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During this detailed breakdown interpret enterprise, skills and entrepreneurship enhancing the curriculum in geography, earth.
Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship
Enhancing the curriculum in Geography,
Earth and Environmental Sciences
Compiled and edited by Helen King
July 2006http://www.gees.ac.uk/projtheme/entrep/entrep.htm
ISBN 1-84102-161-X
Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship
Enhancing the curriculum in Geography, Earth and
Environmental Sciences
Contents
1) Introduction
(a) Project overview 7
(b) Go on, persuade me: the GEES ‘Elevator Pitch’ 9
(c) What does enterprise/entrepreneurship mean to the GEES disciplines? 11
(d) Enterprise or entrepreneurship? some definitions 13
(e) How can enterprise/entrepreneurship be supported through the curriculum? 15
(f) Student interest in enterprise/entrepreneurship skills 17
(g) What support do students need? 29
2) Information/Papers
(a) Embedding business start-up in the university curriculum 33
(b) Considerations for embedding enterprise in the curriculum 37
(c) Exploring gender issues in entrepreneurship 43
(d) Examples of enterprise in the curriculum 45
(e) A few useful web-sites 53
(f) Higher Education Academy (generic) resources 55
(g) University enterprise/entrepreneurship support units 57
(h) Glossary of terms 65
3) Examples of practice
(a) Enterprise and employability 75
(b) Verbal business card icebreaker 79
(c) You are on your own icebreaker 85
(d) Two lectures to introduce the concepts of intrapreneurship 87
(e) Developing understanding of intrapreneurship and the links to entrepreneurship 89
(f) Entrepreneurship assessment opportunities 91
(g) Exploring the motivation and skills of entrepreneurs 95
(h) Selling ideas, an enterprising activity for many modules: the elevator pitch 103
(i) Communicating science 107
(j) An environmental impact assessment of a brownfield site 109
(k) Outline scope for a commercial practice module 111
(l) Students as consultants 113
(m)Aberdeen Oil Game 115
4) Case studies of GEES entrepreneurs
(a) Colin Deady: Ethical WebSites 119
(b) Ben Malin: Terraqueous Ltd., Environmental Consultancy 123
(c) Nick Russill: TerraDat Geophysics 129
(d) Emma Smith: Fairfield Materials Management 133
3
Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship
Enhancing the curriculum in Geography, Earth and
Environmental Sciences
Section1: Introduction
(a) Project overview
(b) Go on, persuade me: the GEES ‘Elevator Pitch’
(c) What does enterprise/entrepreneurship mean to the GEES disciplines?
(d) Enterprise or entrepreneurship? some definitions
(e) How can enterprise/entrepreneurship be supported through the curriculum?
(f) Student interest in enterprise/entrepreneurship skills
(g) What support do students need?
1(a) Project overview
Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship Project 2005
As you may be aware, entrepreneurship is high on the agenda and the education sector is being
encouraged to support students in developing their skills in this area. In 2005, the Higher
Education Academy Subject Centre for Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences (GEES) was
awarded funding from the DfES to support entrepreneurship in our disciplines in HE. We see
‘entrepreneurship’ as a very broad term encompassing a set of skills that includes creativity,
opportunism, taking risks, problem-solving, research and enquiry, and team working. The funding
provided an opportunity for the GEES disciplines to showcase and build on their good level of
support in the area of key skills, employability and work-related learning (including dissertation,
mapping and other ‘real-life’ projects). The project identified existing resources and expertise and
provided materials for staff to integrate into their curriculum specifically in the area of
entrepreneurship.
What is this resource?
This Resource Pack provides a collection of information, ideas, examples of practice and case
studies which is intended to provide a starting point for colleagues interested in including
elements of enterprise / entrepreneurship within their modules or courses in geography, earth or
environmental sciences.
It is by no means a definitive or complete collection but is intended as a starting point for
curriculum development. Hopefully it will provide some food for thought, hints and tips, and
practical ideas. This Resource Pack is also available on-line at:http://www.gees.ac.uk/projtheme/entrep/entrep.htm
Many more generic resources can be found at the Higher Education Academy website at:http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/Enterprise.htm
How were these materials developed?
The GEES Subject Centre developed these subject-specific curriculum materials through a one-
year project which involved:
• Collating existing examples of practice from staff in the three subjects;
• Gathering case studies from GEES graduate entrepreneurs;
• Piloting the materials at a pioneering two-day residential event for both staff and students.
The materials were developed collaboratively by working with GEES staff throughout the UK to
share existing practice, adapt generic materials for the disciplines, and to discuss and articulate
relevant issues.
Students were also involved in the project through participation and feedback at a two-day
residential event intended to provide a taster of entrepreneurship skills. As well as supporting
skills development, the event gave the students an opportunity to network and learn from peers,
staff and entrepreneurs with similar interests.
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What did the project tell us – what did we learn?
The project has provided a solid base of resources and information on which the GEES Subject
Centre can develop further opportunities for supporting the embedding of entrepreneurial skills
within the curriculum. In particular the project told us that:
• There are people out there doing this in higher education in the GEES disciplines.
• Some staff are really interested in including these types of skills in the curriculum both to
enhance their students employability and to provide more creative ways of teaching.
• Many students are very keen to learn more about setting up their own businesses;
• Using enterprise as a curriculum development tool can create a real sense of enthusiasm,
buzz, motivation and creativity, and can offer exciting ways to engage students in learning
about our disciplines, enjoying the learning and wanting to apply it to their future work.
• We as a Subject Centre might work in more ‘enterprising’ ways and apply these curriculum
tools to our own events and activities – it’s given us a desire to be more creative.
Want to know more?
More information is available from Helen King at the GEES Subject Centre:
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 01752 233 532
Fax: 01752 233 534
Address: Buckland House, University of Plymouth PL4 8AA
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1(b) Go on, persuade me: the GEES ‘Elevator Pitch’
What is an Elevator Pitch?
In the United States during the 1980s a new concept – the elevator pitch - emerged. Sales staff
who were eager to ‘climb up the ladder’ discovered that the only chance of gaining the attention
of the boss was in the lift. A decade later, the same technique became popular among
entrepreneurs. Unable to get past the secretaries, they turned to ‘elevators’ in the fight to get
venture capital and financing for their business ideas. Entrepreneurs would ride up and down
elevators in New York’s skyscrapers waiting to meet the right person and the chance to get their
foot in the door.
Elevator pitches have now moved outside of the ‘elevator’ and have infiltrated all areas of
business life. They are used to motivate employees, they appear in print form on company
websites, and there are people who organise ‘elevator pitch’ contests.
The ‘traditional’ orally-presented version falls into the three categories, which reflect the
various possible uses for an elevator pitch today. The first is the ten second pitch. This might come
in useful when speaking to an answerphone or being presented to a dignitary. The thirty second
pitch is used for round table introductions or during networking events. And the three-minute
pitch is used for presentations, at job interviews, sales meetings or recruitment fairs.
The following three minute pitch was developed for and delivered at the Higher Education
Academy / SEDA ‘Enterprising Educator’ Workshop (March 2005). It is based on research
conducted by Professor Brian Chalkley as part of his National Teaching Fellowship into
employability in Geography, and on feedback gathered at the GEES Subject Centre’s event for
students and staff on ‘Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship’ in January 2005.
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The GEES ‘Pitch’: why include enterprise skills in GEES curricula?
With fees coming on line in 2006, student recruitment is going to get trickier and the students
will be more demanding of a course to get them a good job at the end of it. So, each department
is going to need its own big selling point to make it distinctive in the sector particularly if there
are other institutions nearby in the region.
Talking of jobs, did you know that 90% of geography students say that their prime motive for
doing geography is to get a good job? And 50% of geography undergraduates aspire to run their
own business? So, departments could get a real competitive edge and get those bums on seats by
developing their skills provision to include creativity, risk-taking, idea generation and other
enterprise skills. But don’t just take my word for it, here are some quotes from some current
lecturers in geography and environmental science:
“I recognise that most of our Masters students will quite possibly develop their own businesses at
some stage in their career”
“[The development of enterprise skills is] an obvious gap in the curriculum and would work well in
partnership with employability within my home department.”
“[we want to support] more opportunities for students to get employed.”
Including these new skills in the curriculum is not that difficult to do and, to quote an earth
science colleague, “You can teach all this without resorting to jargon.” Rather than having to cram
even more into the timetable you can drop this skills development into existing modules as a tool
for teaching aspects such as economic geography, exploration geology, environmental tourism and
so on. And the added bonus of including enterprise skills in the curriculum is that it will also help
develop excellent research skills for those budding academics.
There is currently only a small handful of departments in the UK that have some elements of
enterprise in the curriculum, and yet, when the GEES Subject Centre ran an event on this theme,
we had participation from geography, earth and environmental science students from all over the
country – so there is a real demand from students out there but only a very few departments can
provide for it. What did the students think about this workshop on enterprise? Here are a few
typical comments…
“Thank you for a wonderfully entertaining and enlightening few days. I learnt such a lot… I admit
my feet still haven’t touched the ground. I still feel really motivated and keen to take this further.”
“[the workshop] was really valuable. I circulated the materials here at Oxford to my tutors and
lecturers.”
“Like the interactive-ness rather than constant lecturing. Uni courses should be more like this.
Learning rather than Education!”
Enterprise and entrepreneurship are to this decade what key skills were to the last, and I
wouldn’t be surprised if in 10 years time it will be similarly embedded into subject curricula. Any
department getting involved now will have a competitive advantage not to mention the academic
kudos of being at the leading edge of curriculum innovation. External examiners for those few
departments already doing this are really enthusiastic. So, can departments afford not to take
this on?
If you are interested, help is very much at hand. Following on from its enterprise event run for
staff and students in geography, earth and environmental sciences, the GEES Subject Centre has
developed a free resource pack to support curriculum development. This pack includes discipline-
specific curriculum examples, case studies of graduate entrepreneurs and notes, comments and
information from staff and students.
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1(c) What does enterprise/entrepreneurship mean to
the GEES disciplines?
The following quotes are from Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences staff and students
who attended the GEES Subject Centre ‘Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship’ event in January
2005. They were asked to write notes on ‘What is entrepreneurship?’ Their answers follow
common themes including:
• Ideas
• Inspiration
• Motivation
• Innovation
• Risk
There is also occasional reference to business skills and knowledge but largely the GEES
‘definition’ of entrepreneurship relates to personal attitudes and aptitudes. This view of
entrepreneurship matches the support needs of students as discussed in the ‘Student Interest’
section (1(f)), in that they require support to boost their skills, confidence and idea-generation.
What is entrepreneurship? Students’ responses
“Innovative ideas leading to an independent business venture.”
“Developing ideas for and running a successful business – innovation in business, making most of
scope to grow the business.”
“Having your own ideas on how something should be done and the motivation and ability to put it
into practice. Not toeing the line – being narcissistic.”
“Starting up your own business, with innovative ideas and goals.”
“Being inspired/motivated to initiate plans for your own business, to sell your ideas - seeing an
opportunity to fill.”
“Developing ideas and exploiting them.”
“The use of business and academic skills for personal as well as social benefit.”
“A relationship in business, skills to develop your own career.”
“ Way to cooperate and encourage people working in teams.”
“Materialise your business ideas – creating your own business.”
“Help to solve a problem or satisfy a business need.”
“Self employment – owning own business. Being able to develop ideas with reality of a successful
business, creating own opportunities with and for others and self.”
“[Before workshop] Initiative/originality in the line of business. Individual development of
ideas/plans. Riddled with risk.”
“[After workshop] Taking a chance and being able to convince those around you that it really can
change things.”
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What is entrepreneurship? Staff responses
“Innovation to achieve a specific goal, allows risk taking.”
“Business initiation that has a higher than normal risk associated with it (i.e. not all business
development is necessarily a result of entrepreneurship). It’s also your risk, mainly.”
“Innovation. Determination. Leadership. Risk-taking. Resilience.Vision. Ability”
“To have or develop the skills to establish a business oriented mind set.
“Thinking out of the box.”
“Creativity.”
“Ability to take ideas, own or others, and convert into a product or service which is profitable.”
“A serial assembler of bits and pieces into a previously unconsidered commercial whole.”
“Skills, attributes and competencies associated with entrepreneurs applied in the environment helps
to foster ‘entrepreneurial’ approach by staff and students for development of: transferable skills;
employability skills; creating and building for a successful future”
Examples of GEES-graduate entrepreneurs
Studying Geography, Earth or Environmental Sciences in higher education provides a thorough
knowledge and understanding of the Earth, its people and environment. Through team projects,
simulations, field courses, lab work and a variety of other learning experiences, students also have
the opportunity to develop a range of work-related skills. Thus GEES graduates are well equipped
to pursue a wide variety of careers both in these subject areas and beyond. During this project
we have identified many entrepreneurs who have graduated from the GEES disciplines. The types
of businesses they have set up include:
Subject-related, for example:
• Environmental consultancy e.g.http://www.terraqueousltd.co.uk/
• Geophysical site investigation services e.g.http://www.terradat.co.uk/
• Geological surveying
• Field equipment design and manufacture e.g.http://www.cambridge-insitu.com/
• (eco tourism, geological tours) e.g.http://www.fossilwalks.com/
• Recycling e.g.http://home.btconnect.com/fairfield/fairfield/fcomposting.htm
• Marine conservation
And beyond, for example:
• Web development e.g.http://www.ethicalwebsites.com
• IT training e.g.http://www.compu-train.co.uk
• Retail
• Freelancing (tv production; filming; science journalism)
Four case studies of GEES graduate entrepreneurs are available in Section 4.
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1(d) Enterprise or entrepreneurship? Some definitions
There was some debate at the January workshop over the definition of entrepreneurship. It was
agreed that a true ‘entrepreneur’ might be seen as “A serial assembler of bits and pieces into a
previously unconsidered commercial whole”, as one colleague put in his definition. By this
definition, the majority of GEES students are less likely to be ‘entrepreneurial’ than ‘enterprising’
and ‘interested in running their own business’. Whichever definition we personally prefer and
whatever types of students we have, the basic skills and knowledge development needs are
the same.
The following definitions have been offered as part of the Higher Education Academy’s generic
work in this area (seehttp://www.heacademy.ac.uk/951.htm):
Enterprise involves measures to encourage individuals to become entrepreneurs and
equip them with the necessary skills to make a business successful (Mason, 2000). In
essence, enterprise is about spotting opportunities, creating new ideas and having the
confidence and capabilities to turn these ideas into working realities (Nixon, 2004).
Entrepreneurship is an activity which leads to the creation and management of a new
organisation designed to pursue a unique, innovative opportunity (Hindle & Rushworth,
2000). Fundamentally, it is about using enterprise to create new business, new businesses
and ‘can-do’ organisations and services (Nixon, 2004).
Intrapreneurship is the art of working within an organisation to effect change, by
developing new ideas, procedures or products, by innovating practice and thereby enhancing
the business (Kneale, 2002).
Social entrepreneurship involves using entrepreneurial skills for the public good rather
than for private profit, that is using imagination to identify new opportunities and
determination to bring them to fruition (School for Social Entrepreneurs). Social
entrepreneurship is used to describe forms of activity and people who are socially
innovative, or ‘enterprising’ in the non-economic sense of the word. Hence, the label ‘social
entrepreneur’ has come to apply to any individual seeking to effect social change through
creative and innovative ways (National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO)).
The Higher Education Academy (and the GEES Subject Centre) has a very holistic view
of enterprise, entrepreneurship and intraprenuership which is encompassed in the
following definition:
“Enterprise is an inclusive concept which provides both the context in which subject
disciplines can be explored, as well as an approach, through skill development, which can be
taken to the exploration and discovery of a discipline. In these respects, it can provide a
challenging environment within which to explore a variety of teaching areas (the small
business context) as well as provide a dimension to learning, that of developing the skills of
being enterprising, which provide students with an attitude towards learning, which rewards
and supports innovation, change and development.
Enterprise supports the recognition of new market opportunities as well as develops
the opportunity to change and develop at the individual, business and industry/sector levels.
This includes the exploration of new ideas and developments from a corporate perspective
(as intrapreneurship) as well as the creation of new ventures, social programmes and the
exploration of new opportunities.” (Price, 2004)
Definitions of further terms relating to enterprise and entrepreneurship can be found in the
Glossary in Section 2.
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1(e) How can enterprise/entrepreneurship be supported
through the curriculum?
Including these skills in the curriculum need not be an added burden but can provide
an opportunity to:
• Be more creative within the curriculum
• Teach content with more relevance to real-life scenarios.
Examples of modules, projects and short tutorial exercises from geography, earth and
environmental sciences are provided in the body of this resource pack, together with more
discursive papers on embedding enterprise/entrepreneurship in the curriculum.
Discussions with staff in the GEES disciplines and with colleagues involved in supporting
graduate start-ups, has suggested that higher education can support entrepreneurship in
two ways.
Developing and enhancing skills, aptitudes and attitudes
This includes providing students with the opportunities and motivation to:
• work creatively and independently;
• develop research, analysis and critical thinking skills;
• practice time, project, risk and people management skills;
• be able to work in unfamiliar environments and respond to unexpected events;
• better understand their own capabilities and traits and to enhance their confidence in their
own abilities.
This dimension of entrepreneurship sits well with current skills development within the GEES
disciplines and is often manifest within team projects, dissertations, field and lab work. Such skills
are invaluable to all graduates whether they wish to set up their own businesses, work for an
employer or research/teach in secondary or higher education.
The resources developed by this project will provide additional support to higher education
staff looking to include entrepreneurial skills more explicitly within their curricula. (See also
student support in Section 1(g) – this is what they want too.)
Business and financial knowledge and understanding
Many staff in the GEES disciplines are less well equipped to provide detailed information on the
business and financial knowledge required to set up a business. However, supporting the students
in the above skills areas empowers them to seek out and take advantage of other sources of
information. Many, if not all, higher education institutions offer resources (e.g. booklets,
workshops, courses, guidance and advice) to support entrepreneurship through careers services,
enterprise units and business schools. In addition, several universities now have graduate start-up
facilities, including incubator units, which can directly support new ventures.
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1(f) Student interest in entrepreneurship skills
Fifteen students attended the GEES Subject Centre’s two-day residential workshop on ‘Enterprise,
Skills and Entrepreneurship’ in January 2005. In order to win a free place on the workshop, each
student was required to write a short statement detailing why they wished to attend and what
benefits they hoped to gain from it. These statements provide a revealing insight into the practical
and ‘blue skies’ motivations behind student career choices.
Some of their statements are available in this pack and make very interesting reading. These
students come from a variety of universities and it’s not unlikely that there’ll be some just like
them in your department. If you only have five minutes to spare, just pick one at random or have
a look at the quotes below for some inspiration:
Despite the impact of student loans and an increasingly consumer-driven society, the main
motivations for these students to set up their own business are environmental concerns and the
desire to ‘make a difference’; that is, social/environmental entrepreneurship. For example:
“I want to reduce fossil fuel dependence and see starting business/social enterprises as the best
way to achieve this through supplying affordable alternatives to the inadequate services available.”
“[To] contribute to solving some environmental problems with a realistic market friendly way.”
“I believe that ‘we’ can make business more sustainable or ‘green’ and I think that there are spaces
in the market place for ideas of mine.”
“I would like to set up a global natural hazards consultancy or join an existing consultancy….It
would combine my interest in earth sciences with my ambition of setting up a business. I would like
to make a difference by hopefully helping people, communities and governments.”
“…my long range goal is to start an environmental consultancy…Additionally, one of my greatest
concerns is to develop educational programs for Vietnamese people at all ages. I realise that
improving human awareness of the significance of the ecosystem and its function is the best way to
prevent the nature from being exhausted and polluted, so as to obtain sustainability.”
“…my interests lie fundamentally in the developing world and the challenges they face, but also in
the attitudes and understanding of the developed world to these challenges. I see myself as a
freelance researcher and spokesperson, working alongside charities and political agencies to
challenge people’s perceptions and promote a greater understanding, not only of the differences in
our cultures, but also in the similarities of the challenges that we all face.”
“I am also very interested in socially/ethically driven businesses, as I believe that businesses and
entrepreneurs have a responsibility to the communities they serve.”
“My goal is to set up an Outdoor Education centre, providing young people with the opportunity to
participate in a wide range of outdoor pursuits. I would also like to provide high quality facilities to
ensure an unforgettable and invaluable learning experience…to youngsters regardless of their race,
background or class, at an affordable price that is accessible to all.”
Of course, they also have practical reasons for considering self-employment as a career option:
“[I want to] take control of my life, being independent financially and work wise. Hoping to achieve
better work life balance as well as improvement in quality of life.”
“I would like the freedom/flexibility of running my own business.”
“Like the idea of having my own business – alternative lifestyle.”
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Student application statement
Rosie Stephens, School of Earth Sciences, University of Leeds
As part of my PhD research, I had the opportunity to attend a conference in Argentina in March.
The conference fieldtrip was a botanical transect across the Andes. Whilst on this trip, I was
struck by an idea for a potential business opportunity: to develop and organise botanical holidays,
rather like the companies who run climbing trips in Nepal, or cookery schools in France but
instead, running trips to visit regions of particular botanical interest. Small parties of tourists could
visit the region accompanied by a knowledgeable, preferably local, guide, with pleasant walks into
the field each day, good hotels, etc… promising regions include the Andes, New Caledonia, New
Zealand, and even parts of the UK. This would be the perfect holiday for gardening fanatics and
naturalists, and would be of interest to professional botanists, palaeontologists, and ecologists too.
Even if this dream doesn’t ever happen I realise that, although it develops academic knowledge,
a PhD like mine will not really give me scope to learn the day-to-day practical, creative, and
business sides of life. As I do not wish to remain in academia after I graduate, I feel that I need to
improve these kinds of skills to increase my employability. My first degree and subsequent PhD
work taught me to think logically, develop an enquiring mind, and to enjoy solving problems. I have
played small-team sports for many years and I work well as a team member. However, having been
a team leader in the past, I’m aware that I have difficulty in delegating tasks and am prone to panic
if things start going wrong. I enjoy giving carefully structured presentations and participating in
small group discussions, but I find it difficult to talk to/in large groups, especially when giving an
impromptu presentation or fielding questions; these are key skills for academic seminars, future
job interviews and getting started in a business. I have lots of disjointed fragments of
entrepreneurial skills, but I have little experience of, and few opportunities to learn about, good
business sense, being creative and inventive in a non-scientific way, and taking risks. This course
would be a perfect opportunity for me to both learn new skills, and to bring together my existing
skills, to present a more business-like, entrepreneurial, employable individual.
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Student application statement
Armen Asyran, School of Earth Sciences & Geography, Kingston University
Nowadays, we witness the convergence of science, technology and business. All of the parties
recognise the vital role of synergy across the disciplines. For science and technology it has
become imperative to look beyond it’s circles reaching out for business models of development in
the highly competitive world. For instance, commercialisation of science & technology cannot be
effectively implemented without a direct participation of the R&D centres, Universities and
individual researchers involved in the creation of knowledge. In the meantime, to facilitate this
processes, the above-mentioned institutions as well as the students should possess the certain set
of business skills to ensure better understanding between the private sector and educational
institutions. Needless to say, these developments channel additional funds for the R&D
institutions enabling them to continue quality research and therefore motivate more young people
into the science and technology related education.
This is why I consider this event to be of paramount importance for the Higher Education. I
am interested in this event primarily because it represents a true challenge of introducing business
skills into the science curricula. But the benefits will be colossal. Being a student myself, I see the
impact that the lack of these basic career management skills has on the science students’ self-
confidence and readiness to plunge into the real-life. This is where we need change.
How do you think you will benefit from the event (why do you want to attend)?
Most importantly, (being a participant in a number of entrepreneurship training sessions) I would
like to learn about the experience of the higher institutions i.e. customisation of training materials
for the field of earth sciences and geography. Also, I am willing to learn about the current
approaches and plans of instilling the entrepreneurial spirit into students who oftentimes have
very diverse backgrounds and professional skills.
What skills or attributes will you bring to the event (why would we want you there)?
I have gained substantial experience of starting a IT company from scratch, going through all the
processes i.e. market research, business development, projects management and operations.Yes,
there were failures. And my team and me have worked hard to learn from all those mistakes and
to build the knowledge base of the company and the set of best practices.
It is hard to start one’s own business… It requires outstanding dedication and commitment
and exceptional teamwork, plus business skills.
Now I am doing MSc in Applied GIS. The market for GIS services is rapidly growing and it is a
great opportunity for young graduates (including me when I complete my current studies) to
utilise their knowledge to the best of their benefit.
I will present my case of starting a company, and will share with participants our failures and
successes of a ‘business DIY’. I plan for my company to introduce GIS services in 1 – 2 years.
There a lot of background work that needs to be done here, including planning, market analysis
and a host of other things. This is what I would like to contribute to the event in the forms of
presentations, discussions on GIS business opportunities, in the UK and worldwide.
How might this event complement other aspects of employability that you have already
covered (or might cover in the future) in your course (e.g. key skills, career management)?
I believe in the idea of creating new knowledge through human synergy. No matter how much I
learn in the course, there is always more to learn from other people. Basically it’s an endless
process of learning. I plan to discover new knowledge on a variety of aspects through the
discussions and brainstorming, and I expect to be surprised by the diversity of opinions and
approaches on the subject.
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Student application statement
Dr. Victor Olugbemiga Olumekun, Liverpool Hope University College
The workshop on ‘Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship: Enhancing the GEES Curriculum’ aimed
at providing an intensive training programme for people in geography, environment and related
disciplines has been brought to my notice.
In response to the offer of free subsistence and training allowance for a selected few that
could provide adequate justification for inclusion in the programme, I wish to indicate my strong
interest to be offered the opportunity for a number of reasons.
