ARU: Celebrating International Women’s Day at ARU

Visiting Professor Ren Kapur MBE reflects on this year’s IWD theme, “Give To Gain”—a reminder that progress grows when we give our time, belief, opportunity and trust to others. #IWD began as a collective act of courage, and that legacy still drives the future we choose to shape.

ARU is delighted to welcome Claire Kennedy, Co‑Founder and Joint CEO of PPL, as our IWD 2026 Keynote Speaker, alongside Professor Gary Packham. Claire will explore how the Civil Society Covenant can strengthen collaboration, community cohesion and meaningful impact—true “Give To Gain” in action.  Register now.

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Four Birmingham Universities Unite Again to Empower Female Founders
For the second year, Birmingham City University, Aston University, University of Birmingham, and University College Birmingham partnered to support student and graduate female founders. The enhanced 5-week programme delivered core start-up knowledge and new insights to reduce barriers and build an empowered entrepreneurial community, with 10 participants from each university. Thanks to HSBC, new IP partner Forresters, and inspiring female judges for their invaluable support. The initiative concluded with a December showcase where six finalists pitched for a £4,000 prize pot. Congratulations to winners Audrey Berling (UoB) and Joanna Twardowska (UCB) for their creativity and resilience!

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Warwick: Designing Together: a fresh way into design thinking for enterprise educators

Looking for an engaging way to introduce design thinking in your teaching? The 10-day Designing Together Challenge offers a practical, accessible entry point into design thinking. Paired with the Designing Together Cards, it gives educators and students a hands-on way to explore mindsets, prompts, and practices you can immediately apply in your work. Designed for Higher Education innovation contexts, it’s especially powerful for enterprise educators supporting entrepreneurial thinking, collaboration, and creative problem-solving. Whether you’re teaching design thinking, co-designing learning experiences with your stakeholders, or weaving it into the entrepreneurial toolkit, this is a resource worth exploring.

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Exeter: UIIN Entrepreneurial Universities Forum.

On 22-23 April, the University of Exeter are hosting the first UIIN Entrepreneurial Universities Forum. The Forum will explore how universities are becoming more entrepreneurial in practice – through entrepreneurship pathways, new institutional models, and closer integration between education, innovation, and external engagement. Attendees will have opportunity to share insights on their entrepreneurial ecosystems, whilst gaining valuable insights from sector-leading programmes and entrepreneurial institutions from UIIN’s global network. You can find further details and book your early-bird ticket now at UIIN Entrepreneurial Universities Forum | UIIN

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Derby: People’s Choice Award

A University of Derby Game Changer student has won the People’s Choice Award at January’s Global Demo Night, hosted by Canopy. Michael Nweke, alongside co-founder Lucky Nweke, impressed a global audience of founders, operators and investors with their blockchain-based digital inheritance concept, Heir Trust. Voted for by peers, the award recognised the pitch’s human-centred approach, global relevance and thoughtful early-stage execution. The cross-border founding team is now using the momentum to pursue partnerships, advisors and further pitch opportunities through student and founder pathways. Read more here.

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UCB: Certificate in Entrepreneurship

Our Level 5 Business Enterprise students are piloting the Certificate in Entrepreneurship this academic year, aiming to develop skills for starting and growing a business. Working in groups, students create visions, pitch ideas, and explore opportunities within SME and national contexts, developing action plans to test and refine their concepts. At the end, students will receive a digital badge to showcase on LinkedIn, supporting their career readiness. This university-wide initiative is led by Business Enterprise, which is supporting team training and development across subject areas.