Goldsmiths, University of London

In 2008 Goldsmiths launched the Institute for Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship (ICCE), an academic department focused on entrepreneurship and enterprise education. ICCE was Goldsmiths response to the growing significance of the UK creative industries and cultural sector as well as the need for social innovation in the UK economy.

ICCE delivers entrepreneurship, enterprise and cultural management education to the creative and cultural sectors. Beginning in 2008 with the first MA in Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship, with 7 pathways in Design, Fashion, Creative computing, Theatre and Performance, Media & Communications, Music and Leadership. The range of MA programmes has grown to include Social Entrepreneurship and Museums and Galleries Entrepreneurship. The department now also delivers an undergraduate degree in Arts Management, and also has several modules with a focus on entrepreneurship, ideas generation and enterprise that are available to students across many departments in Goldsmiths.

ICCE recently was successful in the HEFCE catalyst awards, and are developing a 15 credit module in entrepreneurial thinking and will be used HEFCE as a case study for their innovation in pedagogy research.

ICCE also presents a range of activities and events that promote an environment that encourages the engagement with entrepreneurship to flourish. These include ICCE Salons, where industry professionals from a broad range of practices are invited in to discuss their journey with emerging entrepreneurs, alumni panels and practical workshops around creative ideation and business modeling.

With a commitment to offer every Goldsmiths student the opportunity and benefit of engaging with entrepreneurship education, ICCE created SYNAPSE in 2010. This is a workshop programme that offers students in every department, from undergrad to PhD the opportunity to explore and develop entrepreneurial tools to ‘map their future’. This is designed to  equip students with the skills to think about their future, ambitions, and the impact they hope to make, with an aim of enhancing graduate employability within their sector, and their potential to realise personal projects. These workshops are designed to compliment and enhance academic and creative study, and support any industry preparation offered by departments. In 5 years 2012 to Autumn 2017 SYNAPSE has delivered 900 hours of workshops to an estimated 5,000 students.

ICCE supports research into entrepreneurship education, and new business models across the creative sector, with partner Universities and professional organisations nationally and internationally.

Main contact: Adrian De La Court. Lecturer MA Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship, Director SYNAPSE.

email  a.delacourt@gold.ac.uk