Firstly, I wish to submit that I am a trained Plant/Crop Physiologist with a PhD in Plant
Physiology, an MSc in Crop Physiology and a Bachelor of Science in Botany. I have been a
university lecturer since 1987 and I have risen to the position of Associate Professor. In spite of
these modest qualifications/achievements, my burning desire is to be directly involved in
environmental management particularly as a consultant.
In search of this goal, I have developed keen interest in the environmental aspects of plant
physiology so as to be relevant when environmental issues are being considered, since this is an
emerging area particularly in the third world. Sadly, in spite of my knowledge of the issues involved
in the field, I cannot respectably lay claim to competence since I was neither trained nor
certificated in environmental management.
In order to remove such constraints I decided to take a year off my current job to register at
Liverpool Hope University College for an MSc in Ecology and Environmental Management in
preparation for a career in consultancy. It is my hope that as soon as possible I will set up an
environmental consultancy outfit. I therefore believe that attendance of the workshop will present
the best opportunity for me to progress in this direction, which I have chosen for myself.
It is my belief that the success of any enterprise lies in the foundation laid in course of its
development. In view of the fact that this workshop offers superb training and enterprise
development skills I believe this will be most beneficial in the establishment of an environmental
consultancy. It therefore an opportunity that should not be allowed to pass by unexplored.
Unfortunately, I do not have sufficient means of assuring my attendance of the workshop if
this opportunity is not offered to me. As a self funded student, without any other source of
funding besides my personal savings, there is considerable pressure on my finances and I have had
to seek odd jobs, far beneath my profile, in order to subsist, otherwise I would have opted to pay
my way through.
A generous support will therefore serve in no small way to help me realise my desired goal,
make me more relevant in the emerging scheme of things while relieving a lot of pressure that
would have weighed me down. I therefore strongly appeal that consideration be offered to me in
the award of the sponsorship.
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Student application statement
Pratik Shah, Department of Geography, University of Cambridge
Thanks for taking the time to consider my application to win a place at the forthcoming
entrepreneurial weekend. I hope to hear from you soon!
My interest in this event is driven by me wanting to learn more about entrepreneurship and
business opportunities. I have some basic business ideas, one of which I hope to start after
graduation. Although I already have lots of working experience (12 months with National Air
Traffic Services, 3 summers with a medium-sized company that develops property), I am always
interested in learning more and keeping my options open for the future. For this reason, I have
been attending since the start of this academic year, a course run by Cambridge University
(http://www.entrepreneurs. jims.cam.ac.uk/).
I will benefit by continuing my business, personal and social development amongst people that
also have the same desire as I do to start and run a successful business. I am also very interested
in socially/ethically driven businesses, as I believe that businesses and entrepreneurs have a
responsibility to the communities they serve. The course and attendees will benefit from my
growing knowledge of business and finance, my broad geographical studies (I specialize in the
human/social/economic side of geography), and my highly ambitions and enthusiastic nature.
I sincerely believe that as a geographer I am very well placed to be one of the most successful
people in industry. The simultaneous width and depth of the course allows me both freedom to
study various interlinked topics, but at an expert level. With this model in mind, my motivation is
to be the best in the various areas that I enter. The course will extend my ideas and should help
me integrate with like-minded students and teachers to help encourage and develop expertise in
required fields. I am both a very co-operative team player, but also have the ability to work
individually when necessary (references from employers available if requires). I want the course,
but the course needs me!
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Student application statement
Scot Devlin, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Leeds
What has prompted your interest in the event (e.g. you’ve got a business idea, you think
you might want to start a business when you graduate, you want to keep your future
employment options open etc.)?
Setting up my own business has always been a passion. I started selling sweets and yo-yo’s in the
playground when I was 10 years old. I was also involved in a business during A-level (Youth
Enterprise Scheme). I have helped a small company promote skis, skiboards and roller hockey
equipment (Triple Air Productions).
One of the reasons that I chose to study geophysics was because of a business idea. I would
like to set up a global natural hazards consultancy or join an existing consultancy. I envisage a
company, that goverments/local agengies could consult for advice on possible natural hazards.
Some areas of advice could be as follows:
• The likelihood of occurance of a natural disaster
• Measures to avoid or reduce risk of environmental damage
• Best possible course of action to avoid loss of life and resourses, i.e. when/if evacuation
is necessary
• Monitoring of risk factors
• Help dealing with natural disasters ofter occurance
I’d like to be able to analyse a range of natural hazards; earthquakes, typhoons, flooding, volcanoes
etc. I hope to fulfil this dream. It would combine my interest in earth sciences with my ambition of
setting up a business. I would like to make a difference by hopefully helping people, communites,
and governments.
How do you think you will benefit from the event (why do you want to attend)?
I am really impressed with the content of the website and the information about this event. I
would love to attend and develop skills such as problem solving and negotiating skills, and gain
entrepreneurial knowledge. It will be really interesting with a mix of students and lecturers. It will
be an great opportunity. I would also like to enhance my teambuilding skills. I feel this this course
would benefit and compliment my studies at university.
What skills or attributes will you bring to the event (why would we want you there)?
I am enthusiastic and creative. I would help to contribute to an exciting team environment. I
believe my best attribute is the ability to get on with all types of people. I have recently read
various entrepreneurial books. I would bring some knowledge and experience which I gained
working with Triple Air.
How might this event complement other aspects of employability that you have already
covered (or might cover in the future) in your course (e.g. key skills, career management)?
The geophysics degree will give me scientific knowledge, but I also want to learn business skills
during my 4 years at university. This event would definitely help with all the skills and knowledge
needed in starting my own business or joining a business.
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Student application statement
Melise Harland, School of Earth Sciences, University of Leeds
My reason for wishing to participate in this event is that I am interested in starting a specialist
consultancy in forensic wood identification on completion of my PhD. This would allow me to use
the specialist research, enquiry and problem-solving techniques acquired during my PhD, whilst at
the same time allowing me the freedom and creativity to grasp opportunities and take risks that
are not available by being employed within a large organisation. Having already made enquires
there is a demand for this service from the police, auctioneers etc but only one specialist unit
carrying out this work in the UK.
I feel I will benefit from this event by being able to discuss with others the problems I have had
gaining information on starting a small business and what information I would have found useful to
have been given during skills classes. It would also allow me to see specific examples of skills I
would need to consider e.g. business plan writing and hopefully provide information on where I
can obtain further advice.
I have recently been presenting with a Science Communicators Award by the Research Council
UK therefore I will be able to bring an ability to discuss issues clearly to the event. As a mature
student I have the benefit of having worked within industry before undertaking my studies
therefore I could also bring with me experiences from both education and employment.
Within the School of Earth Sciences at the Leeds employability skills are high on the agenda,
mainly focussing on employment within companies or large organisations. There are several
transferable skills covered that are applicable to self-employment such as ‘real life projects,’ report
writing and giving presentations. I feel that this event will complement these general employability
skills already gained within skills classes and general work by giving more focus to self
employment. I hope this will be achieved by providing information on issues that do not affect
you if employed within a company e.g. dealing with tax, business planning and accounting. It is
also hoped that the event will boost my enthusiasm and give me greater confidence to take this
project forward whilst helping to create programmes that will benefit future students interested
in self-employment.
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Student application statement
Dawn Robins, Geography Department, University College Chichester
I believe myself to be a highly self-motivating, enthusiastic and innovative individual with a passion
for our planet and the cultural diversity of all those who inhabit it. I have strong communication
skills and the ability to motivate and inspire others to challenge and succeed. I am focused and
determined and able to channel my abundant energy into the task in hand to maintain momentum
and see it through to a successful conclusion.
Yet sadly, I appreciate that I lack the clear direction for a strong career plan and also the
confidence in my ability as a strategic manager to ultimately succeed, and hopefully, make a
difference. That is why, when my Head of Department, Dr. Clegg, suggested I enter this
competition, I saw the potential in what you are offering and the chance it would give me to build
upon my strengths and enable me to gain confidence in my abilities as a future entrepreneur.
Although I have, as yet, no definite career plan, my interests lie fundamentally in the developing
world and the challenges they face, but also in the attitudes and understanding of the developed
world to these challenges. I see myself as a freelance researcher and spokesperson, working
alongside charities and political agencies to challenge peoples perceptions and promote a greater
understanding, not only of the differences in our cultures, but also in the similarities of the
challenges that we all face.
By giving me this chance to improve my skills you will also be helping others within my
department. As discussed with Dr. Clegg, I intend to disseminate the information gained from the
seminar to my peers and enable them to benefit from what is clearly a unique opportunity to
strengthen personal skills. As an almost defunct department (closure due in 2005 and less than
20 students remaining), our resources are limited, and yet we have a strong sense of unity and
share experiences and knowledge to help develop the entire group.
I hope to start on a Masters course next year and feel that this workshop will enable me to
focus my research and future learning more directly and effectively. I hope you are able to
consider my application favourably and look forward to seeing you in January.
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Student application statement
Jan Nicholson, Sociology, Lancaster University
I feel I should be chosen to attend as I am going to start up my own business after completing my
MA in Travel and Tourism and I feel I will benefit greatly from attending this event.
I choose late in life to change career as I realised I wanted to pursue my hobby as a career. To
do this I had to leave secure employment and complete a one year Travel and Tourism course at
Furness College. This then allowed me to apply for a MA place at Lancaster University which I
have just started in September. To fund my placement I am working as a part-time travel agent
which is not the career I envisage being in in three years’ time. I hope to use my first degree and
work experience in the agricultural field to start up farm study tours in Cumbria mainly providing
for the overseas market.
I feel attendance at the event will have tremendous networking potential to meet like minded
students and staff. I also feel as a mature student I would have great expertise to bring to the
event. In the past I have run my own outdoor business from home which fitted in well with my
work as a mother. I realise now the skills I need to set up and run my own business in a travel
fields may be different than those I used running my last business.
Last year I also completed my Certificate of Education which would help me be a better tour
leader and I feel able to take part in any discussion which was being undertaken at the event.
My final reason for wanting to attend the event that it is being held in my old university city
and it would be interesting to see how it has changed over the years.
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Student application statement
Nick Stantzos, Environmental Change Institute, Oxford University
Businesses are often regarded as part of the problem of environmental degradation rather than
part of the solution. However, I believe that the relationship between business and sustainable
development is not an oxymoron. From my experience in the renewable energy industry and the
waste management sector, I realised that through pioneering research work, solutions to
environmental problems could be found with high entrepreneurial potential.
As part of my degree in Environmental Sciences at the University of Brighton, I did an industrial
placement in one of the biggest renewable energy companies in the UK. My most important
achievement there was the introduction of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for the
identification of suitable sites for wind farm development. Before the application of GIS, crucial
information about wind farm development such as wind speed and access to distribution network
was in different, incompatible and paper-based formats. I used the unique analytic abilities of GIS
to integrate all this information into a single, flexible digital map model which revolutionised the
site selection process. My work there made me realise the potential of GIS as a strategic decision
making tool but also that many organisations are not aware of this potential. From an innovation
point of view, the above GIS model could be itself a marketable consulting service product offered
to other interested organisations.
The other area that stimulated my interest was waste management, where there are numerous
opportunities for innovation through reuse and recycling of materials. As a research assistant in
the Waste and Energy Research Group at the University of Brighton, I worked on how to make
automotive shredder residue (ASR) more suitable for commercial use, especially in the cement
industry, and how to use the plastics component of ASR for developing new products (plastic
flower pots).
Currently, as a postgraduate at the University of Oxford, I work on a project to install
photovoltaic panels in my college buildings. This offers a good insight on how to deal with
government agencies, prepare grants applications and identify funding opportunities, all of them
useful skills for business development.
The above described examples demonstrate that I have developed some initial skills like the
ability to identify where an improvement could be made in an organisation, provide an innovative
alternative solution and persuade people to adapt to change. However, there are many other areas
that I need to increase my understanding such as raising capital, negotiating skills, creating business
plans, understanding financial control. I am confident that the GEES workshop will help me to
acquire the necessary background on these business skills. As environmental entrepreneurship will
play an important development role in the future, I would value the opportunity to participate in
the GEES workshop as a preparation for this future.
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Student application statement
Uyen To Nguyen, Department of Environment, University of York
I am a Vietnamese student doing a MSc at the University of York. I also have a Graduate Diploma
in Environmental Sciences certificated by the University of East Anglia, Norwich. The reason why I
address my interests to environmental sciences came from the severe environmental degradation
in my country. Like other developing countries,Vietnamese economy is crucially based on natural
resource extraction (mostly timber, oil and coal). This has led to the over-exploitation of
resources which, in turn, has resulted in the mass destruction of the natural ecosystems. Having
seriously concern about this issue, my purpose of studying in the UK is to further my knowledge
in both theory and practice in environmental field so as to contribute to the protection activities
in Vietnam.
After graduation, I will work firstly as a researcher for an NGO in Vietnam. However, my long
range goal is to start an environmental consultancy. Its objectives would be: (i) to advise
enterprises and individuals on environmental problems; (ii) to consult and assist the government
in resource evaluation, EIAs and the like; (iii) to provide domestic and foreign investors with useful
guidelines about the current environmental situation in Vietnam and the related regulations and
legislations so as to reduce human impacts on the environment. Additionally, one of my greatest
concerns is to develop educational programs for Vietnamese people at all ages. I realise that
improving human awareness of the significance of the ecosystem and its function is the best way
to prevent the nature from being exhausted and polluted, so as to obtain sustainability. To achieve
these goals, one of the determined factors is how to work effectively and prove to be convincing.
This is what draws my attention to this Entrepreneurship workshop.
What I expect to attain from this workshop is to improve my creativity and research skills, and
to gain helpful guidelines in problem-solving. I also expect to develop my ability to co-operate and
co-ordinate in business and communication. I wish to complete my existing skills and to find out
my strengths and weaknesses in practice through this course. I strongly believe that this workshop
is a great opportunity for me to perceive full comprehension before actually working in the field
of environmental sciences.
What I expect to contribute to this event is a combination of knowledge of environmental
sciences and various economic techniques that can be applied in economic analysis and market
research. By participating in this workshop, I hope to bring forward real evidences from my
country about the typical portrait of environmental depletion. I am willing to do my best to make
the workshop successful with my enthusiasm to learn. As one of the first students studying
environment in Vietnam, I wish to have as many opportunities as possible to absorb knowledge in
this field. By choosing me as a candidate you will not only offer the precious opportunity to me
myself but there would also be a chance for this knowledge to be propagated in my country.
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1(g) What support do students need?
It is sometimes argued that ‘true entrepreneurs’ will not need additional support as they will
‘naturally’ have the drive and motivation to find their own way. For a very small minority of
students this may be the case. However, there are also other students out there who are fully
capable of setting up their own businesses and have some great, enterprising ideas but who need
a little guidance and confidence-boosting to get them started.
At the beginning of the GEES Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship workshop, the
participants were asked to note down what they wanted to get from the event. Their notes,
together with their application statements, suggest that their main reasons for wishing to attend
the event related to enhancing their general skills base and developing self-
confidence.
These quotes are from some of the students’ application statements:
“…although it develops academic knowledge, a PhD like mine will not really give me scope to learn
the day-to-day practical, creative and business sides of life….I feel I need to improve these kinds of
skills to increase my employability.”
“I am a motivated person. I want to learn as much as I can and whenever and wherever I can so
that I am able to apply those skills that I have learned in the future, to contribute to society.”
“I am now looking to develop my personal and creative skills with a particular focus within the
environmental sector. I also aim to develop my social entrepreneurial skills on the basis that I am
managing an increasing number of charity co-ordinators.”
“I want to find out about support available. I hope to be able to leave with even more enthusiasm
and confidence and some proper direction about my next steps. Meet new people and exchange
ideas, have discussions, maybe keep in touch for morale etc.!”
These are some relevant quotes from the students’ notes at the beginning of the workshop:
“[I need] the confidence to take what ideas I have and give them a go, rather than just becoming
another slave to the system.”
“[I want] methods of communication – practicalities – inspiration, motivation and most of all the
belief that I can do it!”
“[I want] ideas for innovation and ways of thinking. See behind business – is it viable for me to get
involved as a self-employed business entrepreneur? Do I really want to sent up my own business?”
“[I need] more inspiration and enthusiasm to start. Know where to get help when problems arise.”
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Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship
Enhancing the curriculum in Geography, Earth and
Environmental Sciences
Section 2: Information/Papers
(a) Embedding business start-up in the university curriculum
(b) Considerations for embedding enterprise in the curriculum
(c) Exploring gender issues in entrepreneurship
(d) Examples of enterprise in the curriculum
(e) A few useful websites
(f) Higher Education Academy (generic) resources
(g) University enterprise/entrepreneurship support units
(h) Glossary of terms
2(a) Embedding business start-up in the
university curriculum
Pauline Kneale, University of Leeds
Introduction
Embedding Business Start-Up learning opportunities in the university curriculum presents a
serious challenge because:
• There is limited room in the curriculum.
• Most academics want to teach their own research materials.
• There is no clear fit to the more traditional ‘academic’ subjects.
• Some students are clear that they are not interested in being self-employed.
On the positive side:
• The skills associated with start-ups are graduate skills that can enhance students’ academic
approaches.
• In the sciences and applied subjects (design, media) there are clear market links.
• Many students have experienced ‘Young Enterprise’ in their school days. They have already
had the experience of setting up a small business, selling a product and closing it down. Their
university experience can build on that.
The whole module
The ‘Business Start-Up’ module, taught through group work, is established in a range of Business
and Management degrees and may be accessed as an elective by students from other subjects. It
appears in various guises: Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurship in Business, Student Enterprise,
Enterprise Management, Managing the Growing Business, and Innovation and Enterprise.
Such modules, although available through elective systems, are unlikely to be noticed by a
student in film studies or textile design unless heavily advertised and tailored to their needs.
Where I have asked students why they do not take it, comments include: ‘this is really for business
students’; ‘I don’t have their theory background’; and ‘I can get better marks by staying with my own
School’s modules’.
In my experience, the take up of elective modules across campus will be very small until such
modules are called: Entrepreneurship for Earth Scientists, Entrepreneurship in the Music Business,
Student Enterprise for Classicists, Enterprise Management in Politics, Managing the Growing
History Business, and Innovation and Enterprise for Philosophers. This gives students a sense of
ownership and a feeling that the module is for them, focussed at an appropriate level for their
degree, background and skills. Such tailoring is extremely important. Teaching geographers for
example the concept of CBA (Cost Benefit Analysis) will be already understood. A class of Fine
Art or Hellenic Studies students would deserve a fuller explanation.
In tailoring start-up modules to specific academic subjects ideally one would envisage an
enthusiastic Business Start-Up specialist academic sharing the teaching with staff from the
departments involved so that there is a real link to the subject curriculum; the module is
grounded in subject-based examples and the students see that their School values the module. A
School specialist is in an excellent position to ask School alumni to contribute to sessions. The
Business Start-Up specialist will be involved with, or at least aware of, colleagues in Careers and
Innovation, the University third arm activity and current campus start-ups bringing a real feel of
excitement to the process.
This type of module is probably best taught at level 2 of the undergraduate curriculum when
level 1 skills are in place and group work at HE level is understood, but is early enough to
influence employment applications and choices made in the final year. It could also influence
students’ choice of final year dissertation topic. In my view this is an option module.
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Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship GEES Subject Centre Resource Pack
Integrating into modules
Business Start-Up is potentially one theme in the ‘skills, careers and employability’ element of
curriculum planning. Where either staff or students are reluctant to commit to whole module
then a more subtle approach is to integrate materials. This approach has the attraction of
capturing students for whom a Business Start-Up is ‘too scary,’ ‘not me at all,’‘something I want to
do in the future, but not now.’ It is arguable that students benefit from the skills involved and
some people will move to start-up their business sooner.
I would argue that all university degrees have a real world aspect. It is the approach in teaching
that may root them entirely in intellectual discussion and erudite debate. Twenty years ago
archaeology might have been in this group but the BBC Time Team changed all that. Simon
Scharma and the History Channel have recently revitalised history. The Discovery Channel brings
botany, zoology, geography, earth sciences and many other technical subjects to the table. There is
enormous scope for setting a module around ‘Popularising Hebrew Studies’ or ‘Doing a Time
Team for Sociologists’ or ‘Creativity in Solid State Physics’ which challenges students to work in
teams, to be creative in developing approaches to taking their subject to a wider audience. The
aim is to attract school pupils so that your University department has a future, and to capture the
general public so that awareness is raised, capacity is built and there is increased scope for you to
continue to work within your subject area later in life. Links can be made to employability issues
more broadly through, for example, intrapreneurship and entrepreneurship skills and abilities.
There is an opportunity to let students use their creativity to make, for example, Hispanic Studies
relevant at a local or regional scale, and to think of organisations that are voluntary as well as
money-making. Social entrepreneurship, starting up a voluntary, support organisation, will appeal
more to some students.
More prosaically there is a great deal of benefit in making sure that present day students are
introduced to alumni in their subject who are involved in both new and more established
organisations. Students need to understand more about the culture of organisations and realise
that they do have skills and attributes to offer. Inviting such role models to contribute in relevant
lectures, careers modules and school seminar series has the potential to bring the real world
closer to non-business students.
Embedding within modules will depend on current course structures. It is important that there
is alignment in the curriculum design so that a student does not, for example, end up doing a
business plan in each year. The following represent some possible scenarios although elements
under each heading might also contribute to other headings.
Within skills modules
Activities from Business Start-Up curricula in preparing students to be better organised in their
degrees could include those based around the skills agenda - time, management, flexibility,
networking, negotiations, discussion, group report writing, problem solving and leadership.
Enhancing all these skills is important in developing our students. During such sessions, and
especially in the debriefing stage, students should be made aware that these are also graduate
skills, and ones which will enhance their effectiveness in business and in starting businesses.
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Within careers modules
Where there are modules that expressly address career opportunities, as in the Leeds University
modules taught by Careers Centre staff, there is room in ten sessions to take two or three of
these to raise awareness of start-up opportunities and related skills. Activities from Business
Start-Up curricula in preparing students could include:
• Using entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship case studies to enhance skills such as
networking and time management as well as business awareness.
• The advocacy of alumni and local start-up staff emphasising the role of graduate skills.
• Sharing learning from schools’ Young Enterprise would be a useful link here.
• Some students will have worked in small companies and some will have parents who are
entrepreneurs, capturing some of their reflections can be illuminating.
• Emphasise social entrepreneurship opportunities.
• Assessment activities as a group or individually might include researching: an enterprise,
commercial opportunities; the changing nature of the workplace through interviews with
employers and employees; or the workplace culture of different organisations, sources of
business start up funding.
Within introduction to research and introduction to dissertation modules
The learning outcomes for the final year or taught Masters degrees may include, amongst
others, to:
• Develop students’ ability to complete an independent project.
• Develop skills involving research and analysis, critique of scientific papers, presentation
of data, and report writing.
• Develop self-motivation, time management skills and hence and ability to work to
a deadline.
These are also the main skills for independent business start ups. Where a curriculum makes
reference to business applications and includes contributions from alumni, the enhancement of
awareness should help students to identify issues around start ups as a topic for research. The use
of entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship case studies as part of preparation will help students to
engage with the appropriate skills agenda.
Within tutorials
Activities might include work around their Progress Files, researching a local start up company,
working on entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship case studies, cases around creativity and
innovation, raising awareness of work placement and internship opportunities in level 1 and 2, and
many other topics as listed here.
Within work placement, year in industry, work experience modules
In this type of module students are expected to apply their degree-related knowledge and use a
wide range of skills while working in a non-academic environment. Preparation for the experience
could include:
• Asking a School graduate to present in the research seminar series.
• Using entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship case studies to bring out skills such as
networking and time management as well as business awareness. The aim here is to broaden
students’ understanding of the experience they are embarking on, and to appreciate the
broader workplace experiences than their immediate placement offers.
Assessment methods here could include taking and passing the Licentiateship of the City and
Guilds Institute.
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GEES Subject Centre Resource Pack Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship
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Within a personal study, research seminar, independent study type module:
This is generally a final year undergraduate module which allows a student to research and write
one or two essays on an approved topic, or in relation to a topic presented at a research seminar.
Activities from Business Start-Up curricula in preparing students for this type of work could
include asking a School graduate to present in the research seminar series. The suggestions under
dissertation preparation and work placement modules are also relevant to this type
of module.
Useful sources of teaching and stimulus materials
Activities around motivating student Personal Development Planninghttp://www.geog.leeds.ac.uk/courses/other/performance/pdpindex.html
Intrapreneurship Context case materialshttp://www.geog.leeds.ac.uk/courses/other/casestudies/
Context case studieshttp://www.heacademy.ac.uk/938.htm
Entrepreneurship skills for graduateshttp://www.heacademy.ac.uk/Enterprise.htm
Resources in the Imaginative Curriculum projecthttp://www.heacademy.ac.uk/853.htm
White Rose Centre for Enterprise case materialshttp://www.wrce.org.uk/
Contact details
Pauline E Kneale
Professor of Applied Hydrology with Learning and Teaching in Geography
School of Geography
University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT
Email: [email protected]
2(b) Considerations for embedding enterprise
in the curriculum
Extracted from the Higher Education Academy’s resourceshttp://www.heacademy.ac.uk/Enterprise.htm
What skills do we need to develop in future graduate entrepreneurs?
According to the business support development community, the graduate entrepreneur should
have the following:
KNOWLEDGE ATTRIBUTES QUALITIES
Source: 2004 LTSN ‘Professions’ Event (views captured from lawyers, accountants, bankers and business support and
development professionals).
How does this impact upon course development?
