to see it in action.
It’s also a city built for bringing people together. Nottingham is home to two major universities and more than 60,000 students, giving it one of the youngest, most energetic populations of any major UK city. That same spirit- ambitious, connected, unafraid to back new ideas- is exactly what IEEC has spent 20 years championing.
There’s Life Beyond the Conference Room
Delegates travelling in for three days of keynotes and workshops will find a city that rewards sticking around.
Culture, on tap. Catch a world-class performance at Theatre Royal or Nottingham Playhouse, wander the contemporary art at Nottingham Contemporary, or explore Nottingham Castle. History fans might recognise Wollaton Hall as Wayne Manor from The Dark Knight Rises, well worth the detour.
A city built for sport. Nottingham has Europe’s highest number of sports facilities per person and two professional football clubs, including Premier League Nottingham Forest and Notts County, the world’s oldest professional football club.
Evenings sorted, safely. Nottingham has held the prestigious Purple Flag status for 16 consecutive years running, marking it out as one of the UK’s safest and most enjoyable cities for a night out, whatever “a night out” means to you, cocktail bars to quiet catch-ups with colleagues.
Delegates with time to explore further can check NTU’s Nottingham bucket list for more of what makes the city tick, from Sneinton Market to England’s oldest pub.
Twenty Years, One Big Milestone
IEEC has spent two decades building the major international forum for enterprise and entrepreneurship educators, a space that’s always been outward-looking, bringing global perspectives to bear on the very local, very practical work of teaching enterprise. Hosting the 20th edition in a city that lives and breathes that same ethos feels less like coincidence and more like the natural next chapter.
Registrations for IEEC2026 are now open. If you are shaping the future of enterprise and entrepreneurship education, Nottingham is where that conversation happens this September.