The Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship was founded in 2016 and since then, has grown from strength to strength with a current portfolio of 14 undergraduate integrated Masters programmes and 8 postgraduate programmes, teaching around 1,000 students. We are also expanding our portfolio with recent developments into Digital Innovation at postgraduate level and a new UG Design with Innovation programme. The centre is one of the larger dedicated innovation education centres in UK Higher Education.

Teaching at the Centre emphasises challenge-based, collaborative learning which allows students to draw upon their subject specialism while working in multidisciplinary teams to deliver new and innovative solutions to a given real-world challenge. Throughout the programme students work in collaboration with a wide range of industry partners who set live challenges, providing students with the opportunity to gain experience and build a project portfolio.

Our teaching methods are less traditional with studio-based learning and groups using break-out areas in our Centre student hub. Our students are also assessed in practical sessions, either individually or in teams, rather than exams. Students are also encouraged to use our prototyping lab to test out and refine their ideas, with anything from cardboard to 3D printers and laser cutters. Throughout collaboration is core with our units designed to introduce the principles underpinning successful teamwork and give students the chance to experience collaboration across a variety of different projects and teams.

This approach is developed further in our new home at the Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus. The new campus provides brand new facilities in a state-of-the-art building, alongside the Business School and parts of the Engineering faculty, closer to industry and the heart of Bristol city centre.

We are proud to be multi-award winning with recent success being:

Our NSS and PTES scores are consistently excellent, being amongst the highest in the university. Alongside this we support students and graduates from across the university with our start-up programme, Runway, where we offer guidance, mentoring and financial support.

Catalysing the creation of sustainable, highflying, high impact ventures through infrastructure, investment and entrepreneurial knowhow. Our mentors are seasoned entrepreneurs who have already made a difference.

The aim of the Runway Programme is to accelerate graduate ventures beyond planning and validation towards practical delivery of value. The key start-up programme provides professionalism, mentoring and a tailored plan for each business that is based within the multi-award-winning Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.  Runway allows each University of Bristol graduate to depart with the knowledge and structures in place to deliver upon their entrepreneurial ambition. Pushing for success through a chain of infrastructure, improvement, and investment are an experienced team with success across many entrepreneurial ventures.

Runway boasts private meeting rooms, breakout space and professional presentation venues; access to student consultancy and interns; designers and prototyping facilities; mentoring and advice and importantly an inhouse investment fund.

The Runway programme has been generously provided with funding by Bristol alumni and friends since 2020 to help support entrepreneurship and the impact it can have on wider society. There are three main ways that the funding is disbursed: the Runway Awards, the Innovation Fund and Seed grants. Awards are made in the form of grants with no expectation of equity or return on the funding. Winners will be expected to report on how they have used the funds and what they have gained during the process. Whilst there is no obligation, we expect that winners will want to contribute to developing a community that supports and encourages future founders once their ventures start properly rewarding their efforts.