• How does this match the skills development and personal development planning within your
course aims?
• How can you adjust your course delivery to develop graduates with these essential
attributes and qualities?
• How can you incorporate the required knowledge into your current course delivery?
• Or do you know where to ‘signpost’ your students to, in order to fill the gaps between HEI
delivery and their needs?
Marketing principles
Company law
Strategy
Basic cost accounting
Product or service
People skills
Specialist knowledge
Networking
Microsoft Office Pro
Budgetary principles
Basic business acumen
Product
Communication skills
Technical skills
Youth market
Know your market
Know your self
Knowing where to find
help and support
Vision
Has had to fit in with
wide mix of people
at university
Creative
Specialist knowledge on a
particular subject
‘Workaholic’
Smart appearance
Planning and organisation
Risk taker
Creative
Leadership
Enterprising
Determination
Conviction
Determination to succeed
Inventive
Flexible
Energetic
Staying power
Thoughtful
Transferable skills
Resilient
Stamina
Sense of humour
Flexibility
New ideas
Energy
Listener
Commitment
Vision
Resourceful
Be able to ASK
Loyalty
Confidence
Ambition
Outgoing
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Thematic analysis of the module descriptors suggests the following
approaches to developing enterprise skills (stand alone modules)
Module Title Content
General – Historical context and importance of enterprise
Conceptual
Enterprise Theory
Entrepreneurial trait analysis
Entrepreneurial
Strategies Exploring notions of enterprise, innovation
Enterprise in and creativity
General –
Business Exploring entrepreneurial traits
Conceptual
Developing Intrapreneurship (in corporations)
Entrepreneurial Models of enterprise
Practice
Enterprise – Economic contribution
Policy Context, Process US-UK comparisons
and Policy Hard and soft policy developments
Self development
Personal
Career
Social role
Development
Leadership
Innovation
Business
Creativity and
Creativity
Start Up
Innovation for/in
Idea generation/recognition
Business
Recognising opportunity
Business Recognising (science based) opportunity
Start Up
Commercialisation
Viability and feasibility of idea /venture
Business Valuation techniques
Start Up - Raising capital / venture capital
Specialised
Financing an SME
Multiple financing rounds
(High Growth) Exit strategies
Business Team-working/negotiating and softer skills
Start Up – Running an SME Experience interlinking business functions
Mature Run own operation (not for profit / profit)
Understanding of knowledge as resource
Specialised
Knowledge
Knowledge enterprise models
Management
Integrate knowledge flow
Enterprise Enterprise culture
Conceptual
Development Entrepreneurial structures
Building a team
Crises of growth
Practical Growing an SME
Succession planning
Failure – symptoms and management
Understanding of the social sector
Social Identify gaps and needs
Entrepreneur- Social Enterprise History / future trends
ship Finance for social ventures
Planning – social modelling
Specific Consultancy Consultancy skills
Applying for funding
Specific Elements Design Enterprise
Gaining premises
Specific Elements E Commerce Business start up with internet emphasis
GEES Subject Centre Resource Pack Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship
38
Typical assessment options
Discipline origins
Content Area Assessment of delivery
methods
Exam
General – Conceptual
Essay
Traditional
Exam
Policy
Essay
Traditional
Panel debate Careers models of
Personal
CV / Business plan delivery
Business plan
Business Start Up Group presentation
Business School
Essay
modes
Business Start Up - Critique of business plan Business School
Specialised Group presentation modes
Business Start Up – Individual case summary Business School
Mature Business plan continuation modes
Additional % from Class participation
EMERGING Personal Development Plan New initiative
Learning modes
Gibb (1993) found that the learning mode for enterprise was the opposite of the didactic approach
commonly used within higher education institutions.
Didactic Enterprising
Learning from teacher alone Learning from each other
Passive role as listener Learning by doing
Learning from written texts Learning from personal exchange and debate
Learning from ‘expert’ frameworks
of teacher
Learning by discovering (under guidance)
Learning from feedback from one key
person (the teacher)
Learning from reactions of many people
Learning in well-organised,
timetabled environment
Learning in flexible, informal environment
Learning without pressure of
immediate goals
Learning under pressure to achieve goals
Copying from others discouraged Learning by borrowing from others
Mistakes feared Mistakes learned from
Learning by notes Learning by problem solving
Source: Gibb (1993), Didactic and Enterprising Learning Modes
• How does this link with your existing delivery?
• What changes might you easily make?
• What support/materials/advice to you need to make those changes?
Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship GEES Subject Centre Resource Pack
39
What do you need most to get teaching in enterprise and/or to
stimulate enterprise learning?
Please rank these in one of three categories - either:
“Y” “Yes - I want this!”
“?” I am unsure why I would want this / what this is for!
“X” I do not want this
Understanding of the subject area (business start up) itself
Understanding of what students will need to set up a business themselves
Understanding of skills required (to develop within existing course)
Overheads on specific business topics (indicate which)
A ‘toolkit’ to dip in and out of
Examples of businesses which have started up (in my subject area)
An ‘ethos’ for delivery
Techniques to inspire and motivate
Module descriptors/outlines
Subject specific information for your discipline
Role models
Games and simulations
Sources of support – academic
Sources of support – for students wanting to start up
Examples of how this has been achieved within my subject area
Guest speakers – where do I get them from?
Advice for determining quality of guest lecturer
Checklist to determine quality of materials in the future
Signposting for staff to advise interested students where to go for professional
advice
Assessment advice/options
Assessment examples
Videos
Enterprise learning through placements / work experience
Problem-solving enterprise tasks
GEES Subject Centre Resource Pack Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship
40
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Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship GEES Subject Centre Resource Pack
41
Notes
HEI experience indicates two types of embedding: (a) embedding enterprise materials/content/
coverage within the module or programme at the time of development; and (b) embedding ‘by the
back door’ through ‘adding in’ enterprise elements into a module that has been around for some
time. The difficulty with the latter is that, because the content is not documented within
module/programme descriptors, it is difficult to ‘police’ in terms of quality and internal alignment
of courses.
Extra-curricula activities are a useful way of moving towards embedding materials into the
mainstream of programmes/modules. For example, the University of Newcastle supported extra-
curricula activities that, through student demand, now form part of their mainstream provision in
certain areas. For extra-curricula activities to become ‘cemented’ into the mainstream provision
requires a commitment from schools/departments that activities will be accredited or valued in
some way towards the final award.
GEES Subject Centre Resource Pack Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship
42
2(c) Exploring gender issues in entrepreneurship
Pauline Kneale, University of Leeds
Introduction
This is a short briefing to raise the issue and offer some suggestions. It is difficult to address
gender and class, especially as research suggests that amongst students there are no gender
differences in aspirations and expectations. They are equally as likely to be considering setting up a
business and the areas they consider are broad. The difference in uptake comes later in life.
However it is worth raising the basic facts and is a potential research/essay topic. The Prowess
web site, and Heilman and Chen (2003) are good starting points.
Some background to the issues
These materials are taken from various parts of the Prowess Site:http://www.prowess.org.uk
Entrepreneurship is male dominated
Men are still twice as likely as women to be involved in entrepreneurial activity or to be thinking
about it, according to a new report from the Small Business Service. ‘The SBS Household Survey
of Entrepreneurship’ is based on a survey of over 10,000 people, looking at UK attitudes towards
self-employment. Seehttp://www.sbs.gov.uk/default.php?page=/analytical/default.php
The UK Global Entrepreneurship Report (GEM UK 2001) found that:
• Men are around two and a half times more likely to be an entrepreneur than women
• The peak age group at which people start businesses is 35-44 for men and 45-54 for
women – which suggests that having children may be a factor
• Women are relatively more likely than men to believe that they will create no jobs in the
next five years
• Men are nearly twice as likely to think that they have the skills to start a business as
a woman
All these facts indicate some clear differences in factors which affect the attitudes and
motivations of women – and therefore clear implications for the type of support and funding
which women require to get started. Seehttp://www.gemconsortium.org/
Extract from ‘Female entrepreneurship rises – but barriers to entry remain’:
Compared to our global competitors the UK ranks 7th behind countries including the US, Canada,
Greece and Spain. For every ten male entrepreneurs in the UK there are four female entrepreneurs
– a gap that is wider than Canada, the US, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy.
Press release 8 June 2004http://www.chamberonline.co.uk/press_centre/press_08062004/view
Student research suggestions
A mini project/essay could cover the following themes:
• Explore the literature on the barriers to practical entrepreneurship.
• Exemplify the factors that encourage and discourage a business start up?
• To what extent is there a level playing field in entrepreneurship?
• Are there gender/ethnic aspects to entrepreneurship?
• For every ten male entrepreneurs in the UK there are just four female entrepreneurs. Explore
the reasons behind this imbalance in start ups.
Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship GEES Subject Centre Resource Pack
43
Sources to check include
Small Business Servicehttp://www.sbs.gov.uk/default.php?page=/analytical/default.php
Prowesshttp://www.prowess.org.uk an organisation that supports women entrepreneurs, log into
their research area
Global Entrepreneurship Monitorhttp://www.gemconsortium.org/
Center for Women’s Business Researchhttp://www.nfwbo.org/
Some references to start with
Anna, A.L., Chandler, G.N., Jansen, E. and Mero, N.P, (2000). Women business owners in traditional
and non-traditional industries, Journal of Business Venturing, 15: 3, 279-303
Carter, S Tagg, S., Ennis, S. and Webb, J. (2002). Lifting the Barriers to Growth in UK Small Businesses
Report to the Federation of Small Businesses onlinehttp://www.sbs.gov.uk/default.php?page=/analytical/default.php
Gundry, L.K. and Welsch, H.P. (2001). The ambitious entrepreneur: High growth strategies of
women-owned enterprises, Journal of Business Venturing, 16: 5, 453-470
Harding, R. Cowling, M. and Ream, M. (2004). Achieving the Vision - Female Entrepreneurship Report
for Learning Skills Council on line.http://www.chamberonline.co.uk/policy/issues/women/
womens_entrepreneurship.pdf
Heilman M.E. and Chen, J.J. (2003). Entrepreneurship as a solution: the allure of self-employment
for women and minorities, Human Resource Management Review, 13: 2, 347-364
Stroh, L.K., and Reilly, A.H. (1999). Gender and careers: present experiences and emerging trends.
In Powell, G.N. (Ed.), Handbook of Gender and Work pp. 307–324 Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Watson, J. and Robinson, S. (2003). Adjusting for risk in comparing the performances of male- and
female-controlled SMEs, Journal of Business Venturing, 18: 6, 773-788
On the ethnic front start with
Clark, K. and Drinkwater, S. (2002). Enclaves, neighbourhood effects and employment outcomes:
Ethnic minorities in England and Wales, Journal of Population Economics, 5: 1, 5-29
Jones,T, and Ram, M. (2003). South Asian businesses in retreat? The case of the UK, Journal of Ethnic
and Migration Studies, 29: 3, 485-500
Ram, M. and Smallbone, D. (2003). Policies to support ethnic minority enterprise: the English
experience, Entrepreneurship and Regional Development, 15: 2, 151-166
Contact details
Pauline E Kneale
Professor of Applied Hydrology with Learning and Teaching in Geography
School of Geography
University of Leeds
Leeds LS2 9JT
Email: [email protected]
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2(d) Examples of enterprise in the curriculum
This resource is collated from a variety of UK websites presenting examples of enterprise in the
curriculum. It is offered without comment as a resource to stimulate GEES readers thinking about
developing their own activities.
~~/~~
Scottish Institute for Enterprise
Who wants to be an entrepreneur?http://www.sie.ac.uk/sie/emm.html
All you ever wanted to know about entrepreneurship but have been too busy to find out! These
interactive multimedia modules are designed to help you to be entrepreneurial in whatever career
you choose to follow. They will help provide skills for work and skills for life.
The Entrepreneurship Multimedia Modules suite comprises of four core modules (1, 2, 3 and 4)
and four support modules (5, 6, 7 and 8):
Module 1: Reference EMM1 - Recognising business opportunities
Module 2: Reference EMM2 - Resourcing new businesses
Module 3: Reference EMM3 - Managing business growth
Module 4: Reference EMM4 - New frontiers in entrepreneurship
Module 5: Reference EMM5 - Personal effectiveness and creativity
Module 6: Reference EMM6 - Entrepreneurial finance
Module 7: Reference EMM7 - Entrepreneurial marketing
Module 8: Reference EMM8 - Intellectual property
The suite of modules is targeted primarily at undergraduates new to the subject of
entrepreneurship. However, the learning materials are available and suitable for use by all students,
lecturers, alumni and commercialisation practitioners involved in the teaching and learning of
entrepreneurship and enterprise in Scotland’s universities.
The modules have been developed by the Scottish Institute for Enterprise (SIE) in collaboration
with Scottish-based academics to enhance, encourage and develop entrepreneurship education in
Scotland’s universities.
Brief description of modules
Module 1: Recognising business opportunities. This module concentrates on the
concept and nature of entrepreneurship and the sources of entrepreneurial opportunities. The
module introduces the student to the basic principles of designing an entrepreneurial organisation
and helps him/her focus and reflect upon the entrepreneurial ambitions he or she might hold.
Module 2: Resourcing new businesses. This module concentrates on enhancing the
student’s capacity to determine the resource needs of a new business, to understand how to
access these resources and assess these resources in order to exploit a business opportunity.
Module 3: Managing business growth. This module concentrates on contributing to the
student’s knowledge and understanding of strategies used for managing growth ventures and
growing firms. Students are introduced to the basic models of growth and the growth strategies
commonly employed by firms, as well as basic management techniques important to the
growing venture.
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Module 4: New frontiers in entrepreneurship. This module concentrates on showing
why entrepreneurship can be successful in organisational settings other than independent business
ventures and why this matters. It helps the student apply his or her entrepreneurial knowledge
and skills to these settings and review his or her entrepreneurial ambitions.
Module 5: Personal effectiveness and creativity. This module concentrates on
examining the personal skills required by the entrepreneur to be successful within the context of
a start-up organisation and the particular skills involved in enhancing creativity both within
themselves and others. It also examines the process of creativity and the factors that may
promote creativity within the organisation.
Module 6: Entrepreneurial finance. This module concentrates on introducing the student
to the most important financial reports required to be understood and utilised in a typical start-
up business situation.
Module 7: Entrepreneurial marketing. This module concentrates on examining the key
market concepts, methods and strategic issues required by the entrepreneur to be successful
within the context of a start-up business and the particular skills involved in marketing new
products and services and selling to new customers.
Module 8: Intellectual property. This module concentrates on examining the nature, role
and function of intellectual property in the commercialisation process. It introduces the student to
entrepreneurial Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) strategies and aspects of corporate IPR.
How can I access the modules?
To access the modules and to discuss how best to study these learning materials please contact
either the SIE Education Manager [email protected] or the SIE contact at your local university.
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University of Ulster
Informatics Entrepreneurshiphttp://www.infm.ulst.ac.uk/~scis/modules/com418m1.htm
Module Code: COM418M1
Module Level: 2
Credit Points: 0
Summary description
This module deals with issues relating to the identification, exploitation and development of new
venture opportunities. The module aims to increase the students’ understanding of
entrepreneurship and develop his/her competencies in applying entrepreneurial skills in enterprise
development. The module is divided into four distinct areas covering: the entrepreneurial process;
identifying and exploiting the entrepreneurial opportunity; managing the resources necessary for
the process; and finally the transition from idea to launch. Students also develop essential skills
such as writing business plans, managing financial resources and team development.
Rationale
Rapid changes in technology, political structures and lifestyles are creating new products, new
markets and many more opportunities for new venture creation than ever before. Within
established, seemingly successful businesses too, the need to maintain the entrepreneurial effort
that characterised early beginnings remains a constant challenge. If a student is to be effective in
this increasingly competitive employment market for graduates there is a need:
• To increase his/her level of understanding of entrepreneurship
• To develop his/her attitudes and behaviours as well as competencies in applying
entrepreneurship in enterprise development
Aims
• To build the students’ awareness of entrepreneurship
• To provide them with a basic framework for assessing the viability of any innovative project
or new venture or the development of an existing one.
• To give the student basic insights to the problems and issues associated with establishing
and managing the development of a new or existing venture.
• To give students an opportunity to audit their personal entrepreneurial potential
Learning outcomes
Upon the successful completion of this module a student should be able to:
(i) Understand entrepreneurship, the entrepreneur and the entrepreneurial process.
(ii) Understand the central role of creativity and innovation in entrepreneurship and the
challenges of protecting new ideas.
(iii) Identify steps required to research the potential for a new venture opportunity
or innovation.
(iv) Understand the components of a business/project plan and aspects of the
planning process.
(v) Identify the key resources, including finance, available for new venture creation.
(vi) Identify the steps required in setting up a new venture.
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Content
The entrepreneurial process. The entrepreneurial process; The entrepreneur; The
entrepreneurial environment.
The entrepreneurial opportunity. Opportunity identification; Analysing an opportunity;
Exploiting the opportunity.
The entrepreneurial resources. Developing a business plan; Managing financial resources; The
entrepreneurial team.
After the launch. The entrepreneurial transition; Entrepreneurial management; Further issues
and concepts of life after the launch; Strategies for diversification.
Learning and teaching methods
The module will be delivered almost exclusively via WebCT. An introductory lecture will be given
at the start of the module to provide the students with a detailed overview of the module.
Additional lectures may be scheduled as required. Additional lectures should ideally include a
number of guest lecturers from an industrial background.
The module material will be presented online. The material will consist of a comprehensive set
of notes, practice tests, individual and group exercises and links to relevant further reading. The
practice tests will be provided to assist learners assessing their own knowledge of each subject
area. Students will be directed to relevant materials and case studies both in the prescribed text
books and on-line articles.
Assessment
Coursework Assignments: 100%
Students will undertake two computer-based assessments (in weeks 6 and 11) to enable them to
measure their own understanding and ability in this module. Upon completion of the assessments,
and within 24 hours, students will receive results and may attempt to correct their work by
comparing their submissions with the correct results.
This assignment will measure the student’s achievement of learning outcomes (i), (ii), (iii), (v)
and (iv).
Reading list
Recommended:
Bott, F. et al. (2000). Professional Issues in Software Engineering, UCL Press. ISBN 0-74-840-9513
Indicative:
BCS Code of Conduct. www.bcs.org
Joint Task Force of IEEE Computer Society and ACM. Software Engineering Code of Ethics, athttp://www.computer.org/tab/seprof/code.htm
Myers, C. (Ed) (1995). Professional Awareness in Software Engineering, McGraw-Hill.
ISBN 0-07-707837-3
Myers, C. et al (Eds) (1997). The Responsible Software Engineer: Selected Readings in IT Professionalism,
Springer, ISBN 3-540-76041-5
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University of Aberdeen
Master of Arts in Entrepreneurship
Geography (01ln8c70)http://www.abdn.ac.uk/registry/courses03/contents.php
This programme includes the following modules:
MS 3016 Conceptual approaches to enterprise - 30 Credits
Course co-ordinator: Dr A Anderson
Pre-requisite(s): MS 1502 and MS 2505
Note: Offered every alternate year starting 2002/03.
This course introduces students to theories of entrepreneurial development, concentrating on the
four main contemporary departments of thought:
(1) Sociological models: class, gender, ethnicity and life patterns.
(2) Trait theories: psychological, psychodynamic and behaviourist models.
(3) Business process approaches: stage models, process models, knowledge.
(4) Business population theories: Schumpeterian models, population ecology.
Two 2-hour lectures per week.
Examination (80%) and course work (20%)
MS 3024 New venture creation - 30 Credits
Course Co-ordinator: To be arranged
Pre-requisite(s): Available only to students in programme year 3 or above.
Note(s): Offered in alternate years.
The essence of the course is that the students will develop a business plan for a new venture. This
plan is intended to be the basis of an application for external finance for the new business and will
include the following elements:
• The Business Idea (showing how new value will be generated)
• The Operational Plan (showing how the different elements of the business
will operate, including premises, plant and personnel)
• The Financial Requirements (a statement of projected income etc)
• The Marketing Plan (demonstrating the market potential and how this might
be realised)
While the plan will be a group project, the necessary elements will be taught in lecture/
seminar format.
Two 3-hour seminars per week.
(1) Group project presented by the student (20%); (2) Formal written business plan (group)
(20%); (3) individual 3 hour examination based on a case study (60%). Parts 1 and 2 will include an
element of peer group assessment; the group will be allocated a mark by the examiners, students
will then allocate this mark amongst the group.
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MS 3523 Business Development - 30 Credits
Course co-ordinator: Dr S Jack
Pre-requisite(s): Available only to students in programme year 3 or above who have passed
at least 50 credit points in Management Studies at levels 1 and 2.
Note: Offered every alternate year.
This course will provide students with a knowledge and understanding of business development,
from the start-up stages, through growth and internationalisation. A combination of case studies,
group activities and lectures will be used. The case studies will involve looking at real business
situations and how companies have developed, including local firms and non-UK firms. Students
will analyse these case studies interactively to develop an understanding of the problems which
were encountered and how these were overcome. The importance of personal, cultural and
environmental factors and their interactions will be assessed.
Two 2-hour lectures per week.
Examination (80%) and course work (20%)
MS 3522 Managing Creativity - Credits 30
Course co-ordinator: To be arranged
Pre-requisite(s): Available only to students in programme year 3 or above.
Note: Offered every alternate year starting 2002/03.
This course introduces students to the concept of creative management at both an individual and
organisational level. The course covers (a) indivdual creativity: different perceptions and values,
styles and development, reflectivity and networking (b) organisational creativity: role of
organisational creativity, approaches to fostering organisational creativity, the management of
innovation, organisational renewal. Alongside enhancing student understanding creativity at the
organisational level, the course involves significant skill development in terms of developing
reflective skills, problem solving, and use of exploratory to develop creative approaches to
strategy development.
Two 1-hour lectures and one 2-hour seminar per week.
Examination (80%), course work (20%).
MS 3525 Innovation And Entrepreneurship – Credits 30
Course co-ordinator: Mr M Freel
Pre-requisite(s): Available only to students in programme year 3 or above.
Note: Offered every alternate year starting 2001/02.
The course addresses the role of industrial innovation in economic progress generally, while
placing particular emphasis on the place of Entrepreneurship and small firms within the process.
After discussing the historical context, the course considers contemporary issues at the level of
the firm, the industry and national and international economies. Whilst strongly grounded in
theory the course enjoys considerable practical relevance.
Three 1-hour lectures and one 1-hour tutorial per week.
Examination (80%), continuous assessment (20%).
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University of Manchester
Master of Enterprise in Environmental Innovation
The School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Scienceshttp://www.seaes.manchester.ac.uk/ProspectivePostgraduates/TaughtMastersProgrammes/Progra
mes/MasterofEnterpriseinEnvironmentalInnovation/
Rationale
The environmental science and technology sector ranges from the fast-moving competitive
marketplace for energy efficiency and effective solutions to air, water and land pollution, to the
variably-paced greening of every other facet of human activity in the region. This programme
represents an innovative approach to meeting these rapidly evolving needs in the context of
environmental science and technology, through a partnership between the University of
Manchester Environment Centre (UMEC) and the Manchester Science and Enterprise Centre
(MSEC). This full-time, one-year programme has been designed to appeal to scientists and
engineers who would like to develop their entrepreneurial skills and go on to either develop their
own business or work for a company where enterprise and entrepreneurship is valued. It will also
appeal to companies who want to use the course to develop their staff for more entrepreneurial
roles, for example where an in-company project is ready for commercial
development/exploitation.
Structure
The programme focuses on an enterprise project, which is an exercise in technology transfer,
combining scientific research and development, performed in a research group, with commercial
work performed in the Centre’s Enterprise Laboratories. Its taught element includes three
science- or technology-based modules drawn from existing environment-related postgraduate
programmes and three commercially orientated modules (the enterprise modules) that develop
the student’s knowledge and capability in technology transfer - knowledge that feeds directly into
their enterprise project.
Aims
The programme will advance the scientific understanding and technical skills of its students within
an entrepreneurial framework of teaching and training in business skills. The programme will
produce a stream of science students with awareness and experience of the technology transfer
process, well prepared for work in entrepreneurial high-technology companies. Graduates will
understand the nature of enterprise, its growth and development. They will also have developed
entrepreneurial skills and have knowledge of the business development process from inception to
establishment and long-term management.
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University of Leeds
MA Environmental Enterprise and Innovation
School of Environmenthttp://www.env.leeds.ac.uk/teaching/postgraduate4.htm
Exploit the business opportunities in the environmental arena by setting up an environmental
company selling innovative products or services.
• An innovative blend of environmental science, business know-how and enterprise
experience in a one year taught Masters programme.
• Training in the skills and expertise for business entrepreneurship and environmental
innovation.
• Experience in developing a product or service and setting up a company on
environmental terms.
This new and exciting MA in Environmental Enterprise and Innovation is a one-year taught
postgraduate programme with a chance to set up a company in the Environmental Enterprise
Project (part-time option available). It is aimed at U.K. and overseas candidates who wish to
become an environmental entrepreneur developing their own environmental products
and services.
The MA will equip students with market analysis skills, the tools to develop an innovative
product or service, and training in setting up a company. Students will acquire knowledge of
environmental and sustainable development entrepreneurs as well as products and services. They
have the skills to operate a company such as marketing, accounting and contract development. By
the end of this programme, students will have the basis for starting and operating an
environmentally innovative company.
Programme structure
Students are required to take 180 credits during the MA, consisting of:
• 95 compulsory credits on core environmental enterprise and innovation issues;
• 15 optional credit module chosen from a range of subjects to suit the students’ needs and
interests; and,
• 60 compulsory credits project on setting up an environmentally innovative company.
Core modules
• Environmental enterprise training
• Environmental market analysis and related business-environment innovation tools
• The environment, business and sustainable development
• Case studies in environment and business
• Environmental contract development and management
• Accounting for managers
• Marketing for managers
• Environmental enterprise project
Optional modules
• ICT and environmental information and management
• Evolutionary economics
• Environmental law 1: the regulation of pollution
• Environmental law 2: key challenges in environmental pollution control
• European environmental law
• Pollution sampling and analysis
• GIS and the environment
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2(e) A few useful websites
The Higher Education Academy Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Web Pageshttp://www.heacademy.ac.uk/Enterprise.htm
Contains generic resources to support embedding enterprise and entrepreneurship in
the curriculum.
DTI: Knowledge Transfer Partnershipshttp://www.ktponline.org.uk/
Information for research organisations, HEIs, FE colleges, companies and graduates. Knowledge
Transfer Partnerships enable HEIs to apply their wealth of knowledge and expertise to important
business problems. For graduates: business-based training and personal and professional
development, whilst managing a project within a company.
Scottish Enterprisehttp://www.scottish-enterprise.com/
Scottish Enterprise is Scotland’s main economic development agency, funded by the Scottish
Executive: “Our mission is to help the people and businesses of Scotland succeed. In doing so, we
aim to build a world-class economy.”http://www.scottish-enterprise.com/sedotcom_home/sig/academics/proofofconceptfund.htm
The Scottish Enterprise Proof of Concept Fund supports the pre-commercialisation of leading-
edge technologies emerging from Scotland’s universities, research institutes and NHS Trusts. It
helps researchers to export their ideas and inventions from the lab to the global marketplace.
Invest Northern Irelandhttp://www.investni.com/
Invest Northern Ireland was formed in April 2002 by the Northern Ireland Government as
the main economic development organisation: “As well as companies and individuals, we work
with universities, FE colleges, local councils and other public sector organisations to achieve
[our] objectives.”
Go Wales: Self-Employment and Entrepreneurshiphttp://gwserver.bangor.ac.uk/e/guidance/new/student/self-employment_entrepreneurship.php
These web pages provide an annotated list of really useful websites with information and
resources on starting up your own business in Wales.
Shell LiveWIREhttp://www.shell-livewire.org/
“Shell LiveWIRE helps 16-30 year olds to start and develop their own business and hosts a
national competition for new business start-ups.”
Channel 4: The REAL DEALhttp://www.channel4.com/life/microsites/R/realdeal/
The REAL DEAL is: “the place where people with great ideas can find out how to stand on their
own two business feet. If you already have a great idea or just want to know how to get an idea
off the ground, we’re here to help you work out how to do it. When you’ve got an idea, we’ll
show you how to put a formal business plan together, what kind of investment is out there and
we’ll help you pitch to potential investors.”
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BBC 2: Dragon’s Denhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/dragonsden/
“High drama meets big business with nail-biting results in Dragons’ Den, the new show that pits
ambitious entrepreneurs against the Dragons – the crème of business talent. Watch as wannabe
millionaires from all walks of life try to persuade the super-successful dragons to part with their
cash.” This website also includes links to information on pitching and other entrepreneurial skills.
Small Firms Enterprise Development Initiative (SFEDI)http://www.sfedi.co.uk/
“SFEDI is a Government-recognised body responsible for researching and disseminating what
works best for small businesses.”
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2(f) Higher Education Academy (generic) resources
The main (generic) resources for entrepreneurship are athttp://www.heacademy.ac.uk/enterprise.htm
This is the front page of the HEA site which is the main resource for Teaching materials around
Entrepreneurship:
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2(g) University Enterprise/Entrepreneurship Support Units
The information below was gathered from publicly available websites during December 2004.
There may be more information on your institution’s intranet site or via your careers service.
Information was gathered only on the HEI’s represented by participants at the GEES Subject
Centre Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship event in January 2005.
University of Abertay Dundee
Embreonix is one of the country’s most innovative graduate enterprise training and support
programmes, designed to help students and graduates get their business idea off the ground -
from initial idea to trading. Students and graduates who have a business idea they wish to develop
and exploit will be supported to create their business in an action learning environment. The
programme is undertaken for one full year, from September to September and we are open to all
graduates from any University.
Contact name: Jackie McKenzie
Tel: 01382 308920
Email: [email protected]
Website:http://www.embreonix.com
University of Brighton
Brighton Ideas: a business ideas and entrepreneurs forum for staff and students.
Contact Name: Jennifer Wells (Business Services)
Tel: 01273 643222
Email: [email protected]
Website:http://www.brighton.ac.uk/audience/bus/entrepreneur.htm
New Business Idea? GRIST – Great Ideas in Science and Technology: The GRIST
scheme will give you a chance to turn your idea into a solid business proposal with a generous
financial loan and regular access to a business mentor and advisor and university expertise.
Brighton Vizion Accelerator – Creative and Media: If your idea is more media orientated, then
access to the Brighton Vizion Accelerator can provide you with a fully funded and supported
space in the Brighton Media Centre for six months, courtesy of the University of Brighton.
Contact Name: Peter Rock (Business Services)
Tel: 01273 642602
Email: [email protected]
University of Cambridge
The Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning (CfEL) delivers a range of educational
activities on the practise of Entrepreneurship, to inspire and build skills and ‘spread the spirit of
enterprise’ within the University of Cambridge and beyond.
Address: 2nd Floor, Keynes House, 24a Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1QA
Tel: 01223 766900
Fax: 01223 766922
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:http://www.entrepreneurs.jims.cam.ac.uk/
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Cambridge Enterprise, part of the University’s Research Services Division, exists to help
University of Cambridge inventors, innovators and entrepreneurs make their ideas and concepts
more commercially successful for the benefit of society, the UK economy, the inventors and
the University.
Address: 2nd Floor, 16 Mill Lane, Cambridge, CB2 1SB
Tel: 01223 760339
Fax: 01223 332988
Email: [email protected]
Website:http://www.enterprise.cam.ac.uk/
University College Chester
Centre for Work Related Studies (CWRS): through The Enterprise Centre support is
provided for student entrepreneurship and business skills.
Mail address: Parkgate Road, Chester, CH1 4BJ
Visitor address: Blue Coat School, Upper Northgate Street, CHESTER
Tel: 01244 392878
Fax: 01244 403713
Email: [email protected]
Website:http://www.chester.ac.uk/cwrs/index.html
University College Chichester
Careers and Training Shop (CATS)
Address: Westgate Fields, Chichester, PO19 1SB
Tel: 01243 786321 ext 2340
Fax: 01243 539481
Website:http://www.chichester.ac.uk/facilities/careers.htm
Coventry University
Careers Service / Enterprise: information on courses, workshops and seminars to learn
how to become enterprising and the invaluable steps required to develop your ideas. Attend the
University’s Skills and Jobs Fest 2004 and the Enterprise Fest 2005 for help and advice identifying
ways in which you can gain enterprising skills and support.
Address: 1st Floor, Alma Building, Alma Street, Coventry CV1 5QA
Tel: 024 7688 7323
Fax: 024 7688 7321
Email: [email protected]
Website:http://www.coventry.ac.uk/cms/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=1193
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University of Durham
North East Centre for Scientific Enterprise (NECSE): The Centre was established in
early 2001 and is one of a number created nationally under the Science Enterprise Challenge
initiative. This aims to raise awareness of the importance of business enterprise at all levels within
Universities, including both students and staff. Assistance available includes intellectual property
and legal services, sourcing of finance and venture capital, business development advice and
mentoring, market assessments, and business incubation space.
Address: Block 2 (Ground Floor), Mountjoy Research Centre, Stockton Road, Durham
DH1 3UP
Tel: 0191 334 3210 / 0191 334 3208
Fax: 0191 334 3211
Email: [email protected]
Website:http://www.dur.ac.uk/scientific.enterprise/
Kingston University
Part of The Enterprise Exchange, WestFocus is an integrated innovation programme that aims
to realise the commercial and social potential of a large, collaborative knowledge base and to
ensure that higher education engages fully with business and the local community.
Contact Name: Jenny Ilsley (WestFocus Administrator)
Address: River House, Swan Wing, 53-57 High St., Kingston-upon-Thames KT1 1LQ
Website:http://www.kingston.ac.uk/business-services/index.htm
Lancaster University
Institute for Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development: Lancaster has a well
established tradition of teaching entrepreneurship. They have run modules in this area since the
late 1980s. Many students choose to include an element of entrepreneurship within their
undergraduate degrees - each year they register around 500-600 students on to their various
electives which are designed for second and final year students. Many are studying for degrees in
business and management, but the modules are open to students from all faculties of the
University.
Contact name: Julie Plank
Address: Lancaster University Management School, Bailrigg, Lancaster LA1 4YX
Tel: 01524 594743
Fax: 01524 594743
Email: [email protected]
Website:http://www.lums.lancs.ac.uk/Departments/Entrep/
The Lancaster Business Creation (LBC) project is funded by the European Union and
Lancaster University and seeks to assist University staff and entrepreneurs in the Lancaster and
Blackpool area to launch their business ideas into operating companies.
Address: Business Enterprise Centre, Enterprise and Commercialisation Division, Bowland
Tower South, Lancaster University Lancaster LA1 4YT
Tel: 01524 593230
Email: [email protected]
Website:http://www.bec.lancs.ac.uk/pages/showpage.php?id=26
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University of Leeds
Spark: University of Leeds 4 Graduate Start Ups: A new initiative at the University of
Leeds supporting self-employment and graduate business startup.
Contact name: Joel McKay,
Address: University of Leeds Careers Centre, 5-7 Cromer Terrace, University of Leeds,
LS2 9JT
Tel: 0113 343 5028
Mobile: 07710 033 447
Email: [email protected]
Website:http://www.spark.leeds.ac.uk
Knowledge Transfer: support offered by the staff and departmental development unit
(SDDU) through:
• offering a commercial awareness programme for academic and related staff who have an interest
in commercialising the output of their research or other activities.
• offering an enhanced programme of courses for University staff who are, or might soon become,
directors of University spin-out companies.
Contact name: Jim Baxter
Tel: 0113 343 2205
Email: [email protected]
Website:http://www.leeds.ac.uk/sddu/Knowledge.htm
White Rose Centre for Enterprise is based at the University of Sheffield and has staff at
Leeds and York. The key aims of White Rose Centre for Enterprise are to increase the
entrepreneurial skills and competency of graduates, postgraduates and research staff, and to give
encouragement and support to technology transfer, particularly via the formation of new
companies.
Contact name: Samantha Aspinall
Tel: 0113 343 3326
Email: [email protected]
Website:http://www.wrce.org.uk/
University of Leicester
Enterprise Learning: At the University, there are many learning opportunities provided over
the course of the academic year, including competitions and workshops. There is also a FREE
joint University of Leicester / DMU student enterprise club ‘Tuesdays on the Terrace’ which gives
you the chance to see what it is like to run your own business from those have done it
themselves. They also work closely with the University Careers Service who give advice, and
organise events and learning programmes on developing your enterprise and employability skills.
‘Tuesdays on the Terrace’ and the Enterprise Forum are open to staff and students. Enterprise
Learning also provides resources and support to academic staff interested in including
entrepreneurship skills in the curriculum.
Contact name: Anne Newman
Address: Institute of Lifelong Learning, 128 Regent Road, Leicester LE1 7PA
Tel: 0116 252 5926
Email: [email protected]
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Liverpool Hope University
Career Development
Tel: 0151 291 3417
E-mail: [email protected]
Manchester Metropolitan University
Careers
Email: [email protected]
Website:http://www.mmu.ac.uk/careers/
The Centre for Enterprise has been developed mainly to allow local small businesses to
take advantage of the knowledge and skills within the MMU Business School.
Website:http://www.business.mmu.ac.uk/centreforenterprise/
Oxford University
Isis Innovation supports undergraduates and postgraduates with regular seminars on new
business formation and a brochure on ‘Starting a New Company’.
Address: Ewert House, Ewert Place, Summertown, Oxford OX2 7SG
Tel: 01865 280830
Fax: 01865 280831
Email: [email protected]
Website:http://www.isis-innovation.com/
The Oxford Science Enterprise Centre, based at the Saïd Business School, encourages
entrepreneurship by giving staff, students and members of the local community the vision and
skills to deal with the reality of business. Its eight-week, free ‘Building a Business’ seminars are
regularly attended by more than 200 people. The Centre works closely with the student society,
Oxford Entrepreneurs.
Address: Saïd Business School, Park End Street, Oxford OX1 1HP
Tel: 01865 288800 (Switchboard)
Fax: 01865 288805
Website:http://www.science-enterprise.ox.ac.uk/
University of Plymouth
University of Plymouth Enterprise: The Entrepreneurship Programme is practical and
innovative, structured around the following levels of involvement:
• Teaching entrepreneurship - workshops equipping students and staff with practical
entrepreneurial and enterprise skills
• Practical entrepreneurship - the opportunity to set up a business in practice, in a safe
environment with private sector mentor support
• On-line support - a website of resource materials featuring fact sheets, success stories,
events and points of contact
• Annual business plan competition
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The University provides funding to support staff and students in developing their business ideas,
with the potential of being made available to support entrepreneurial individuals from the wider
business community. Currently this funding supports Proof of Concept Ideas and the Entreprise
Fellowship Awards.
Contact Name: Dr Susan Boulton
Tel: 01752 233556
mail: [email protected]
Website:http://www.plymouth.ac.uk/entrepreneur
Queen’s University Belfast
Northern Ireland Centre for Entrepreneurship (NICENT). The aim of the Northern
Ireland Centre for Entrepreneurship (NICENT) in its widest context is to embed a culture of
entrepreneurship within the universities. (NICENT) was established in October 2000 as a
partnership between by Queen’s University Belfast and the University of Ulster and has more
recently been joined by Loughry Campus (CAFRE). There is a particular emphasis on the delivery
of modules and programmes for students and academic staff in entrepreneurship, idea
development and business planning.
Website:
ages/nicent.htm
University of Southampton
Institute for Entrepreneurship (IfE), School of Management, has a number of key aims
including to simulate an entrepreneurial experience in the teaching of entrepreneurship,
innovation and small business; and to reach out to practitioners and to involve them in the
development and delivery of knowledge about and for entrepreneurship. The IfE offers a range of
flexible learning opportunities designed to help students maximise their potential whilst
simultaneously providing an enjoyable and valuable experience.
Address: Building 25, Level 3 (Penthouse), Highfield, Southampton SO17 1BJ
Tel: 023 8059 8899
Fax: 023 8059 8981
Email: [email protected]
Website:http://www.ife.soton.ac.uk/about-us/
University of Stirling
The Centre for Entrepreneurship at Stirling University was established in April 2001. The
Centre’s aims include to: promote entrepreneurship education to equip students to confidently
face uncertain labour markets and the entrepreneurial opportunities and challenges of the
modern economy; and to create new value both social and commercial from academic activities.
Website:http://www.entrepreneurship.stir.ac.uk/index.html
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University of Ulster
The aim of The Northern Ireland Centre for Entrepreneurship (NICENT) in its
widest context is to embed a culture of entrepreneurship within the universities. There is a
particular emphasis on the delivery of modules and programmes for students and academic staff
in entrepreneurship, idea development and business planning.
Contact name: Dr Pauric McGowan
Tel: 028 9036 8864
Fax: 028 9036 6015
Email: [email protected]
Website:http://www.nicent.ulster.ac.uk
University of Wales Bangor
The Centre for Careers and opportunities is committed to helping students and graduates
to be more enterprising whether they want to be self-employed, freelance consultants or in
regular employment. Whatever your employment preference, developing your entrepreneurial
skills will put you ahead of the game.
Tel: 01248 382071
Fax: 01248 383644
Email: [email protected]
Address:http://www.bangor.ac.uk/careers/enterprise.html
University of Bangor Innovation: The stimulation of entrepreneurship and new business
ventures is crucial to the future of the Welsh economy and to ensuring that Wales becomes one
of the most enterprising nations in Europe. In order to support the growth of entrepreneurship in
Wales, a major role of University Innovation Bangor (UIB) is to help new ventures develop and
expand.
Address: 9th Floor, Alun Roberts Building, Deiniol Road, Bangor LL57 2UW
Tel: 01248 382501
Fax: 01248 383657
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:http://www.bangor.ac.uk/innovation/
University of Wolverhampton
Offers undergraduate BA(Hons) in Entrepreneurship but otherwise advice can be obtained from
the Careers and Employment Services:
Tel: 01902 321414
Email: [email protected]
Website:http://asp.wlv.ac.uk/Level2.asp?UserType=11&Subsection=499
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University of York
Workshops for undergraduate students;http://www.york.ac.uk/admin/ssdu/ya/courses/courseyes.html
and postgraduates:http://www.york.ac.uk/admin/ssdu/gradstudents/pgrsenterprise.html
White Rose Centre for Enterprise
The White Rose Centre for Enterprise is based at the University of Sheffield and has staff at
Leeds and York. Its key aims are to increase the entrepreneurial skills and competency of
graduates, postgraduates and research staff, and to give encouragement and support to technology
transfer, particularly via the formation of new companies.
Contact Name: Andrew Ferguson
Tel: 01904 433329
Email: [email protected]
Website:http://www.wrce.org.uk/
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2(h) Glossary of entrepreneurship-related terms
Source: The Higher Education Academyhttp://www.heacademy.ac.uk/Enterprise.htm (accessed October 2005)
Enterprise involves measures to encourage individuals to become entrepreneurs and equip
them with the necessary skills to make a business successful (Mason, 2000). In essence
enterprise is about spotting opportunities, creating new ideas and having the confidence and
capabilities to turn these ideas into working realities (Nixon, 2004)
Entrepreneurship is an activity which leads to the creation and management of a new
organisation designed to pursue a unique, innovative opportunity (Hindle & Rushworth, 2000)
Fundamentally, it is about using enterprise to create new business, new businesses and ‘can-do’
organisations and services (Nixon, 2004).
Intrapreneurship is the art of working within an organisation to effect change, by developing
new ideas, procedures or products, by innovating practice and thereby enhancing the business
(Kneale, 2002).
Social entrepreneurship involves using entrepreneurial skills for the public good rather than
for private profit, that is using imagination to identify new opportunities and determination to
bring them to fruition (School for Social Entrepreneurs).
~~/~~
The following terms relate to entrepreneurship and in particular, business start-up:
Account
Record of a business transaction. When you buy something on credit, the company you are
dealing with will set up an ‘account’. This means that they set up a record of what you buy and
what you pay.You should do the same thing with any customers to whom you give credit.
Accounts
A generic term for the financial documents that companies in the UK are required to file each
year. Most companies filing will include a Profit and Loss account, a Balance Sheet, a Director’s
Report and Auditor’s Statement.
Adding value
Providing something extra, over and above your competitors, which makes your proposition more
attractive then theirs, e.g. personal service.
Asset
Anything of worth that is owned by the business. The assets of a business are money in the bank,
accounts receivable, securities held in the name of the business, equipment, fixtures, property or
buildings, merchandise for sale or being made, supplies and all things of value that the
business owns.
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Audit
A process carried out by an accountant (auditor) on all limited companies each year to check that
the financial records are correct. The auditor cannot be the company’s own accountant. Sole
traders and partnerships do not need to have their accounts audited.
Balance sheet
A statement of the assets and liabilities of the business at any given time.
Benchmarking
A method used to compare the relative performance ranges of different businesses. It is an
effective way of identifying areas for business improvement.
Best practice
Best performance of a function or process or methods that lead to exceptional performance.
Brainstorming
A technique of solving problems in which members of a group put forward ideas to resolve the
issues raised.
Break even
Break-even point represents the volume of sales at which total revenue equals total costs.
Budget
A plan, usually expressed in monetary terms, which projects the operation of a business over a
period of time.
Business angel
An individual investing in businesses, especially start-up businesses.
Business plan
A document, which analyses your business activities in detail and predicts the expenditures of the
business for at least the coming year. Usually presented to the bank to support a request for a
loan and/or overdraft facilities.
Capital
This has several meanings, but usually refers to the amount of money in the business belonging to
the proprietors or shareholders.
Capital expenditure
Money spent on the purchase of an asset.
Cash book
A daily record of payments and receipts.
Cash flow
The difference between total cash coming in and going out of a business over a period of time.
Companies
A Company is a type of business structure created and regulated by state law. What sets the
company apart from all other types of businesses is that a company is an independent legal entity,
separate from the people who own, control and manage it.
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Conditions of payment
The written terms under which one must make payment or could seek payment if it was due
to him/her.
Cost of sales
A term used in a trading account representing the cost of the materials used which, when taken
from the sales figures, gives the gross profit.
Cost plus pricing
Selling a range of products/services by setting the price on the basis of adding a fixed mark-up to
the total costs of production and associated costs.
Credit
The period allowed, or taken, to pay for goods or services.
Credit account
An agreement made with a trusted customer so that he or she can buy goods or services and pay
for them later.
Creditor
A party to whom money is owed by the business.
Current asset
A cash balance and other assets intended for conversion in cash.
Current liability
A temporary debt which is capable of being paid off within one year, for example, creditors, bank
overdraft and short term loans.
Debtors
A party who owes money to the business.
Depreciation
A way of measuring the cost of using an asset which decreases in value with time and/or use.
Differentiation
To make one’s product/service different from others in the market place.
Direct (Variable) costs
Expenses, such as materials, which vary according to the number of goods produced or
services offered.
Drawings
Money taken out of the business by the owner for personal purposes (sole trader and
partnership only).
E-Commerce
Conducting business over electronic networks, usually via the Internet.
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Economics of scale
Rationalising a business operation to maximise the use of each individual resource so that each is
cost effective; to ensure there is no competition or waste of activities.
Exit route
How the company plans to leave the market and possibility, sell up.
Expenditure
Expenditure is money that is spent in the course of the business.
Facility
Usually a loan or overdraft offered to the business by a bank.
Financial Year
The accounting year of a business, the period covered by the accountant.
Fire fighting
Having so much work and so few resources we can only react to events and hence ‘fire fight’
rather then working to plan.
Fixed assets
Assets such as machinery, land and buildings which the company do not intend to sell and which
are intended for use within the business.
Focus groups
A professionally moderated discussion among a group (four or more participants) of individuals
whose opinions are thought to reflect those of the product’s intended purchasers.
Franchise
The right to use the name of another company, and to sell its products or services in exchange
for a royalty. The franchisee agrees to abide by the conditions set out in the franchiser’s
agreement.
Gearing
Gearing is an indicator of a company’s ability to service its debt. The higher the proportion of
debt to equity, the higher the gearing.
Gross profit (also Gross margin)
Difference between sales and direct costs.
Guerrilla marketing approach
Highly aggressive marketing intended to get maximum results from minimal resources.
Hedging
An insurance policy designed to protect individuals or companies from major market movements.
Hedging involves buying two investments that will move in opposite ways as markets move,
leaving investors unaffected by major movements. Companies typically hedge against exchange
rate movements.
ICT
Information and Communications Technology. Includes computers, telecommunications,
internet, etc.
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IIP
The guardians of the Investors in People Standard are responsible for the quality assurance
arrangements for the assessment and recognition of staff within an organisation.
Intangible assets
Assets which have no material existence, i.e. goodwill.
Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)
A state granted right to protect a form of intellectual property, (property such as an idea, a
design, etc, which has been created by an individual but doesn’t exist in physical form) for e.g. a
patent right, design right, trade mark right or copyright.
Kickback
An illegal, secret payment made in return for a referral which resulted in a transaction
or contract.
Liquid assets
An asset which can be converted into cash very easily, for example debtors.
Long-term liability
A debt, such as a secured loan extending over 1 year.
Market segmentation
The process of looking at the different customer needs within a market and dividing them into
different segments based on these needs.
Market proposition
Your unique offering to a particular market or part of a market.
Mortgage
A mortgage is a secured charge for which the lender has stipulated property (real estate)
as security.
Net profit
The figure remaining after direct cost and overheads have been deducted from sales revenue.
Net worth
Indicates an owner’s equity in a business, calculated by deducting total liabilities from total assets.
Similarly, the net worth of an individual is calculated by deducting all personal liabilities from
personal assets.
Niche markets
A small or little explored market which mass market corporate may miss, giving smaller
companies the opportunity to design their offering to fit its particular requirements.
Overdraft
The amount which a bank is prepared to extend as credit on a current account.
Overheads (indirect or fixed costs)
Expenses which do not vary with the level of production or number of employees and which
cannot be attributed to production costs, e.g. lighting, rent, rates.
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Partners
More than one person owns and manages a business. All have equal responsibility.
Patent
The exclusive legal rights to make and sell an invention or new product.
PAYE
Pay As You Earn. A scheme that every small business employing people must set up and administer
to pay income tax and National Insurance contributions to the Inland Revenue.
Positioning
Positioning is how a product appears in relation to other products in the same market.
Pre-selling campaigns
Marketing activities prior to product launch.
Profit and loss account
Statement showing sales costs, expenses and profit (or loss) for an accounting period, normally
one year.
Profit margin
The ratio by which a company’s income exceeds its outgoings.
Purchases
The materials or stock that a business buys over a given period.
Profiling
To increase the public image of an individual, or ones business.
Quality systems (ISOs)
The process within an organisation which ensures that work is carried out to the highest
standard and documented as such.
Receiver
A person appointed to collect and manage the assets of a company, or partnership in serious
financial difficulties. In the case of bankruptcy, the assets may be sold and distributed by a receiver
to creditors.
Registered office
The address where a company is officially registered with the Register of Companies. (Not
necessarily the trading address).
Revenue expenditure
Money spent in the running costs of the business.
Segmentation
See ‘Market Segmentation’.
Shareholder
A person or entity that owns shares of stock in a company or mutual fund.
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SME
Small and Medium-sized Enterprise. The technical definition covers companies that have less than
250 employees, (50 for a small business) and are less than 25% foreign owned.
Social enterprise
An enterprise whose primary aim is to meet some social rather than business need. Examples
include charities, co-operatives and community businesses. Although generally run as not-for-profit
enterprises, their success usually depends on application of the sound business practices described
on this website.
Socio-economic background
Social class (grade A to E) which is of course related to ones income, is used to identify the kinds
of people who buy your product and hence to target more of them.
Sole trader
An individual running a business. All revenues and payments from the business are incorporated
within the individual’s personal financial and tax affairs.
Statement of account
The record you receive, from your bank or a company with which you have been dealing, which
shows all the relevant transactions and finishes with the amount you owe or are owed.
Stock
Goods-whether finished, in production or raw materials.
Supply chain
The name given to the overall system that covers the flow of material and information from a
business’s sources of supply to its customer. It includes intermediaries such as wholesalers and
distribution logistics.
Top line
Sales or turnover.
Trading account
A summary of your sales for a period, usually a year, together with the cost of sales for the same
period, showing the resulting gross profit.
Turnover
Total invoiced sales net of VAT.
Unique Selling Point (USP)
An unusual or unique feature of a product or service that no other product has. Or:
The thing about the product that makes consumers buy it.
VAT
Value Added Tax is a sales tax set at 17.5% of value within the UK. Most goods and services
supplied within the UK are liable to VAT.
Working capital
The capital which is used for the day-to-day running of the business.
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Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship
Enhancing the curriculum in Geography, Earth and
Environmental Sciences
Section 3: Examples of practice
(a) Enterprise and employability
(b) Verbal business card icebreaker
(c) Two lectures to introduce the concepts of intrapreneurship
(d) Developing understanding of intrapreneurship and the links to entrepreneurship
(e) Entrepreneurship assessment opportunities
(f) Exploring the motivation and skills of entrepreneurs
(g) Selling ideas, an enterprising activity for many modules: the elevator pitch
(h) Science communication
(i) An environmental impact assessment of a brownfield site
(j) Outline scope for a commercial practice module
(k) Students as consultants
(l) Aberdeen Oil Game
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Example A: Enterprise and employability
Sarah Maguire, University of Ulster
Level: 2
Number of Students: ~30
Type of Exercise: 10 credit point module (100 hours student effort)
Summary
This is an optional module within the BSc (Hons) Environmental Science and BSc (Hons)
Geography programmes at the University of Ulster. It is compulsory for all students undertaking
an intercalary industrial placement. There is a need for students to understand how businesses can
exploit scientific practices and how they can lead such exploitation through entrepreneurial
activity. It is also important for students to develop skills and business awareness when
approaching work experience and graduate employment. This module aims to provide students
with a range of environmentally orientated business and management skills and practices in order
that they can integrate more successfully into a particular company or set up their own business.
In particular, recognition of future business opportunities is an important goal. This module assists
students in the development of their own career paths.
~~/~~
Aims and learning outcomes
The aims of the module are to provide students with a range of environmentally orientated
business and management skills and practices in order that they can integrate more successfully
into a particular company or set up their own business. In particular, recognition of future
business opportunities is an important goal. This module will also assist students in the
development of their own career paths.
By the end of this module, the students will:
1. Have developed a knowledge of important areas of business and management with respect to
the new product development process and the entrepreneurial business plan, including key
sources of business support and finance, the steps required to research a market and protect
the intellectual property for a business opportunity, the management of people and operations,
and financial forecasts.
2. Understand the context in which new products or services are developed within
Environmental Science and Geography.
3. Have developed an awareness of a range of environmental and geographical career
opportunities.
4. Have reflected on their own career choices and developed action plans to support these.
5. Have developed the skills necessary for applying for work placements and employment.
This module will further develop the following skills:
1. Innovative thinking and creativity skills through the formulation of a business proposition based
on a market need.
2. Intellectual skills will be achieved through the evaluation and analysis of a business proposition
3. Communication skills through the preparation of written reports, oral presentation and
interview experience.
4. Group working skills achieved through class discussion, and group development from forming
to performing within the group feasibility study assignment.
5. Project planning and management skills through the development of the group feasibility study
for a business proposition.
6. Self management skills through meeting deadlines and working independently on assessments.
Design and operation
Teaching takes the form of lectures, workshops and tutorials where students are expected to
engage in active discussions. A core of materials is delivered by the Faculty of Life and Health
Sciences, Co-ordinator of Academic-Enterprise who has over five years experience in enterprise
training. The three teaching staff mentor groups in the creation and development of their
business ideas. Field work and guest speakers are used to enhance the real world context of the
students’ learning experience. Private study is supported by extensive study notes and sign
posting to the web-sites of organisations involved in aspects of business planning. Students are
expected to work independently as individuals and groups. The module is organised into two
sections, both of which have six two-hour workshops.
The enterprise section covers topics such as:
• Introducing enterprise
o What is it? Why should you study it? Its context within your subject
o Finding business ideas
o Business support networks
o Business planning
o Feasibility study assignment
• Visit to a Science Innovation Centre
• Innovation and technology transfer
• Marketing
• Operations
• Managing People
• Managing Finance
• Group work on the feasibility study
The employability section covers:
• Introducing employability
• Graduate destinations and skills review
• Employer presentations
• CVs and applications
• Interview techniques
Assessment
1. Job application and interview (50%)
Students are provided with a number of job scenarios. This assessment requires them to select
one, to research what the job entails and to submit an application for it by Week 4 (25%). They
also undergo a simulated interview for this job during Week 6 (25%). Interviews are assessed
using the following criteria relating to their ability to answer the interview questions –
Mark range Criteria
7+ A highly relevant and full answer illustrated by examples to demonstrate your
knowledge/skills/experience/awareness of current issues
5-6 A reasonable answer largely relevant with some examples
4-5 A weak answer, may be less relevant or brief with few illustrative examples
fail An inadequate answer of little relevance or with no examples
This assessment tests learning outcomes 3-5
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2. Group feasibility study report and presentation (50%)
Each group of 4 or 5 students produces and submits an outline plan (feasibility study) on Week 6
(35%), which summarises, in simple terms, the nature of their business idea within the context of
Environmental Science. The feasibility study should cover the main features of the business, and
should be as specific as possible. The feasibility study needs to be clear to the readers, persuasive
and as convincing as possible. In addition, each group is required to give a presentation of their
feasibility study lasting 6 to 8 minutes, and to answer questions for 3 to 4 minutes on their
business proposition (15%). This assessment tests learning outcomes 1-2.
Support materials
These included:
• Careers guidance materials and videos accessible through any HEI’s Careers Department.
• Career destination data for the courses were also used.
• Job pages and websites
A more detailed description and evaluation of the module is available in: Maguire S and Guyer C
(2004). ‘Preparing GEES students for employment in the enterprise culture’ Journal of Geography in
Higher Education,28:3; 369-379
Evaluation
The module has been extensively evaluated through:
o An analysis of student motivations for selecting the module
o Analysis of module performance data
o Conducting end of module evaluations
o Tutor feedback
A number of key elements can be identified as having worked together positively:
• The module was designed with cognisance of pedagogic theory for course design and
student learning.
• The teaching staff had confidence in their knowledge and ability to deliver the employability
section. This had been developed through participation in subject-centre staff development and
close working relationships with the Institution’s careers department.
• The Institution had made available expert staff and resources for teaching the enterprise
section. It would be easy to deliver a generic course to students from all disciplines. However,
experience from skills courses has demonstrated that student learning is optimised when
courses are fully embedded within the subject rather than appearing to be ‘bolt-on’. Therefore
this input was further supported and enhanced by the School teaching staff supplying
appropriate subject orientated examples and case studies.
• Teaching staff had maintained links with past graduates and were able to set up a career
convention reflecting a range of opportunities.
• The majority of students valued the syllabus as relevant and appropriate and were intrinsically
motivated to attend and learn. However, it was necessary to convince a small minority that
this was not an easy escape from chemistry or computer-based modules.
However, a number of challenges were faced during the development of this module, some of
which continue to cause difficulty:
• Although academic colleagues recognise and accept the Institutional requirement for
entrepreneurship, the module is still perceived by many to be lightweight and superfluous to
the needs of the subject. These attitudes impact upon students when they are seeking advice
regarding module choices. It is anticipated though that the student grapevine will prove
effective with feedback from previous cohorts providing a balance to this.
• Staffing on the module is an ongoing concern. As entrepreneurship rolls out across the faculty it
is unlikely that the faculty co-ordinator for academic enterprise will be able to commit so much
time to teaching on individual modules. At this stage web-based resources are being developed
that will provide an alternative to classroom teaching.
Advice
Colleagues in other institutions may not be in a position, as we were, to include an entire module
focused on enterprise and employability issues within their curricula and may wish to consider
the following alternatives:
• Provide opportunities within subject-based modules for students to engage in real world
scenarios e.g. problem-solving case studies
• Use students’ personal development plans to identify and work towards career goals
• Ask visiting speakers to discuss their careers with students and the skills required for them.
Contact details
Dr Sarah Maguire
Staff Development Unit, University of Ulster
Email: [email protected]
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Example B: Verbal business card icebreaker
Pauline Kneale, University of Leeds
Level: All
Number of Students: Any
Type of Exercise: As an ice breaker before a lecture / workshop
Summary
The Power Point slides introduce some issues that raise student awareness of the importance of
networking. The whole session takes about 20 minutes but just using slides 11-13 ‘creating a
verbal business card’ makes a great starter to a session.
~~/~~
Aims and learning outcomes
To raise awareness of how you can create a positive impression in a very short space of time.
Design and operation
In the slides, 11-13 people design and practice their opening lines that really makes someone want
to talk to them.You may want to distribute blank business cards to the group so they really get
the point of creating a statement that is short and punchy enough to go on a business card.
Support materials
See Power Point slides and notes below (the PowerPoint presentation is available on-line athttp://www.gees.ac.uk/projtheme/entrep/entrepres.htm
Evaluation
The students, class of 160, found it a little intimidating at first and ‘felt really silly’ standing up and
shaking hands. But as they introduced themselves to the third person they began to get the idea: ‘I
was using different words with the third person, it made me think more about what I really wanted to
say;’ ‘Good fun.’
It is worth letting them take the time to introduce themselves to 4/5 people and get to feel
more comfortable with the process
Advice
Be enthusiastic, up beat but take it seriously. This is a worthwhile exercise. Have your own version
ready as an example. Be funny about needing different versions for different situations
Contact details
Pauline E Kneale
Professor of Applied Hydrology with Learning and Teaching in Geography
School of Geography, University of Leeds
Leeds LS2 9JT
Email: [email protected]
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Networking- a starter session
A short session to cover:
• Why bother?
• How to get organised
• How to start in meetings / social sessions
At one level this is about getting your act
together so you have the self confidence to
do really well.
Why bother now and in first years
at work?
Is there a gender issue here?
• Generally men network naturally at
work and after work with colleagues
through sport and social activities
• Generally women network naturally
outside work with their friends
Ok give me your ideas:
Get better known? Increase your reputation?
Find people that will help you progress
Build up contacts
So other people think of you when they need
someone like you
Helps to get a job
Shows you are sociable and have social skills
Some people see this as a tacky activity and start losing
confidence and don’t want to exploit people. Just be a bit
American and remember there are people competing for
your job/position who have no such scruples.
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Networking has a personal benefit
but is also a business skill.
• Effective teams will be knowledge-sharing.
They use their collective memory. They
know the capabilities of colleagues, and can
make the most of each others’ expertise.
• Networking can help you to understand the
big picture and help to make wise decisions
quickly.
• Knowing the big picture can help you make
more mature suggestions and tackle more
senior assignments effectively.
• Internally in an organisation, networking is
key to:
– Creating teams and communities built on
trust and real commitment
– Extracting valuable intelligence. With
increasing data-overload, the need for
networking increases
• Externally, networking is the key to:
– Understanding and acting on market
trends. As the world changes at a faster
pace, the need for networking increases.
Integrating with third parties –
customers, suppliers and partners
– It is important to most business functions, not
just obvious ones like sales & marketing.
What is networking about?
• Visibility
• Being remembered
Research evidence for the
effectiveness of networking
• John P. Kotter (1999) What Leaders Really
Do, Harvard Business School Press, Mass.
‘Good managers are good networkers. They
make/take the time in the schedule to meet
people’
‘Networking is a key skill of successful
managers and is often overlooked’
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• Kanter, R.M. (1985)The Change Masters,
Jossey Bass Wiley, New York.
‘Networking is an effective source of power
and influence’
Activity
At a group two-day interview
• Why should you network?
• Who should you aim to network with?
• What can you offer as you network?
Make some notes of your answers – 3 minutes.
How will you introduce yourself?
Hi, I’m Jimmy from Wigan, who are you?
OK but:
• What do you want to get across to people?
• What do you tell them so that they say ‘Hey
that is really cool, can you tell me more about
…’
• How can you be really clear?
A verbal business card
• Hi, I’m Jim a geography student at Leeds but I
have got really interested in .... and I want to …
so that …
• Asked about what you do as a part-
time job:
I’m a bar person at weekends.
Or
You know how some bars you go in are really
dull & boring, well my job involves making
sure the place has a welcome feel and is a
pleasure to visit. It’s so important in the pub
business to make people want to come back.
Task: write a verbal business card for you
– 3 minutes.
Get their feedback.
Before you go to a meeting of any sort take some
time to work out who you may meet / what you have
to offer them / how you can be seen as approachable
and worth talking to. Remember people are more
likely to offer you something if you are giving them
something. This is not the time for lame impressions.
You may want to distribute blank business cards to
the group so they really get the point of creating a
statement that is short and punchy enough to go on a
business card.
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Task
• Pick a partner
• Stand up and introduce yourself to your
partner. Shake hands, be positive and
enthusiastic
• Partner: listen carefully and respond. Then
suggest ways to improve the introduction
• Then swap roles
- 6 minutes
Managing a first meeting
Ok you have arrived at the interview and
people are gathering with /without a drink
• Put your name label on your right hand
lapel
• How do you feel walking into a room
knowing no one?
• Approach who?
o People standing alone
o Group
• Introduce yourself: use your prepared card
• Ask the first questions – easy ones
Starter questions
• Where do you come from?
• How is life at university of ….?
• What is Leeds like?
• I couldn’t help admiring your jacket, can
I ask where you found it?
• Is this your first interview?
Ask/introduce in the expectation of a positive reply.
Cheerful positive outgoing body language.
Then try with some other people.
The students, a class of 160, found it a little
intimidating at first and ‘felt really silly’ standing up and
shaking hands. But as they introduced themselves to
the third person they began to get the idea. ‘I was using
different words …, it made me think more about what I
really wanted to say.’ ‘Good fun’ It is worth letting them
take the time to introduce themselves to four or five
people and get to feel more comfortable with
the process.
Right hand lapel, so seen when you shake hands.
98% of people going into a room are nervous.
Spot people who are pleased to see you – those alone,
along the wall, etc.
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Networking needs small talk
• You need people to be on your side,
interested and ‘comfortable’ with you
• Small talk builds up the comfort zone
• Be interested in what others have to offer
Talk topics: sport; hobbies; work; holidays;
family; books; news; music; films; …
Create appropriate introductions
• You need different introductions for
yourself in different situations
Homework: Create 3 introductions that
cause people to say ‘Hey that is really cool, can
you tell me more about …’
• For an interview / someone meeting you
at work / an aunt / someone on the bus /
at a club / someone meeting you in the
uni / …
Go for it!
• Networking is a real business and
social activity
• Have a plan
• Keep the contact list of attendees
if available
• Follow up people
• Keep track of contacts
• Find ways of keeping up with people
• Enjoy meeting people
You don’t have to do all the talking. Show that you are
a good listener too. Don’t:
• Keep looking for more interesting people or
move on every 5 minutes. Take the time to have
a relaxed conversation with whoever you meet.
• Appear to target the room like a piranha – for
only the attractive men/women or the company
reps. At an interview, the people running the
session will notice if you ignore the other
candidates. They might conclude that you are
focused and driven, but also that you are not a
team player with social skills. Oh and the rest of
the candidates will notice and not want you on
their team!
Escaping people: I want a drink can I get you one? I
need a breath of fresh air do you want to come? I
have just spotted x, have you met her? Let me
introduce you.
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Example C: You are on your own - ice breaker
Pauline Kneale, University of Leeds
Level: Any
Number of Students: Any in groups of 2-4
Type of Exercise: A useful ice breaker or start to a session for those not yet
introduced to the idea of starting a business
Summary
The aim of this activity is for the participants to realise they have resources and skills that they
could use if they were pushed into starting a business.
~~/~~
Aims and learning outcomes
The objectives for the participants are
• to have a fuller understanding of their own enterprising skills
• to start discussing enterprising ideas, get comfortable with group discussions
Design and operation
1. Pose the question: ‘If you were out of work/University tomorrow and no one, NO ONE
would employ you, how would you make a living? You have three minutes to develop a list
– on your own’.
2. At the end of 3 minutes ask for a quick feedback on their ideas, which will bring out the
diversity of their ideas, ‘oh yes I could do that too’ comments.
3. Then ask students to share their ideas with their neighbour and create a list of the skills
they already have to support their ambition to start this new enterprise.
4. After 5 minutes ask them to work out what they would need to do in the first week and
first month to get the business going. Put the main points on a OHP/Poster.
5. Do a group show and tell of the mini posters. With people moving around the room to
look at a variety of opportunities.
Students discuss, staff encourage. No formal assessment.
Support materials
Flip chart/poster paper, pens, blu-tac,
Evaluation
This is a fun session that takes about 20 minutes and gets the students to realise they could go
down this route. It pulls out the skills. In debriefing be positive and enthusiastic no matter how
whacky the idea. The later sessions in a course can address some of the realities of starting a
business. In my experience a class of 60 has about 130 ideas between them. Some students do
list posters – but most create elaborate spiders’ webs of people with links.
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Student comments
I really found this difficult at the start, but once I heard what the girls behind me were doing I
realised that there are things that I can do. I am very involved with the junior school some of her
each year and this showed me that I do enjoy getting good together for the store and I really enjoy
selling and talking to people.
Gruber had so many I feared it was hard to choose one to plan which was really surprising. I sell on
eBay quite a lot, developing an idea around a web site and selling is something I realise I could do.
Lots of fun to hear everyone’s ideas, they were all so different.
Sharing ideas at the start really helped me to understand what be enterprising can be. It was much
harder to make a plan for the first week and first month.
Advice
Be cheerful and enthusiastic. Encourage discussion and creative thinking. Give examples – dog
walking service; gardening; serious car boot trader; meals from home; writing web pages; tutoring;
teaching yoga; …
Contact details
Pauline E Kneale
Professor of Applied Hydrology with Learning and Teaching in Geography
School of Geography, University of Leeds
Leeds LS2 9JT
Email: [email protected]
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Example D: Two lectures to introduce the concepts
of intrapreneurship
Pauline Kneale, University of Leeds
Level: Any
Number of Students: Any - has been used with 15 and 120
Type of Exercise: Lecture 50 minute or 20 minute
Summary
These two fully scripted lectures are designed to introduce the concepts of intrapreneurship to a
class at any level. Each is a scripted Powerpoint presentation with a number of activities. The
lecturer will need to decide which activities to include to suit the class.
~~/~~
Aims and learning outcomes
• To introduce the concept of intrapreneurship
• The class will have an understanding of the nature of intrapreneurship, the literature it is
based on, and an insight into what this means in the workplace.
Design and operation
A lecture with activities. No direct assessment but could lead to an essay - see Assessment
opportunities file.
Support materialshttp://www.geog.leeds.ac.uk/courses/other/casestudies/
See the section under Lectures half way down the page. Customise the materials for your use. i.e.
start by replacing your name for mine on slide 1.
Evaluation
The students have found this a positive experience. ‘I liked the exercises, it was good to do
something instead of just listening’. ‘I hadn’t thought about what I was doing at work as being
important for getting a job’. ‘I can see that you can be positive from the start if that’s what you
want, I am not sure I have the confidence to be like that’ ‘It is good to see that businesses want
people to be hving ideas and telling them. Interesting to see how organisations work’. ‘Liked
the examples’
Advice
Try to get an example from a recent graduate from your School you can quote to help students
see that being intrapreneurial at work does relate to them and their subject.
Contact details
Pauline E Kneale
Professor of Applied Hydrology with Learning and Teaching in Geography
School of Geography, University of Leeds,
Leeds LS2 9JT
Email: [email protected]
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Example E: Developing understanding of
intrapreneurship and the links to
entrepreneurship. An intrapreneur’s story:
Education Officer and Senior Ranger.
Pauline Kneale, University of Leeds
Level: Any
Number of Students: Ideally a small / tutorial group of maximum 6, but larger groups can
discuss the case in groups of 5-6
Type of Exercise: Pre reading for a tutorial / seminar discussion
Summary
A case example of a Park Ranger working for a local authority is used to let students draw out
ideas about how people can influence their workplace, put new ideas in place and develop both
their business, their job and their career. While this is an example of enterprise within a business
the tutor can get students to draw parallels with the skills for entrepreneurship.
~~/~~
Aims and learning outcomes
To understand the enterprising role someone can play in a business. Develop an understanding of
business practices
Design and operation
The case is fully documented. Students are asked to read the Park Rangers story in advance and
come to the tutorial ready to discuss the case..
Support materials
Seehttp://www.geog.leeds.ac.uk/courses/other/casestudies/ the materials are under the Context
Case Materials section; orhttp://www.geog.leeds.ac.uk/courses/other/casestudies/intra/IntrapreneurStoryEducationOfficerAn
dSeniorRanger.doc
Evaluation
This case has evolved following a couple of runs. Student comments ‘It is not obvious until you
read about real people that you can actually make changes to what you do at work. I had not
realised people act like this.’ ‘It was really interesting to read about a person doing a job and
someone that works in a park. It is not a job I had thought of but (I) can see that it could be
really interesting’. ‘I had decided I would be a teacher but this case shows you can be doing
teaching in a different way’. ‘The different challenges that she has to face are a bit difficult but you
can see how it is possible to do differently (sic)’.
Advice
Make sure students are really encouraged to pre-read otherwise they waste time reading at the
start. I ask them to come with notes and points threatening a mini presentation!
Contact details
Pauline E Kneale, Professor of Applied Hydrology with Learning and Teaching in Geography
School of Geography, University of Leeds,
Leeds LS2 9JT
Email: [email protected]
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Example F: Entrepreneurship assessment opportunities
Sharon Gedye, GEES Subject Centre
Assessment Explanation
Business Plan A business plan may typically contain an executive summary, an
outline of the business opportunity, a marketing and sales strategy,
management team and personnel details, operations information
and a financial forecast. Business plans can be individually or group
assessed. For group presentations you might like to request that
students submit minutes of meetings as evidence of their
teamwork, which is a key business skill.
Feasibility Study A written or oral presentation detailing the feasibility of a business
concept. The presentation should critically examine the business
product/service, the market, competitors, costs and
personnel/management requirements.
Business ‘Pitch’ An oral presentation selling a business concept to a potential
backer. This type of presentation concentrates on the unique selling
point of the business idea. Assessment will need to take into
account how convincing, confident and professional the student is in
presenting the concept.
Critique of a Business Students may be required to critically examine a real business plan
Plan selected by the module tutor or one chosen for them-self.
Alternatively, they may peer evaluate mock business plans.
Business / Business Students are required to present a report on a business or a business
Person Case Study person/entrepreneur. The case study can be tutor or student
selected. This type of assessment could be desk-based or may
involve site visits to a business and/or interviews with an
entrepreneur and their personnel.
Personal Development The development of a personal development plan (PDP) that focuses
Plan on entrepreneurial skills and competencies. The enterprise PDP may
involve action planning and reflection around the students business
idea.
Essay/Examination Traditional essays and examinations are widely used in assessing
entrepreneurship/enterprise courses. See example overleaf.
Contact details
Sharon Gedye
GEES Subject Centre
Buckland House, University of Plymouth
Plymouth, Devon PL4 8AA
[email protected]
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An essay that for good marks needs some personal research
Pauline Kneale, University of Leeds
Introduction
The following titles build around a common theme. The essay title does not direct a student
towards interviewing an intrapreneur or an entrepreneur but the support materials encourage
students to use that route. The references below are deliberately ‘dated’ so the good students
can prove to me they have the research skills to find the more recent examples and get
appropriate credit. These titles have been used with level 2 students for a number of years. Most
students do research an employment sector and their answers are very diverse. Good answers
include mini interview reports and an understanding of the sector and literature. Despite the
instructions below less good answers waffle randomly about work in many sectors with little
grounding in fact.
The essay
For a particular occupational sector discuss the ways in which the workplace has changed in
the last ten years and how it can be expected to change in the next five years.
Or
Discuss the role of intrapreneurs in a particular occupational sector. How might an employee
in their first years at work act in an intrapreneurial role?
Or
Discuss the role of entrepreneurs in a particular occupational sector. Explore the facets and
attributes that lead to success in entrepreneurship.
Your essay should build on the module sessions and reading, together with the information
you gain from discussing the nature of the workplace with people you meet over the next
few months.
Each of these essays will benefit from your using your geographical research skills to find some
one to talk to so that your comments are grounded in the real workplace. Occupational sectors
you might choose include voluntary organisations, public service sector, public utilities, blue chip
companies, SME’s (small and medium sized enterprises), or international corporations. Why not
choose a sector you might like to work in?
Each essay needs equal weight given to each of its sections to gain high marks. A general waffle
around multiple sectors will get few marks. An essay that is not grounded in the literature is
unlikely to score above 45%. Evidence of relevant research with someone from your chosen
sector is good dissertation practice and likely to score well.
Selected references
Journals to check include: Journal of Business Venturing; People Management; Capability: Journal
of Autonomous Learning for Life and Work; Journal of Graduate Education; Personnel Management
The changing workplace
Cusumano, M.A. (1997). How Microsoft Makes Large Teams Work Like Small Teams, Sloan
Management Review, Fall, 9-20
Forrester, K., Payne, J. and Ward, K. (1995). Workplace Learning: perspectives on education, training,
and work, Aldershot: Avebury, 173pp
Harvey L., Moon S., Geall V. and Bower R. (1997). Graduates Work: organisational change and
students attributes, Centre for Research into Quality and Association of Graduate
Recruiters, 132 pp,
Hawkins, P. and Winter J. (1995). Skills for Graduates in the 21st Century, The Association of
Graduate Recruiters, 49pp.
Malecki, E.J. (1997). Technology and Economic Development: the dynamics of local, regional and national
competitiveness, 2nd Ed., Longmans, 460pp.
Purcell K. and Pitcher J. (1996). Great Expectations: the new diversity of graduate skills and aspirations,
Higher Education Careers Services Unit, Careers Service Trust, Institute for Employment
Research, 54pp.
Semler, R (1994). Maverick!: the success story behind the world’s most unusual workplace, Arrow:
London, 321pp.
Wajcman, J. and Martin, B. (2001). My company or my career: managerial achievement and loyalty,
British Journal of Sociology, 52: 4, 559-578
Entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs
Antoncic, B. and Hisrich, R.D. (2001). Intrapreneurship: construct refinement and cross-cultural
validation, Journal of Business Venturing, 16: 5, 495-527
Bridges, W 1997 Creating You & Co.: learn to think like the CEO of your own career, London: Nicholas
Brealey.
Chen, C.C., Greene, P.G. and Crick, A. (1998). Does entrepreneurial self-efficacy distinguish
entrepreneurs from managers? Journal of Business Venturing, 13: 4, 295-316
Daly, G.G. 1998 Entrepreneurship and business culture in Japan and the US, Japan And The World
Economy, 10: 4, 487-494
Hollinshead, G, and Michailova, S. (2001). Blockbusters or bridge-builders? The role of western
trainers in developing new entrepreneurialism in Eastern Europe, Management Learning, 32: 4,
419-436
Jennings, R., Cox, C. and Cooper C.L. (1994). Business Elites: the psychology of entrepreneurs and
Intrapreneurs, London: Routledge.
Macrae, N. (1982). Intrapreneurial now, The Economist, April 17.
Pinchot, G. (1985). Intrapreneuring: why you don’t have to leave the corporation to become an
entrepreneur, NewYork: Harper & Row.
Pinochet, G. and Pellman, R. (1999). Intrapreneuring in Action, Berrett-Koehler, San Francisco
Wickham, P.A. (2004). Strategic Entrepreneurship, 3
rd
Edition, Harlow: Pearson Education Ltd, .
Contact details
Pauline E Kneale
Professor of Applied Hydrology with Learning and Teaching in Geography
School of Geography, University of Leeds
Leeds LS2 9JT
Email: [email protected]
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Example G: Exploring the motivation and skills of
entrepreneurs
Pauline Kneale, University of Leeds
Level: Any
Number of Students: Any in groups of 5-6
Type of Exercise: Two hours comfortably, but could be done in an hour if students
have pre read the materials.
Summary
The aim of this case activity is for the participants to try to understand how entrepreneurs
operate, what motivates entrepreneurs and how they behave in certain circumstances. What were
the challenges, what are their personal qualities?
The outcome is a presentation which needs to be clear, concise and enthusiastic. The
presentation is created under considerable time pressure.
~~/~~
Aims and learning outcomes
The objectives for the participants are:
• to have a fuller understanding of ‘entrepreneurial behaviour’;
• to give a persuasive and convincing presentation to their peers.
Design and operation
Students discuss, staff facilitate, The materials suggest a variety of sources for examples so tutors
can choose the type of entrepreneur to suit their class. We have run this using the UK examples
which students find more accessible than the Starbucks or Dell examples which ‘are beyond our
reach’. Using a range of examples with a large class makes for more interesting feed back. I
suggest that you have a different case for every two groups
Support materials
See tutor and students’ notes below.
Entrepreneur Case Studies:http://www.gees.ac.uk/projects/entrep.htm
Advice
Be cheerful and enthusiastic. Encourage discussion and creative thinking.
Contact details
Pauline E Kneale
Professor of Applied Hydrology with Learning and Teaching in Geography
School of Geography, University of Leeds
Leeds LS2 9JT
Email: [email protected]
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Tutor notes
The aim of this case activity is for the participants to try to understand how entrepreneurs
operate, what motivates entrepreneurs and how they behave in certain circumstances. What were
the challenges, what are their personal qualities?
The outcome is a presentation which needs to be clear, concise and enthusiastic. The
presentation is created under considerable time pressure.
The objectives for the participants are
• to have a fuller understanding of ‘entrepreneurial behaviour’
• to give a persuasive and convincing presentation to their peers
There are a range of examples of entrepreneurship that tutors can call on. These make excellent
examples in lectures but students gain considerable understanding from working with the cases
themselves to draw out the motivations, skills and challenges of real entrepreneurs. While many
cases are available at a price (a Google search will find them), example cases are available to
download free from:
Entrepreneurship Case Studies, UKhttp://www.heacademy.ac.uk/thematic/950.htm
A range of US examples is athttp://entrepreneurs.about.com/od/casestudies/
See alsohttp://www.zeromillion.com/entrepreneurship for extracts that include: Howard
Schultz, Starbucks; Michael Dell, Dell Computer Corporation; Robert L. Johnson, BET Holdings;
Black Entertainment Television; and many others
You may wish to select one case, but we suggest each group works on a different case to enrich
the presentation and sharing session.
The cases you choose will need to be printed off with either a copy for each participant, or
two per group. Restricting the number of copies forces the group to start talking to share the
case information. They are also annoyed at not having one each which initiates some bonding in
the group.
Some universities run incubators for graduates starting their own companies. Asking one of
these entrepreneurs to talk to the group about the process to date is potentially inspiring.You
might ask him/her to set the scene, or to listen to and to comment on the presentations and to
tell their own story as part of the debriefing session. Follow-up activities could include asking
students to research their own case examples with entrepreneurs in the university or locally.
These data can be used to expand the case study list. Local entrepreneurs really help students to
understand the realities and see it is possible for ‘someone like me’.
Running the case study
The participants need to be in groups, maximum six people. Please try not to run this in a tiered
lecture theatre where group work is more constrained. The participants remain in their groups
throughout the case.
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Handouts
Each group needs one copy of the Participant’s Brief. They also need presentation material, of your
choice (flipcharts/pens/OHTs etc).
Timing (OHT 1) please complete with your own start/finish times (e.g. 9.00-9.10).
10 minutes: Introduction - handout 1 plus the case study chosen
45 minutes: Planning and preparing presentation
20 minutes: Presentations (circa 5 minutes per group) – handout 2
30 minutes: Collecting the overarching points and de-brief – handout 3
Tasks
The participants need to read through the entrepreneurship case example, discuss the
information and prepare a presentation which explores the motivations and skills of their
entrepreneur. Emphasise that the groups are not competing, they are all trying to give the best
presentation they possibly can. If they all have different examples they will also need to say a little
about what their entrepreneur has done.
If you have a large number of groups, you may want to split it into streams for the
presentations; four presentations is probably plenty for each subset. If you do choose this option,
them you will need to co-opt someone else to hear the parallel groups presentation.
Before the presentation give everyone the comment sheet below to guide their listening.
At the end of the presentations ask the groups to collate their comments and focus on what
they find are the collective learning points to share.
Go through the debrief, picking up on both preparing and delivering presentations under
pressure and the entrepreneurial points.
Follow up work includes reference to the literature on the entrepreneurial skill set. See
for example:
Bolton, B. and Thompson, J. (2000). Entrepreneurs Talent,Temperament,Technique, Oxford:
Butterworth Heinemann.
Wickham, P.A. (2001).Strategic Entrepreneurship, 3
rd
Edition, Harlow: Pearson Education.
Suggested introduction
This session will let you explore the motivations and skills that young entrepreneurs meet in practice. Each
group is being given a case study about an entrepreneur.They are different so that we get a broad view of
entrepreneurial activities. Quoting from the HEA web site:
‘Entrepreneurship is an activity which leads to the creation and management of a new organisation
designed to pursue a unique, innovative opportunity (Hindle & Rushworth, 2000) Fundamentally, it
is about using enterprise to create new business, new businesses and ‘can-do’ organisations and
services (Nixon, 2004).
Entrepreneurs start all kinds of businesses. In a few minutes you will be given a brief which gives you
information about one business and a task to complete in your groups. You do not have a lot of time, so
you really need to think about the situation and the outcome that you want from your group presentation.
A good presentation is essential. Any questions?
You have 45 minutes to get to grips with your brief and prepare your presentation.
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Presentations (c. 20 minutes for 4 groups)
• Ask participants to listen for the good and less good techniques used by the presenters and
to ready to comment on the presentation style as well as content.
• Before the presentation give everyone the comment sheet below to guide their listening.
• At the end of the presentations ask the groups to collate their comments and focus on
what they find are the collective learning points to share. Give them 3 minutes to do this
and then collect ideas on a flipchart, asking for an idea/comment from each group in turn.
The de-brief (allow at least 15 minutes)
Reflect on the presentations, ones that stood out. Example questions –
How did it feel to be doing this?
What were the best parts of the presentation? What could be improved?
Have any of you had to give a presentation previously that meant a lot to you – what happened?
What were the key things to remember?
What skills were you using?
Did you ‘own’ the project?
How did it feel to act as an interpreter of motivation and challenges?
What would have made it easier for you?
How has your understanding of entrepreneurship developed through hearing about the cases?
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Exploring the motivation and skills of entrepreneur
Handout 1: Participant’s brief
Attached is a case example of an entrepreneur for consideration by your group.Your group task is
to develop an understanding of the skills and motivations of the individuals involved. How do
entrepreneurs operate, what motivates entrepreneurs, how do they meet challenges, what were
their personal qualities?
You will need to discuss these aspects and prepare a short presentation that highlights these
issues to the other groups. Each group is looking at a different example, therefore you will need
to take 30-60 seconds to outline the business context.
Your challenge is to work together as a group to come up with the most persuasive
presentation you possibly can. Each presentation is 5 minutes – please make it look as professional
as possible.
This means that your presentation will need to be:
• Clear - stating and evidencing motivations and skills
• Concise - you only have five minutes to present
• Enthusiastic - your audience need to see that you believe in what you are doing.
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OHT 1
Introduction 10 minutes
Planning and preparing presentation 45 minutes
Presentations (five minutes per group) 20 minutes
Collection of summary points 15 minutes
De-brief 15 minutes
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Exploring the motivation and skills of entrepreneurs
Handout 2
A framework to help when listening to the presentations:
• Listen actively to the presentations.
• Do not think about your own presentation to come.
• Concentrate on the speakers: What are they telling you that is new? What is reinforcing the
ideas your group had? Is there something you don’t understand?
• What are the good presentation techniques you can use in future?
New points
Points that are reinforcing/restating/developing previous thinking
Questions that arise
Presentation techniques I can learn
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Exploring the motivation and skills of entrepreneurs
Handout 3: Debriefing your understanding of entrepreneurship
1. What do you understand about the working culture of
entrepreneurial organizations?
2. What have you learned about how innovation is promoted?
3. How do your skills fit with those of entrepreneurs? What strengths can
you offer a start-up business?
4. How might you apply what you have learned in this case to your own
activities? How might you use some of these ideas in your part-time
job, social activities, workplace?
5. How did your group work together, what was the main challenge for
you and how was this met?
6. Other thoughts:
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Example H: Selling ideas, an enterprising activity for
many modules - the elevator pitch
Pauline Kneale, University of Leeds
Level: All
Number of Students: Any, can be done as an individual or group activity
Type of Exercise: This depends on how it is set up. It might be 15 minutes within a
module with individuals or groups making pitches to two or three
other groups, or it might be a tutorial activity.
Summary
In order to get ideas across to inaccessible bosses, American staff discovered that they could find
the right boss in the elevator and pitch their ideas in the short time the elevator was in motion.
Hence the concept of the ‘elevator pitch’. This concept can be used by students in many different
learning scenarios. Essentially participants are asked to create and present either a 30-second, or
a one-minute or three-minute presentation. For example, students in a tutorial group might be
asked to give one-minute presentations of their proposed dissertation methodology and main
argument for an essay, or a three-minute pitch to persuade a member of staff to grant them a
work placement or year in industry position. This has the potential for activities within group
work when individuals within groups put forward the ideas to progress the task in hand, and
in giving updates to tutors on the progress so far. With a large class, the two-minute pitch to
technicians for equipment can be helpful in getting through requests from large numbers
of groups.
Essentially, the process requires the participants to really focus on the message they want to
get across to be precise, and to be confident and enthusiastic. Wherever this process is used, it is
important in debriefing the students to point out that this kind of pitch is extremely useful at job
interviews, recruitment fairs, in telephone interviews. Preparing yourself to persuade someone of
your case in a short and sharp manner is a good technique to have at your command. We are
not in this case suggesting that students should be riding up and down in lifts waiting to find the
right person, but they may find cross-referencing to ‘elevator pitch competitions’ both amusing
and a way of making the participants take this activity seriously. Type ‘elevator pitch’ into Google,
and you will find pages and pages of links.
As an entrepreneurial activity it has its original place in the curriculum in persuading the boss
to take on board and possibly fund your idea. The US examples tend to be dominated by
marketing people.
~~/~~
Aims and learning outcomes
To develop students skills in making short and pointed presentations. To give them practice in
selling their ideas.
Support materials
Adapt the following for a student handout:
Elevator pitches are used as a way of getting essential information across to people in a very
short space of time. The name derives from American business people making pitches to the
bosses, whom they could only catch in the company elevator. This activity is now recognized as
a management technique and the subject of competitions in the USA. (For examples type
elevator pitch into Google) Your pitch must persuade tutor / fellow group members /
competing groups …
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Points to bear in mind when preparing your pitch:
a) Be aware of the expertise of your audience.You need to use appropriately technical
language, and not waste time on essentials and facts that he/she will already know.
b) Get your unique selling point (USP) across from the start. Aim to make your message
memorable; your points need to stand out from others being made on the same day.
c) Be enthusiastic, confident and sure of your information. Take time to practice in advance.
It is difficult to complete the task in such a short time without having rehearsed
your argument.
d) In selling your idea, look beyond the immediate process or service. Aim to show the wider
benefits to your tutor, course, community, subject area,etc. In elevator pitch terms, this is
looking to show that you have an idea and a wider vision.
Cut and paste from the tasks below to suit your class or adapt the idea for your own module/workshop.
Pitch topics:
• Course related
- a new field class in Italy/Greece/Mexico/China …
- a new module in Antarctica Studies/Poverty/ ….
- purchase a relevant journal for the Student Common Room , e.g. New Scientist/Economist/
Geology Today …
- no formal examinations for your degree course.
- ATraidcraft snack dispenser for your building.
- Water cooler for the laboratory/Student Common Room/
• Generic/Entrepreneurship related
- Imagine that you have just invented … Your task is to create a 30s/360s pitch to sell it as
a concept to your group. Eg: Paper clip / post it note / floppy disk / deckchairs / massage
wheel / egg slicer / fizzy water / weekend break / artificial nails / balloons …
• For interview/employment preparation, useful topics are:
- my USP (unique selling point) to the company/organisation is …
- the attributes I have to bring to this company are …
- the skills and experience I can bring to this organisation/company include ...
- In my first year at work I would like to achieve …
We suggest that if this is run as an in-class exercise students require about 20 minutes to prepare
their pitch. Suggest they take the first 10 minutes to get the main points together, and 10 minutes
to practise their pitches. Then move to pitching to other groups in the room. Giving 20 minutes
to this, allowing groups to move round and get three or four opportunities to speak really helps
students to develop their thinking and speaking skills. Actually pitching an idea or concept the first
time shows you how you can adapt to do a better job the second time.
Assessment
This has not been formally assessed, but I take bags of sweets and ask each group to award it to
the best ‘pitcher’. Maltesers/Revels (that the group usually shares) make good prizes.
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Evaluation
Student comments:
The whole idea seemed bizarre, and our group were not keen to get organized. It is worse than
putting a poster together, because you have to really think about what you want to say.
Doing the pitches in the groups was really fun and quite entertaining. It really made you think
about how you wanted to get your message across.
I don’t really come across as an enthusiastic person normally, but you have to get involved when
time is so short.
You find that you are changing what you say when you repeat the pitch to the next group. Even
though we had practiced quite a lot we were changing a story as we pitched to each new group.
I can see that using this idea at an interview could be quite helpful. It does stop you rabbiting on
and on when you don’t have much to say.Trying to isolate USPs for our project did make us look at
what we were going to do in a lot more detail.
I don’t like having to do things quickly, I don’t think this sort of exercise is very suitable. I like to be
able to talk around are subject and to be able to bring in other parts of an argument. I think that
people will take time to talk to you for much longer than you say.Why would people want just to
have half of the story?
In my view, most of the time we want students to write and speak extensively. This is therefore a
rather artificial exercise but one which gives students opportunities which are relevant in real life
situations. The first student comment above and the last are not untypical. I would argue that at
least once or twice in a student’s career, being made to think through and express the
fundamental points is a good intellectual exercise, and one which has considerable payoff if they
then use it in real job situations. It is worth reinforcing the point that many people in business will
not be prepared to listen if you waffle, that they expect arguments on one side of the paper not
an extended essay, and they expect points to be put across with considerable clarity. This is
essentially an exercise that gives some practice in that arena.
Advice
Be very encouraging from the start. The tutor needs to be enthusiastic. Aim to pitch the process
in 120s to demonstrate what is required. Point out that this is a quite difficult task to do but that
it can be really helpful when faced with people who you want to impress and who have very little
time to spend with you for example at interviews, when you start work, during vacation, casual
or placement employment.
If participants do one pitch only they will get something from it, but they will get a great deal
more if they can move around and pitch their ideas to other groups. The student comment above
indicates that when they repeat the pitch they refine it and develop it into something that is more
persuasive, more accurate and more to the point.
While this activity can and has been done in a tiered lecture theatre, a flat floored room with
space to move around is helpful.
Contact details
Pauline E Kneale
Professor of Applied Hydrology with Learning and Teaching in Geography
School of Geography, University of Leeds
Leeds LS2 9JT
Email: [email protected]
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Example I: Communicating science
Alun Lewis, Royal Holloway University of London
Number of Students: 10
Type of Exercise: degree course
Summary
Good communication is a vital skill for entrepreneurs both for marketing themselves and their
‘product’ and for working effectively with staff teams, clients, suppliers and the many other
individuals and organisations they will encounter. Scientists are inherently poor communicators as
they are taught to speak the un-natural language of formal science. This course has been
specifically designed to allow young scientists to speak to non peers in a way they will understand
– and in a way that will grab their attention and keep it.
~~/~~
Aims and learning outcomes
While undergraduates are being taught to present their ideas in the formal language of science
report writing, I teach them to translate the same ideas and concepts into everyday language that
is accessible to non scientists or to those interested in science but without a detailed knowledge
of their subject. They will all be able after this course to communicate their ideas effectively to a
given target audience. The skills are transferable to getting a job interview, doing well in an
interview, pursuing a successful career in science, teaching science, communicating science either
to a live audience or through books, museums, or broadcast media.
Design and operation
Students learn in formal teaching sessions which introduce the ideas and techniques and then
immediately put the ideas into practice in the media lab or the main TV studio. Learn – do – make
mistakes and assess. Each exercise leaves the student with a piece of writing, an image, a score
sheet, a radio tape, a script, a story board or a video tape. Advanced projects involve creating
complete documentaries, radio programmes or magazines.
Staff (me) lecture and demonstrate but then leave the students to learn how to use the
technology themselves through experimentation. Each student will respond in very different ways
to the open ended challenges set them.
Assessment
There are no exams. Assessing for communication clarity and engagement is my responsibility –
an assigned tutor in each of the major science departments checks the work for factual accuracy
where I am unsure of the science being discussed.
Support materials
Real articles and their source material (papers in Nature etc.,) real radio and TV interviews
from my own archive or material collected for broadcast on BBC and elsewhere, Posters
through various stages of development. Websites under construction and in use. Talks from
authors and radio and TV producers which demonstrate the problems involved in the real world
of science communication.
Contact details
Alun Lewis
Faculty of Science, Royal Holloway
Email: [email protected]http://www.gl.rhul.ac.uk/scicom/
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108
Example J: Environmental consultancy: an environmental
impact assessment of a brownfield site
Clive Roberts, University of Wolverhampton
Level: 3
Number of Students: up to 45
Type of Exercise: Module
Summary
This example illustrates a group-based approach that allows students to experience first-hand
the type of work environmental consultants might do in the field. Setting up such consultancies
is a common example of GEES-related entrepreneurship activities (see also the case studies
in Section 3). This module introduces the student to the various techniques and applications of
site investigation procedures. The overall aim is to give the student valuable experience in
undertaking a real-time case study of a brownfield site and to provide the student with an insight
into professional applications of site investigation for their overall degree profile. The module
therefore has direct relevance to potential career opportunities. The general syllabus aims to be
holistic and will cover the environmental, socio-environmental, economic, ecological, legal,
geotechnical, geochemical, geological and hydrogeological evaluation of derelict industrial and
landfill sites. Both practical work in the laboratory and a field trip is undertaken to supplement
theoretical knowledge.
~~/~~
Aims and learning outcomes
1. Recognise those matters of a technical, legal or environmental characteristic that need to be
considered and investigated when selecting sites for the development of constructional or
recreational facilities.
2. Assess the relevant geological, ecological, hydrological, geochemical, hydrogeological,
environmental, socio-political and economic factors that may give rise to unfavourable
conditions within given areas and suggest appropriate techniques of assessment.
3. Appreciate the legal framework which directs and influences site evaluation and suggest
appropriate remediation strategies for contaminated land.
4. Interpret various geological, geochemical, environmental and ecological criteria from a given
case study site and synthesize all derived information by completing an environmental
risk assessment.
5. Construct a professional site investigation report, which includes and environmental impact
assessment for a proposed development on the chosen case study site.
Design and operation
1. Lectures: Factual material is presented to students by oral presentations, notes/handouts,
videos and selected case study material.
2. Directed reading: Such activities are carried out by students to reinforce and supplement
lecture material. New concepts and ideas are introduced to the student to encourage
independent learning. Feedback is provided on expected levels of achievement through self-
assessed exercises.
3. Group work: Students work in groups during contact time to solve problems related to
lectures and directed reading. Team building skills are established and enhanced.
4. Fieldwork: Enables students to apply theory to actual situations. Develops interpretative
and data collection skills.
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5. Laboratory work: Provides analytical skills by assessing soils for concentrations of
heavy metals
6. Oral presentations: Students present summaries of group work activities to each other
and to the whole class. Verbal communication is developed and enhanced.
7. Information Technology: Computer skills are enhanced through database searches, word
processing, GIS, drawing packages and collation of a professional site report.
8. Project management: Students develop problem-solving skills through the planning, design
and construction of a site investigation report.
9. Independent learning: Students are required to enhance their independent learning skills
by critical thinking and reflective practices.
10. Time management: Personal organisational skills are developed and enhanced by keeping
to set deadlines and by submitting work at the appropriate times
Assessment
65%: A professional site investigation report, which includes an environmental impact assessment
for a proposed development on a brownfield site.
35%: Oral examination based on the case study site.
Support materials
Support material includes: archive maps going back to 1887; modern OS maps; thematic set of
engineering geology maps for the Black Country; consultants’ reports from the local Council; and
planning and development strategy documents for Government Office West Midlands. The
students are also ‘fed’ data from previous fieldwork. Aerial photographs are used as base maps for
development proposals.
Evaluation
Evaluation has been extremely positive from students. Students complete a module evaluation at
the end of the module and are asked to complete a self reflective review of the skills they have
gained. When the module was first designed, more lectures were planned. Student feedback has
indicated group work is more productive in achieving the module outcomes and so the module
has evolved more into an active learning experience by increasing group work activities. Some
students have used their consultancy reports in their personal portfolio to gain employment.
Local employers have also fed their comments on the module back to the module team, allowing
refinement of some aspects of the investigation procedure.
Advice
Group work and experiential learning on a real-time exercise is a very good way to develop
problem-solving skills. Although it does take time to set up the relatively large resources base
required for group work, the benefits to the students are great.
Contact details
Dr Clive Roberts
Division of Environmental and Analytical Sciences
University of Wolverhampton
Email: [email protected]
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Example K: Outline scope for a commercial
practice module
Dei Huws, University of Wales: Bangor
Background
Upon graduation, the School considers it important that a Masters student is equipped not only
with a sound theoretical and practical understanding of their aspect of marine science, but is also
capable of using these skills to contribute directly to the nation’s economy. This may be in the
form of gaining experience within an established organisation or may involve the setting-up of a
business enterprise. The scope of any module concerning ‘Commercial Practice’ within an
intensive, subject-specific Masters course can, by nature, only provide knowledge and
understanding at an elementary level, but its purpose is to introduce an awareness of key issues
which will relate to their career development.
The aim of this module is twofold: to give an introduction to the world of business in a generic
sense; and to introduce the student to the practices of specific branches of industry and business
in marine science. Within our Masters programme, each course will attend Lecture Series I (The
World of Business) with Lecture Series II being course-specific and involving guest speakers from
the commercial sector.
Lecture series I. The world of business
Entrepreneurship
• The characteristics of an entrepreneur
• An introduction to the concept of the small business
• Routes into small firm employment
• The inter-relationship between large and small firms
Small business planning and development
• An introduction to the business plan.
• Predicting the future of small business development in the regions
Marketing: control and planning
• Core marketing concepts
• Marketing management
• Customer value and satisfaction,
• Marketing strategy
• Predicting client behaviour.
Human resources (HR): role, scope and responsibility of HR staff
• Strategic and administrative roles of HR management
Management and organisation
• The nature of management and leadership roles
• Organisational structure within business
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Lecture series II. MSc Applied Marine Geoscience: the
offshore industry
• Role of the contractor
• Role of the consultant
• Role of the research institute
• Role of professional bodies
• Case study site investigation: Seafloor characterisation
• Case study site investigation: Geohazard mapping
Contact details
Dr Dei Huws
School of Ocean Sciences
University of Wales: Bangor
Email: [email protected]
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Example L: Students as consultants
Gordon Clark, Lancaster University
In brief
Students at Lancaster University can volunteer to become consultants to local tourism firms,
producing a research report on a topic specified by the firm.
How it works
Two full-time staff, paid for by the European Regional Development Fund, run the Learning
Tourism project which is based in Geography. This is part of the University’s Third Mission work.
The staff find small local firms (SMEs) in Objective 2 areas of Cumbria and Lancashire, which wish
to have some research done to help develop their tourism or leisure businesses. Once terms of
reference have been agreed, the opportunity is advertised across the University. Students from
any discipline may apply, using a formal procedure with a letter of application and curriculum vitae.
The firm and the Learning Tourism staff choose the student to be appointed to each project,
trying to fit the student’s disciplinary background to the task to be done.
Each project comprises 20 days’ research work. The Learning Tourism staff train the student to
become an ‘apprentice consultant’ working to a professional standard, using teaching materials
prepared by the University’s Careers Service. The staff also monitor the students’ progress while
carrying out the research, check health and safety issues, and deal with any crises. Once a report
meeting the terms of reference and of acceptable quality has been delivered to the firm, the
student is paid a fee of £800. The students who undertake these projects are all volunteers (over
50 so far), doing this in their spare time. They have been drawn from UK and overseas students,
and a wide range of disciplines.
The types of research so far have included project development, investment appraisal,
environmental sustainability audits, marketing and promotional planning, competitor analysis and
benchmarking, and IT/web developments. The projects’ effects in terms of job creation and
increases in turnover for the firms will be measured during 2005. A few projects have failed, in
that the firm has decided not to proceed with the project or the student has not performed as
we would have hoped, but these cases are rare. For the students the main benefit, aside from the
£800 fee, is curriculum enhancement through using academic skills in work for a real-world local
company to a professional standard and within time constraints. They also gain a clearer
understanding of how firms work and of entrepreneurship in action.
Developments
During late 2004 funds will become available to offer more student consultancies, first in
Blackpool’s tourism industry, and then, using Higerh Education Innovation Fund (HEIF) and North
West Development Agency (NWDA) money, more widely in the North West of England. The
intention is to widen the recruitment of students to other NW universities, and to offer
consultancies of different lengths. During 2005 a more formal evaluation of the scheme will take
place. The Learning Tourism website athttp://learningtourism.lancs.ac.uk provides examples of
projects and training materials, and contact details.
Contact details
Dr Gordon Clark
Department of Geography
Lancaster University
Email: [email protected]
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Example M: Aberdeen Oil Game
Gordon Walkden, University of Aberdeen
Introduction
Professionally accredited degree programmes establish a mechanistic link with employability, but in
practice the required ‘elements’ of these can fail to connect a student with workplace reality.
Exercises can develop specific employability skills, and delivery by professionals will raise
credibility, but problems remain of ensuring focus and student ‘buy-in’. The Aberdeen University
Oil Business Game addresses this by taking advantage of the unique atmosphere of a week long
off-campus residential field course. It links a familiar learning activity with an immediate sense of
‘need to know’. Students work, eat and sleep engaged in the Game, and the separation from daily
reality maximises focus and buy-in. The extended contact also enables activities to evolve, skills to
interact, the unexpected to happen. Realistic issues emerge and there is time for resolution.
The Game combines the already highly integrative activity of a discipline-based field course
with the skills-rich demands of team play and competition. It demonstrates how self-knowledge,
teambuilding awareness, pooled skills, effective division of labour and good command of geology
play a key role in business decisions. The exercise also focuses upon how we cope with
uncertainty and real deadlines in a competitive environment. By generating a ‘need to know’ the
game demonstrates how knowledge ‘adds value’. Despite its serious intent, which is to train
employability and provide drive and focus for the field course, its pursuit is great fun for all!
Outline of the game
Individuals play as members of a pair and also as members of a six-person team (company). They
earn ‘cash’ as individuals which they invest in companies (both their own and others) through a
simulated stock market. Company share values are set by the companies themselves at the outset
(floatation) and can then rise and fall according to the popularity of the stocks and the success of
the companies. The central part of the exercise simulates a hydrocarbon licensing round where
exploration/production blocks in an oil prospective region (e.g. the North Sea) are put up for
competitive tender. Capital received from investors is used by the companies to assess, bid for
and develop hydrocarbon prospects, hopefully at a profit. The blocks are precisely defined, based
on real local geological maps, and they involve the actual rocks and structural features that are
visited and examined in detail at various stages in the field course.
The development costs of fields, and the ultimate recovery figures are, of course, imaginary.
After all, the rocks being examined are now at the surface rather than a couple of km
underground, but figures are based on reasonable calculations made by the ‘regulators’ using
exactly the same methods as the teams. Key tools in the Game are three specially-built
spreadsheets. One records all individual share dealings and simulates stockmarket movements,
another provides a means of integrating reservoir characters and volume to determine value, and
the third calculates profit and losses made by companies after successful bids for blocks,
exploration and production of any hydrocarbons. The results are calculated through the
stockmarket spreadsheet on the last evening of the course. The winners are the team that makes
the best profit through exploration and production from their block portfolio, but there is also a
prize for the individual who makes the best profit through a wise choice of stockmarket
investments in the companies!
The game is fully integrated with daily geological itineraries, and most of the supporting
research, value calculation and field work planning is done in the evenings – often (and without
encouragement) into the small hours of the night.
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The programme
Day 1: Outline and rules of Game, publication of personal CVs
Day 2: Interviews, team building, allocation of personal capital
Day 3: Company floatation, the stockmarket, buying shares
Day 4: More share dealing, allocation of consultancy work to companies
Day 5: Powerpoint presentations by companies, fees to companies, exploration/production
license blocks are revealed
Day 6: Team research evaluating blocks
Day 7: Bids for block licenses by tender, allocation of blocks, calculation of profits/losses,
stockmarket results.
Individual and team winners, prizes.
By their own account, students learn a lot about their own personal and interpersonal skills and
often they appreciate for the first time how the application of good scientific skills can inform
business decisions. Evidence for the ways in which their employability skills have been exercised
and developed is usually contained in a series of daily Business Game notes, reports and reactions
which students are expected to maintain. The overall exercise is assessed by submission, but
relative success in the Game is not part of this. Instead, we look for a structured and responsive
approach to the exercise, including evidence that students have developed and used their
geological knowledge during the progress of the Game.
The learning outcomes
• Advanced geological knowledge, both general and specific.
• How information can inform commercial judgements and create added value.
• Enhanced skills, especially jobseeker skills, self-management, communication, numeracy,
problem-solving, decisions and teamworking.
• Experience of the conflicts between fact finding, uncertainty and short deadlines in a
competitive environment.
• Awareness of the roles of business organisations, stock markets and central and local
government in relation to resource exploitation.
• Awareness of the effects of business decisions on people and the environment.
Reference
Walkden, G.M., (2001). A field-based ‘Oil Business Game’ for Honours geology students. Planet
(Journal of the Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Subject Centre, GEES) 1, 8-11http://www.gees.ac.uk/pubs/planet/index.htm#P1
Contact details
Gordon Walkden
Geology and Petroleum Geology
University of Aberdeen
Email: [email protected]
Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship
Enhancing the curriculum in Geography, Earth and
Environmental Sciences
Section 4: Case studies of
GEES entrepreneurs
(a) Colin Deady: Ethical WebSites
(b) Ben Malin: Terraqueous Ltd., Environmental Consultancy
(c) Nick Russill: TerraDat Geophysics
(d) Emma Smith: Fairfield Materials Management
4(a) Colin Deady: Ethical WebSites
Graduated from the University of Plymouth in 1997, BSc (Hons)
Environmental Science
Stage 1: Pre-project
Childhood experiences/ambitions: background influences and traits
The idea that one can be successful in self-employment came to me after discussion with my
father. Although he had never been self-employed at the time, his extensive experience of working
with business (employed by Berkshire County Libraries as a Business Information Officer) allowed
me to explore ideas for self-employment on paper before committing myself.
My career aspirations as a child were completely different! I had at one point wanted to
become a Veterinary Surgeon but realised that the trend at the time was for universities to only
offer such courses to ‘straight A’ students, whereas I could be described as a ‘straight B.’ Once I
realised that this was not to be, I decided on a career in the environmental sector and
successfully completed a degree in Environmental Science. However upon graduating I realised
that there is an unfortunate ‘catch 22’ with environmental work – most companies want you to
have experience before employing you but to get that experience you need employment (and
voluntary work does not pay the bills unfortunately). I was lucky to find a 50:50 job with the
Centre for Sustainable Energy in Bristol, working as an Environmental Project Officer (sustainable
development) and the organisation’s IT System Administrator. It was from this basis that I was able
to develop my IT skills to a point where I now have two jobs – by day I am a Software Test
Engineer for Centennial Software in Swindon, and ‘by night’ I am self-employed, working on EWS.
Perceptions of self-employment/motivations
What really attracted me to self-employment was the ‘be your own boss’ attitude of those people
who are self-employed that I had met. However I realised that EWS would at best provide me
with 1/3 of my income and that I would need a steady day job in addition. I realised that I was to
leave all environmental work behind when I started on a career as a software tester and
therefore EWS was motivated by my desire to remain involved with environmental organisations
and the excellent work that they undertake.
Skills gathering: part-time jobs / school / university
Business skills came late in the day! In hindsight I should have paid much more attention to
subjects such as project management, invoicing and accounting from day one – but these are
boring subjects, with designing and writing websites being much more interesting!
At school I had the typical ‘hotel kitchen staff ’ job that many teenagers do. Low pay,
horrendous hours (for the pay) and not a smidgen of job satisfaction turned me completely
off the service industry – but it gave me great respect for those on low pay and in part this was
one of the reasons for the remit of Ethical WebSites: ‘high quality with low cost’ – to provide
websites to organisations that just do not have the resources available to spend a fortune on
their internet presence.
I was employed full-time (and still am) before setting up EWS and the two balance each other
very well. On the one hand being a keen software tester means that I am very thorough when
testing the websites that I write; and on the other, being a ‘web developer’ gives me more
respect when I am working as a tester for the difficulties faced by Programmers, Developers and
Software Engineers.
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Idea generation
Interestingly EWS was formed in 2000, only a year or so into the ‘dot com boom’ and I have
been asked if there was a ‘get rich quick’ formula behind my plans. If only this was the case! The
truth is that the dot com’s showed me that individuals could create successful web-based
businesses. Coupled with my father’s excellent advice on working in business, and my mother’s
extensive knowledge of the UK tax system I found that I had lots of business-oriented inspiration.
As mentioned earlier, I also had a great desire to stay involved with environmental organisations
even though I could see my career going into a purely IT-based one. EWS was therefore a
combination of all of these factors – a desire to provide something that almost no-one else was
providing at the time: websites dedicated to providing success online for small environmental and
social organisations.
Stage 2: Early development
Information gathering. Problems/positives/actions
Once I had discussed the outline with my father and mother I realised that EWS would be a
viable venture.You see, unlike a lot of people in self-employment I was lucky – EWS did not have
to succeed as it would only ever account for a proportion of my annual income. As it turns out
EWS has been hugely successful and has now worked with several local authorities, small charities
and other organisations.
Firming the idea into reality did involve a large amount of market research online. I searched
everywhere I could for web development agencies specialising in environmental and social
organisations and came up with almost no hits in any of the search engines of the day (Lycos,
Yahoo, Alta Vista being the main three at the time – Google had yet to grab market share).
The only problem I came against was that to develop websites I needed up-to-date computer
technology and all of my computers were starting to show their age. I opted for a £600 Windows
PC as my base development machine, bought because of price rather than performance and
bought (with the help of my father) a couple of domain names – ethicalwebsites.com and
ethicalwebsites.co.uk. I also bought a cheap printer (good for printing out mock-ups of web pages
to show clients) and a low capacity zip drive for backing up data. Total start-up cost was in the
region of £800 – not bad for a new business!
The reason I was able to get into business so cheaply is that working online brings huge
advantages – a domain name and web space can set you back as little as £25 a year, or possibly
£100 if you have a large website. This provides you with a 24x7 365-day-a-year advertisement for
your products, services, and possibly even an online shop if that is your cup of tea. As I was in the
business of writing websites I had no need to pay someone else to write mine, further reducing
costs. Compare this with the activities for a ‘high-street business’: renting premises, paying for
advertising in magazines etc. This can easily run into thousands of pounds before you have sold
your first widget!
Ideas stage to the beginning of the project
I talked a lot about EWS as a possible secondary source of income with my wife. Julia has always
had a much more practical head on her shoulders than I, and I am very grateful for this input! She
helped me identify that we could not afford much to start the business – we agreed that the
entire cost had to be below £1000, and I am pleased to say we stuck to this.
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The only difficulties I had were getting EWS known. I tried lots of online marketing by
registering the site on this and that search engine, web directory etc. In the end I realised that
although my business was online, it would be through word of mouth that I would gain contracts.
This has proved true with over 75% of new business resulting from a contract being generated
as a spin off of either existing work, or because a client recommends me to someone that
they know.
Things are starting to change though and EWS is now known online.You wouldn’t believe the
amount of money I have been offered for the domain names alone! People recognise there is
value in being able to state up front: ‘we can help you, we will be honest with you and ethical in
the way we deal with you.’ The EWS website sells this theme both in its domain name and the
web content therein. As a result I am beginning to see contracts being generated by people who
come across EWS purely by searching.
Running with the project / early stages
It was very stressful – hugely so! I had no idea how long a site would take to develop and would
vastly underestimate. However I prided myself and EWS’ reputation on completing a contract by
the specified deadline and would quite often be working from 6pm until 2am in the morning after
getting home from my day job, and then getting up to work again from 9-5!
However it was very enjoyable at the same time. I love the freedom and creativity that
designing websites gave me, as I had always been useless at ‘arts and crafts’ at school. At last I
could design, create and implement my own and other ideas in a very visual manner!
Expectations versus reality
‘Yes and no’! My expectations were for an easy life, producing web sites and making money – isn’t
that how everyone sees self-employment ;o)! However my family helped earth me and make me
realise that it takes a huge amount of effort to reap the rewards.
If I was to talk with someone about entering self-employment I would say: “You know the
amount of effort you think it will take? Treble it.You know the amount of time you think it will
take? Treble it.”
Does that mean I don’t recommend self-employment? I think it is a fantastic opportunity as I
would also say: “Yes, you really really really get to be your own boss – and that is quite often
worth suffering all of the problems you will undertake on its own!” You see, self-employment
offers an individual the chance to dictate their own boundaries, work, direction for their creative
output. Although I enjoy my day job, I have to work to other peoples’ schedules, deadlines, and on
tasks that they assign me. I love balancing this with the creative freedom of writing websites.
Stage 3: Present day
Lessons learned. Challenges met
1) It takes a lot more time and effort than I thought!
2) I should have read number 1 and taken this into account from an earlier stage.
3) It is great fun and very rewarding.
4) I have met the challenge of starting with nothing to building up a nationally-known web design
and development agency.
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What I wish I’d known / top tips
1) Prepare for the end of year tax return from the start of the year, and do not leave till the
end! A well-documented set of receipts and invoices will halve the amount of time it takes to
complete your tax return.
2) Spend time researching your business area – I bought lots of web design/development books
early on and balanced this with several business-oriented ones.
3) Learn about creating effective invoices, terms and conditions and an applicable privacy policy
that satisfies the Data Protection Act.
4) Register with the Data Protection Act; as a business this is pretty much compulsory (EWS is
of course registered!)
5) Research and find clients – use directed marketing techniques if applicable, BUT do NOT send
out bulk unsolicited email; this is SPAM and will get your business a black mark almost
immediately. EWS has a policy of never dealing with any organisation that we consider to be
sending out SPAM.
EWS provides high quality internet solutions for UK companies and organisations, focussing on
those involved in the environmental and social sectors. EWS brings together the talents of
several individuals to offer effective high-quality websites to organisations who are traditionally
excluded from having such an internet presence due to prohibitive cost.http://www.ethicalwebsites.co.uk
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4(b) Ben Malin: Terraqueous Ltd.,
Environmental Consultancy
Graduated from the University of Kent at Canterbury in 1994,
BA Geography & The University of Cambridge in 1995, MPhil
Land Economy
Stage 1: Pre-project
Childhood experiences/ambitions: background influences and traits
There may be elements of my character that point towards self-employment, as I am to a degree
an ‘organiser’, but I am probably not the best person to make that judgement.
My father has been a senior business executive for many years and my stepfather is Managing
Director of his family’s growing media business, both of which undoubtedly reinforced my desire
to be involved in business. Self-employment has, however, been a long-term aspiration and I recall
an occasion at Primary School when we all had to choose a job to talk and write about. Much to
the amusement of my teacher I chose ‘Managing Director’.
Whilst there were periods when I may have said that I wanted to follow a specific career, for
example law, this was usually a response to the perceived ‘need to say something’. People
frequently ask a teenager what they want to do, be it a teacher, careers advisor, family or friends,
and the response ‘work for myself ’ rarely seems to satisfy them. When in the Sixth Form my
immediate ambition was to read Geography at university and when asked what I wanted to do
afterwards, I would say that I would ‘look for a niche in the market’.
Perceptions of self-employment/motivations
From my perspective, the desire to be in control to some extent was the most important
motivation in considering self-employment as an option. In fact it is often the clients that are in
control, but at least I am in the position of decision-maker in terms of day-to-day planning and
which projects we accept (and which we put in an outrageous quote for). I have also been
motivated by the desire to achieve something myself and for myself. The other important factor is
the understanding that I developed as a geographer of the importance of both environmental
issues and manufacturing to the economy. Whilst we are not directly involved in manufacturing we
do contribute in a small way to the success or otherwise of the manufacturing sector.
Perception of entrepreneurs may have had some influence on my decision-making, but I am not
certain that entrepreneurs are always the most attractive personalities. Much of that may, of
course, be a matter of media presentation but a number of current entrepreneurs are presented
as somewhat anodyne. Others are more interesting if not necessarily more pleasant. The
perception of the rewards available to entrepreneurs was certainly a factor but there are also
several high profile examples of the potential pitfalls.
Skills gathering: part-time jobs / school / university
The part-time job as a horticultural nursery worker that I had whilst at school and university and
after graduating was of limited relevance to setting up my own business, although it did teach me
how to work hard and reinforced my view that I wanted to work for myself.
I was fortunate to have the opportunity to go directly from this to setting up Terraqueous Ltd.
and the skills that I learnt during my degree courses were the most important in setting up
the business. In particular I would point to the ability to carry out research and project work
as invaluable.
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After graduating I spent three months in southern India carrying out a voluntary research
project into agricultural failure for a small NGO. The skills that I learnt from that were also
helpful, particularly the need to break down a project into very small elements when faced with a
very big issue and very limited resources. My time in India, including a week in hospital on a drip,
also helped me to decide where my priorities lay. As a result I resisted the bright lights and large
salaries of the City of London, where a number of my friends from university had jobs.
Idea generation
During my three years as an undergraduate reading Geography, the idea of working in
environmental consultancy took root. Whilst I had a preference for human geography, the ‘applied
physical course’ that I took as a second year was a particular inspiration. My undergraduate
dissertation and the extended essay that I wrote as part of my Masters both pointed towards
environmental consultancy. I did, however, consider other alternatives such as a career in the City
or in development economics.
In the summer of 1996 I had returned from India and my brother had graduated from Reading
University, where he had read ‘Rural Resource Management’. We both spent the autumn of that
year applying for a variety of jobs, some in the field of environmental consultancy, but without
success. We also toyed with ides for our own business, but no firm plans were developed.
Stage 2: Early development
Information gathering. Problems/positives/actions
The opportunity to establish Terraqueous Ltd. was delivered by serendipity. In Autumn 1996 my
stepfather proposed to enter three areas of company land into a Countryside Stewardship
Scheme ‘Special Project’, which required the preparation of a ‘Restoration & Conservation
Management Plan’ for each site. He knew that my brother and I were both seeking to do
something in that field and told the Stewardship Officer that he would ask us to prepare the plans
for him. We thought nothing more of this until late November 1996 when my brother and I were
invited to an interview in order to demonstrate that we were sufficiently competent to prepare
the plans.
Ideas stage to the beginning of the project
We learnt that the interview panel would be made up of representatives from Somerset County
Council, MAFF (now DEFRA), English Nature, Somerset Wildlife Trust and the RSPB, and that in
addition to ourselves they would be interviewing two established consultancy firms. At that stage
we had no real expectation of doing anything more than the three plans for my stepfather as a
method of gaining experience.
We prepared for the interview by going through the plan brief in detail and breaking down the
method by which we proposed to deal with each section. This formed the basis of the
presentation that we gave, which also included a brief review of our qualifications and our
dissertations / extended essays. We were fortunate that we both had some experience of similar
project work from our dissertations and extended essays, which we used at the interview in
order to demonstrate our ability to complete projects of this nature.
Shortly after the interview we were informed that we had passed and the two established
consultancy firms had both failed. I am sure that they had both sent juniors and were under-
prepared, but for a time we were the only approved consultants – one of the firms was re-
interviewed and approved a couple of weeks later. In the meantime we were approached by
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my stepfather’s Land Agent, who worked for a local firm. He asked us to quote for the
preparation of five further plans for some of his other clients. We duly did so and were awarded
all five contracts!
That gave us eight projects to complete, with a total value of almost £10,000. We immediately
realised that there was an opportunity to do far more than gain experience. A meeting with an
accountant followed, and soon we were directors of our own company. At the time it felt like the
most difficult part of the process was thinking of a company name – and after much thought we
settled on Terraqueous Ltd. This seemed appropriate for a company preparation restoration and
management plans for wetland sites.
Running with the project / early stages
At the start of January 1997 we were therefore immediately presented with the eight projects, to
be completed in a two-month timescale, but the first couple of weeks were relatively relaxed as
we carried out site surveys. As we had both been living at home and working prior to starting
our business the limited finance required was not a problem. We had access to a computer, but
purchased an optical level and other supplies secure in the knowledge that we had almost
£10,000 of contracts, and worked from home. At that time we produced hand drawn site plans, as
I had been taught to do as an undergraduate.
Before we had even half completed the first round of projects we were again approached by
my stepfather’s Land Agent, with a number of smaller but urgent jobs of a similar nature. These
were completed and submitted within two weeks, and when the Land Agent saw these he
immediately started to provide us with a steady flow of additional projects for various clients.
Unfortunately, however, the additional work put us under significant short-term pressure with
the original eight projects, which each turned out to be in the region of 80 pages long. As this was
a new scheme we were not constrained by existing formats, but this meant that we had to
undertake some of the development work ourselves as problems became apparent and had to be
overcome. It was very similar to writing a dissertation or extended essay in so much as in the
early and middle stages of each project ‘the more we did, the more there was to do’. For a long
time the more survey and research work we did, the more queries and points for clarification
were raised. The week before the deadline for the draft reports was extremely stressful, with late
nights, early mornings and a dash to submit the drafts on the last afternoon prior to the 5pm
deadline. In many respects it was again similar to the situation in my final year as dissertation
deadline day approached.
After that initial period we were able to take stock, and begin to look at the financial side,
which we had not had time to consider in detail up to that point. For example, we had to learn
how to run a payroll, draw up a rudimentary first year budget and recover our expenses to date.
Our accountant was invaluable during that period. Broadly, however, we were fortunate that we
did not have to seek work at any stage and the more projects we completed the more people
came to us with further projects.
Expectations versus reality
In some respects the reality of running my own business has met my expectations, but in other
ways it has not. On the plus side we were able to pick and choose when we worked for the first
couple of years, when the workload was constant but generally reasonable. At that time we also
had a limited cost base and were satisfied with earning more than we had previously. Whilst the
day to day planning is still in our hands we are now constantly busy and usually work a very long
week. When it is your own business to do so is understandable, but not what you would hope for
at the outset.
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We are continually disappointed at being let down by other people, particularly where cash
flow is concerned. The length of time that people take to pay, when they know that we are a small
business and cash flow is crucial, is a constant issue. At times it can also be very difficult to truly
relax and let go during business hours, even when away on holiday.
Overall, however, I would have to be offered a great deal of money before I was willing to work
for anyone else, and only then as Managing Director. I also still enjoy the perks, however small!
Stage 3: Present day
Lessons learned. Challenges met
Whilst organisation is a key to business success, probably the most important lesson that I have
learnt is the need to take personal responsibility, which is very often missing in large companies
where individuals are often terrified to make a decision in case it is wrong. I think that is
something that our clients appreciate.
Importantly I have also learnt that almost nothing is impossible – whatever your client asks
there usually someone, somewhere who can offer the service. It is matter of finding that person
and the client accepting the cost. Managing cash flow, and not buckling under the pressure of
adverse cash flow conditions, is also important.
I would also say that it is important to recognise that you can be very good at what you do,
but you won’t necessarily make a fortune quickly. Also, you don’t have to do something forever –
if you have set up a business once in one field it must be possible to do it again in another.
Finally, it is important not to get personally involved and to switch off at the end of the day,
even if you have to accept that clients will occasionally ring in the evening or when you are on
holiday.
What I wish I’d known / top tips
Whilst the good fortune at the set up stage that we experienced cannot be directly replicated
there are a number of points that can be of value to others. These are:
• I believe that the value of gaining experience in any way cannot be underestimated.
• Don’t be intimated by other firms. An established firm can’t necessarily do something as well
or better than you – often junior staff are given tasks that you can do far better and at
lower cost to the client.
• If you are asked to do something that you can’t do, some else will be able to as a sub-
contractor.
• In some respects we were saved from worrying too much and thinking that we needed all
the equipment as we were thrown in at the deep end. A consultancy company does not
have to have a big investment to get started.
• With just your own capital and limited expenditure there isn’t too much to risk.
• At the start work at home to keep cost down, but move to a separate office as soon as you
can – it is more professional and allows you to become more detached.
At the outset I wish that I had known the level of fees that other consultants charged. We started
with our fees too low and as a result cash flow became very difficult in year two when costs
mounted but our fee income did not. If I had known the level of professional fees in general we
could have started at almost double our initial hourly rate. Whilst low fees helped to build the
client base that is certainly an area where time for more research at the outset would have
been beneficial.
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Terraqueous Ltd. – Environmental Consultancy.
Terraqueous Ltd. is a small environmental consultancy firm that was founded in January 1997
by my brother and I. The company specialises in wetland issues and providing services to the
‘growing media’ industry. The primary component of growing media remains peat and
Terraqueous deal with applications for planning permissions, reviews of existing permissions,
environmental assessments, conservation designation issues and preparation of
working/restoration/drainage schemes in order to discharge planning conditions. Terraqueous
also oversees and organises the implementation of various permissions and schemes, in
particular site restoration works. I have also given evidence on behalf of clients at Public
Inquiry.
Recently we have also been involved in a number of projects related to seeking planning
permission and Waste Management Licences for, and the management of, green waste
composting facilities. This is a developing part of the business. Terraqueous is also involved in
more general planning issues such as housing, leisure and industrial developments and
mapping work. Whilst our client base is primarily in the private sector we have carried out
some work for English Nature and RSPB. One of our recent projects has been to prepare a
Restoration Plan for a Historic Park and to secure substantial grant aid in order to assist our
client with the restoration. We are currently project managing the restoration works.
Our client base varies from multinational growing media manufacturers, Plcs and trade
organisations to individuals seeking environmental and planning advice. Terraqueous Ltd. is a
DEFRA approved consultant for the ‘Countryside Stewardship Scheme Avalon Marshes
Special Project’. My brother and I remain the only employees and where specialist skills or
inputs are required we employ appropriately qualified sub-contractors.http://www.terraqueousltd.co.uk/
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4(c) Nick Russill: TerraDat Geophysics
Graduated from the University of Cardiff in 1992, BSc
Exploration and Mining Geology
Stage 1: Pre-project
Childhood experiences/ambitions: background influences and traits
As a child I always wanted to do a job outdoors, but did not really know what. I was always very
independent and resourceful and never a follower of the crowd. I think this was driven in part
that I went to 6 different schools so being resourceful was a survival mechanism! At the age of 15
I converted some outbuildings on my parents land and ran a licensed dog boarding kennel before
and after school.
Perceptions of self-employment / motivations
When I graduated I worked in Australia on a remote exploration camp for a large mining
company. I realised during this experience that I did not want to be employed by ‘distant bosses’
and had a view to be a freelance. It was the frustration at bearing the consequences of other
people’s bad decisions and the inflexibility that made me think this.
Skills gathering: part time jobs / school / university
The nature of my first job and training as a geologist I believe gave me a lot of skills such as
logistical planning, spatial awareness, multi-dimensional perception that are important elements of
running your own business. I worked as an outdoor instructor during the holidays at university
which developed other relevant skills. Before starting work I also went on an expedition to NE
Greenland which again made me aware of interpersonal skills, leadership abilities and ones own
physical and mental limitations.
Idea generation
With my business partner, we spotted an opportunity of the change in environmental legislation
regarding contaminated land, and also a revolution in geophysical instrumentation making it more
portable and higher resolution – better suited to shallow high resolution applications.
We are also keen surfers and another focus was undertaking seismic surveys on beaches for a
living. This was our focus, but ironically we have never had such a job!
Stage 2: Early development
Information gathering. Problems/positives/actions
We never set out to actually set up a company. I am an instinctive networker and used some
contacts in the waste management industry that I had to do some geophysical trials. This
necessitated us having a company structure in place in order to get insurance, bank to receive
money etc. We had no problems and grew organically.
Ideas stage to the beginning of the project
We were based from our student house originally and later formed a mutually agreeable
arrangement with Cardiff University whereby we were accommodated in return for our time as
lecturers/supervisors. We had a loan and start up grant from the Princes Trust and were the first
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graduates to get funding (as opposed to their former policy of only funding deprived or more
needy people). Getting the expensive equipment needed to carry out geophysical surveys was not
a problem as we formed good relationships with a company who rented kit.
Running with the project / early stages
The first few weeks were fairly intuitive designing some brochure material, writing marketing
letters and going to meet prospective clients. We also got a few small jobs by phoning around. I
don’t recall it being particularly stressful.
Expectations versus reality
Yes, completely. I had the flexibility of being my own boss, the satisfaction of completing projects
well and having satisfied customers. We also had time to contribute academically to various events
of interest.
Stage 3: Present day
What I wish I’d known / top tips
1. Don’t get bogged down in detail outside your core business. The value of your time is
greater if spent developing the business compared to spending a lesser amount
outsourcing tasks such as VAT, book keeping.
2. If you have a partner or work colleagues, learn to delegate key tasks early on otherwise
you end up as being an irreplaceable hub at the centre of an operation.
3. When you are successful (or very busy) don’t lose sight of where you came from (or how
you got there).
4. Have a long term strategy – is the business what you want to do forever? If not,
remember there are other options and you will be optimally skilled to take them!
5. Remember why you are working for yourself and what it is you enjoy doing. Have fun and
don’t become a slave to your staff or clients.
Going straight into business on your own may not be the best way since there is a lot of valuable
experience to be gained as an employee working in industry. It helps you understand how things
appear from the other side of the fence (for the day you will be a boss), and if nothing else
reinforce your reasons for wanting to be self employed!
Form strong partnerships with suppliers – they know the industry and can be a good source of
referral work if the relationship is good.
Make your name known – the local media / online newsgroups are always keen for
information. Go to networking events or local industrial societies.
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TerraDat UK Ltd: leading UK geophysical survey specialising in non-invasive surveys of
contaminated land, brownfield sites, mineral and water exploration and geotechnical problems.
The company employs 13 geophysicists and is fully equipped for all the main methods including
microgravity, radar, resistivity, seismics, magnetics and EM conductivity. TerraDat has offices in
Cardiff, Melbourne and Dublin.
Out of TerraDat have spun two sister companies:
• Terralogic Ltd: supplier of ruggedised computing solutions for military, public service and
private users who need ultimate in IT reliability in extreme environments. Terralogic was
number 4 in the Wales Fastrack 100 in the fastest growing companies in 2004
• Snow-forecast.com: driven by our passion for snowboarding and abilities as earth scientists,
this is an online resource for snow sports enthusiasts providing weather and snow
condition reports for over 800 resorts worldwide. It is one of the busiest websites of its
kind and will soon be accompanied by a sister site for surfers – www.surf-forecast.com
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4(d) Emma Smith: Fairfield Materials Management
Graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University in 2002,
MSc Environmental Management and Sustainable Development
Stage 1: Pre-project
Childhood experiences / ambitions: background influences and traits
I’ve always had an interest in broad environmental issues from a young age. I tried various jobs
after my first degree (Human Geography) and quickly realised what I didn’t want to do but
couldn’t quite decide what I did want to do. My Masters gave me a focus, my dissertation on
plastic recycling introduced me to the recycling industry and I became a volunteer for EMERGE
Recycling (not-for-profit household and commercial recycling business). Fairfield Composting
(which at this time was a project of EMERGE Recycling) promoted home composting in
Manchester through the work of its full-time unpaid worker (Val Rawlinson). Val wanted to tackle
the waste problem on New Smithfield Market and recruited me to undertake a waste audit, my
role as a waste auditor moved on to a researcher / fundraiser / developer / project development
manager and director.
Perceptions of self-employment/motivations
I suppose the big names were Branson and Roddick when I was young; they almost became
synonymous with the word entrepreneur. Now that I work in this environment I have a huge
amount of respect for people who have decided to ‘go it alone’ because whatever happens/goes
wrong the buck ultimately stops with them. I suppose I almost fell into this role or rather the role
progressed with my own development. Working for yourself is so different to any other role I’ve
ever undertaken, it is never just a job.
Skills gathering: part time jobs / school / university
Every job that I’ve ever had has developed my skills for my current role, selling fork lift trucks
developed my telephone skills and sales ability, working as a carer for a wheelchair user brought
out a more selfless side to my character, working for a Council developed my working knowledge
of the internal structures of local government and living in India for 1.5 years showed me what
‘real work’ was and the true meaning of being an entrepreneur.
Idea generation
Val Rawlinson was committed to improving the waste management system on New Smithfield
Market; the audit showed that the markets’ annual waste level was 5,500 tonnes and that 81% of
this was fruit and vegetables. I would say that it was Val’s dream that I turned into a reality.
Stage 2: Early development
Information gathering. Problems/positives/actions
The waste audit provided the information to support the development of an in-situ waste
management facility on New Smithfield Market. We presented the results to Manchester Markets
(Manchester City Council) along with our recommendations, establishing this support from the
beginning really helped the development of the Fairfield system. I went through a fast track
business-planning course in East Manchester that highlighted the lack of local compost on the
market, supporting the development of a local composting system. Problems were mainly financial,
actually raising the money to pay my salary to enable me to develop the project.
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Ideas stage to the beginning of the project
Fund raising was a major element of this project as the capital equipment we needed was
expensive, I started fund raising before I even undertook the waste audit and it was a steep
learning curve. Fund raising was incredibly difficult and demoralising, but once we had the first
funder on board it was much easier to bring others on board. We knew that we wanted the
project to be located on the market to reduce the environmental impact of transporting waste,
initially we thought we’d locate it in the existing waste area but actually ended up locating in a
corner of the market away from most of the traders.
The project was developed by myself (environmental background),Val Rawlinson (the queen of
composting) and Chris Walsh (social enterprise expert) and this range of experience worked well.
Running with the project / early stages
The business was incorporated in December 2002 and started operating on the market in July
2003, getting a good team was an essential element our relatively smooth start-up. I’d say that we
had teething problems and several of our ‘paper’ systems were revised once we started but it was
relatively straightforward. We’ve actually had more problems after a year of operation then we
had at the beginning of the project.
Expectations versus reality
Running your own business is hard, emotionally and physically, you definitely need a good support
system (both at home and at work) it can be demanding but it is also extremely rewarding. Again
I feel that I’ve fallen into the role of running a business, I envisaged a situation where I would
develop this project and get it operational and then move onto the next project, and in reality I’m
running this business. The short-term plans for Fairfield are to bring in a business manager to
manage the day-to-day which will release me to concentrate on improving sales/efficiency and site
functions and then move onto the next project!
Stage 3: Present day
Lessons learned. Challenges met
• Planning, realistic timescales and a robust development budget are essential in the beginning.
I think that we wasted money because we allowed timescales to slip (more rental days on
equipment etc.).
• Barter with anybody and everybody to keep costs down, if you don’t ask then you don’t
know (always start the sentence with ‘can I be a bit cheeky . . .’).
• Recruitment is a gamble and sometimes a good interviewee is not necessarily a
good employee!
• Record and file everything, start your business as you mean to go on.
• Identify people who could become voluntary directors and provide support to business.
• Identify areas of inexperience and look for training/mentor support.
What I wish I’d known / top tips
• Go on a project management course because setting up a business will be the biggest
project you ever take on; I went on a Council-run course the other week and it provides a
very structured approach that I wish I’d had three years ago.
• Get key people (service users/customers etc.) on board from the beginning to provide
support and ensure that your business will meet a specific demand.
• Once you’ve set an aim stick to it, do not diversify or you really risk the chance of spreading
yourself and the business so thin that you do not deliver on anything.
GEES Subject Centre Resource Pack Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship
134
Fairfield Materials Management
Fairfield Materials Management – social enterprise incorporated in 2002 to deliver a sustainable
waste management system for New Smithfield Market (wholesale market in Manchester).
Fairfield has an in-situ composting facility (Vertical Composting Unit – VCU) for fruit and
vegetable waste generated on the market..
Compost is sold to householders, allotment holders, parks, schools, top soil company and
Manchester City Council.http://www.gmcomposting.co.uk
Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship GEES Subject Centre Resource Pack
135
GEES Subject Centre
The Subject Centre for Geography, Earth and
Environmental Sciences (GEES) is part of the
national network of the Higher Education
Academy, an independent organisation for the
UK higher education sector. The GEES Subject
Centre aims to improve the learning and
teaching experiences of everyone in these
disciplines in UK and is a national and
international hub in the exchange of knowledge
on learning and teaching across the three
subjects. It provides a voice for these
communities, contributing to government
consultations and policy developments. The
Centre has a UK-wide brief and this is
reflected in the locations of its activities
which include:
Events
The GEES Subject Centre organises a wide
range of events and collaborates with other
organisations to provide: national conferences,
departmental workshops, seminars for new
lecturers, and support events for project
grant holders.
Publications
The GEES Subject Centre produces the bi-
annual publication Planet, containing articles on
learning & teaching, project updates, a diary of
forthcoming events, resource information, and
news of interest to staff and students in the
GEES disciplines in higher education. Other
publications include Learning and Teaching
Guides, and Resource Briefings.
Resources
The GEES Subject Centre Resource Database
brings together high quality resources for
higher education learning and teaching in the
Subject Centre disciplines. It includes
information on case studies of good practice,
tutorials and CDs.
Enquiry Service
The enquiry service is open to all GEES staff in
higher education and deals with a wide range
of queries throughout the year on teaching
and learning.
Research and Development
The GEES Subject Centre has an ongoing
programme of support for pedagogic research
and development projects. Funds have been
awarded for research into topics including
employability, virtual-learning environments,
fieldwork, and postgraduate teaching.
Contact
The Higher Education Academy Subject Centre
for Geography, Earth and Environmental
Sciences
University of Plymouth
Buckland House
Plymouth
Devon PL4 8AA
United Kingdom
Email: [email protected]
Tel: +44 (0) 1752 233530
Fax: +44 (0) 1752 233534
Web: www.gees.ac.uk
136
News and information about GEES Subject
Centre activities can be received through
signing up to the regular announcement list
at:http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/GEES.html
doc_529495972.pdf
During this detailed breakdown interpret enterprise, skills and entrepreneurship enhancing the curriculum in geography, earth.
Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship
Enhancing the curriculum in Geography,
Earth and Environmental Sciences
Compiled and edited by Helen King
July 2006http://www.gees.ac.uk/projtheme/entrep/entrep.htm
ISBN 1-84102-161-X
Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship
Enhancing the curriculum in Geography, Earth and
Environmental Sciences
Contents
1) Introduction
(a) Project overview 7
(b) Go on, persuade me: the GEES ‘Elevator Pitch’ 9
(c) What does enterprise/entrepreneurship mean to the GEES disciplines? 11
(d) Enterprise or entrepreneurship? some definitions 13
(e) How can enterprise/entrepreneurship be supported through the curriculum? 15
(f) Student interest in enterprise/entrepreneurship skills 17
(g) What support do students need? 29
2) Information/Papers
(a) Embedding business start-up in the university curriculum 33
(b) Considerations for embedding enterprise in the curriculum 37
(c) Exploring gender issues in entrepreneurship 43
(d) Examples of enterprise in the curriculum 45
(e) A few useful web-sites 53
(f) Higher Education Academy (generic) resources 55
(g) University enterprise/entrepreneurship support units 57
(h) Glossary of terms 65
3) Examples of practice
(a) Enterprise and employability 75
(b) Verbal business card icebreaker 79
(c) You are on your own icebreaker 85
(d) Two lectures to introduce the concepts of intrapreneurship 87
(e) Developing understanding of intrapreneurship and the links to entrepreneurship 89
(f) Entrepreneurship assessment opportunities 91
(g) Exploring the motivation and skills of entrepreneurs 95
(h) Selling ideas, an enterprising activity for many modules: the elevator pitch 103
(i) Communicating science 107
(j) An environmental impact assessment of a brownfield site 109
(k) Outline scope for a commercial practice module 111
(l) Students as consultants 113
(m)Aberdeen Oil Game 115
4) Case studies of GEES entrepreneurs
(a) Colin Deady: Ethical WebSites 119
(b) Ben Malin: Terraqueous Ltd., Environmental Consultancy 123
(c) Nick Russill: TerraDat Geophysics 129
(d) Emma Smith: Fairfield Materials Management 133
3
Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship
Enhancing the curriculum in Geography, Earth and
Environmental Sciences
Section1: Introduction
(a) Project overview
(b) Go on, persuade me: the GEES ‘Elevator Pitch’
(c) What does enterprise/entrepreneurship mean to the GEES disciplines?
(d) Enterprise or entrepreneurship? some definitions
(e) How can enterprise/entrepreneurship be supported through the curriculum?
(f) Student interest in enterprise/entrepreneurship skills
(g) What support do students need?
1(a) Project overview
Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship Project 2005
As you may be aware, entrepreneurship is high on the agenda and the education sector is being
encouraged to support students in developing their skills in this area. In 2005, the Higher
Education Academy Subject Centre for Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences (GEES) was
awarded funding from the DfES to support entrepreneurship in our disciplines in HE. We see
‘entrepreneurship’ as a very broad term encompassing a set of skills that includes creativity,
opportunism, taking risks, problem-solving, research and enquiry, and team working. The funding
provided an opportunity for the GEES disciplines to showcase and build on their good level of
support in the area of key skills, employability and work-related learning (including dissertation,
mapping and other ‘real-life’ projects). The project identified existing resources and expertise and
provided materials for staff to integrate into their curriculum specifically in the area of
entrepreneurship.
What is this resource?
This Resource Pack provides a collection of information, ideas, examples of practice and case
studies which is intended to provide a starting point for colleagues interested in including
elements of enterprise / entrepreneurship within their modules or courses in geography, earth or
environmental sciences.
It is by no means a definitive or complete collection but is intended as a starting point for
curriculum development. Hopefully it will provide some food for thought, hints and tips, and
practical ideas. This Resource Pack is also available on-line at:http://www.gees.ac.uk/projtheme/entrep/entrep.htm
Many more generic resources can be found at the Higher Education Academy website at:http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/Enterprise.htm
How were these materials developed?
The GEES Subject Centre developed these subject-specific curriculum materials through a one-
year project which involved:
• Collating existing examples of practice from staff in the three subjects;
• Gathering case studies from GEES graduate entrepreneurs;
• Piloting the materials at a pioneering two-day residential event for both staff and students.
The materials were developed collaboratively by working with GEES staff throughout the UK to
share existing practice, adapt generic materials for the disciplines, and to discuss and articulate
relevant issues.
Students were also involved in the project through participation and feedback at a two-day
residential event intended to provide a taster of entrepreneurship skills. As well as supporting
skills development, the event gave the students an opportunity to network and learn from peers,
staff and entrepreneurs with similar interests.
Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship GEES Subject Centre Resource Pack
7
What did the project tell us – what did we learn?
The project has provided a solid base of resources and information on which the GEES Subject
Centre can develop further opportunities for supporting the embedding of entrepreneurial skills
within the curriculum. In particular the project told us that:
• There are people out there doing this in higher education in the GEES disciplines.
• Some staff are really interested in including these types of skills in the curriculum both to
enhance their students employability and to provide more creative ways of teaching.
• Many students are very keen to learn more about setting up their own businesses;
• Using enterprise as a curriculum development tool can create a real sense of enthusiasm,
buzz, motivation and creativity, and can offer exciting ways to engage students in learning
about our disciplines, enjoying the learning and wanting to apply it to their future work.
• We as a Subject Centre might work in more ‘enterprising’ ways and apply these curriculum
tools to our own events and activities – it’s given us a desire to be more creative.
Want to know more?
More information is available from Helen King at the GEES Subject Centre:
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 01752 233 532
Fax: 01752 233 534
Address: Buckland House, University of Plymouth PL4 8AA
GEES Subject Centre Resource Pack Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship
8
1(b) Go on, persuade me: the GEES ‘Elevator Pitch’
What is an Elevator Pitch?
In the United States during the 1980s a new concept – the elevator pitch - emerged. Sales staff
who were eager to ‘climb up the ladder’ discovered that the only chance of gaining the attention
of the boss was in the lift. A decade later, the same technique became popular among
entrepreneurs. Unable to get past the secretaries, they turned to ‘elevators’ in the fight to get
venture capital and financing for their business ideas. Entrepreneurs would ride up and down
elevators in New York’s skyscrapers waiting to meet the right person and the chance to get their
foot in the door.
Elevator pitches have now moved outside of the ‘elevator’ and have infiltrated all areas of
business life. They are used to motivate employees, they appear in print form on company
websites, and there are people who organise ‘elevator pitch’ contests.
The ‘traditional’ orally-presented version falls into the three categories, which reflect the
various possible uses for an elevator pitch today. The first is the ten second pitch. This might come
in useful when speaking to an answerphone or being presented to a dignitary. The thirty second
pitch is used for round table introductions or during networking events. And the three-minute
pitch is used for presentations, at job interviews, sales meetings or recruitment fairs.
The following three minute pitch was developed for and delivered at the Higher Education
Academy / SEDA ‘Enterprising Educator’ Workshop (March 2005). It is based on research
conducted by Professor Brian Chalkley as part of his National Teaching Fellowship into
employability in Geography, and on feedback gathered at the GEES Subject Centre’s event for
students and staff on ‘Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship’ in January 2005.
Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship GEES Subject Centre Resource Pack
9
The GEES ‘Pitch’: why include enterprise skills in GEES curricula?
With fees coming on line in 2006, student recruitment is going to get trickier and the students
will be more demanding of a course to get them a good job at the end of it. So, each department
is going to need its own big selling point to make it distinctive in the sector particularly if there
are other institutions nearby in the region.
Talking of jobs, did you know that 90% of geography students say that their prime motive for
doing geography is to get a good job? And 50% of geography undergraduates aspire to run their
own business? So, departments could get a real competitive edge and get those bums on seats by
developing their skills provision to include creativity, risk-taking, idea generation and other
enterprise skills. But don’t just take my word for it, here are some quotes from some current
lecturers in geography and environmental science:
“I recognise that most of our Masters students will quite possibly develop their own businesses at
some stage in their career”
“[The development of enterprise skills is] an obvious gap in the curriculum and would work well in
partnership with employability within my home department.”
“[we want to support] more opportunities for students to get employed.”
Including these new skills in the curriculum is not that difficult to do and, to quote an earth
science colleague, “You can teach all this without resorting to jargon.” Rather than having to cram
even more into the timetable you can drop this skills development into existing modules as a tool
for teaching aspects such as economic geography, exploration geology, environmental tourism and
so on. And the added bonus of including enterprise skills in the curriculum is that it will also help
develop excellent research skills for those budding academics.
There is currently only a small handful of departments in the UK that have some elements of
enterprise in the curriculum, and yet, when the GEES Subject Centre ran an event on this theme,
we had participation from geography, earth and environmental science students from all over the
country – so there is a real demand from students out there but only a very few departments can
provide for it. What did the students think about this workshop on enterprise? Here are a few
typical comments…
“Thank you for a wonderfully entertaining and enlightening few days. I learnt such a lot… I admit
my feet still haven’t touched the ground. I still feel really motivated and keen to take this further.”
“[the workshop] was really valuable. I circulated the materials here at Oxford to my tutors and
lecturers.”
“Like the interactive-ness rather than constant lecturing. Uni courses should be more like this.
Learning rather than Education!”
Enterprise and entrepreneurship are to this decade what key skills were to the last, and I
wouldn’t be surprised if in 10 years time it will be similarly embedded into subject curricula. Any
department getting involved now will have a competitive advantage not to mention the academic
kudos of being at the leading edge of curriculum innovation. External examiners for those few
departments already doing this are really enthusiastic. So, can departments afford not to take
this on?
If you are interested, help is very much at hand. Following on from its enterprise event run for
staff and students in geography, earth and environmental sciences, the GEES Subject Centre has
developed a free resource pack to support curriculum development. This pack includes discipline-
specific curriculum examples, case studies of graduate entrepreneurs and notes, comments and
information from staff and students.
GEES Subject Centre Resource Pack Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship
10
1(c) What does enterprise/entrepreneurship mean to
the GEES disciplines?
The following quotes are from Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences staff and students
who attended the GEES Subject Centre ‘Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship’ event in January
2005. They were asked to write notes on ‘What is entrepreneurship?’ Their answers follow
common themes including:
• Ideas
• Inspiration
• Motivation
• Innovation
• Risk
There is also occasional reference to business skills and knowledge but largely the GEES
‘definition’ of entrepreneurship relates to personal attitudes and aptitudes. This view of
entrepreneurship matches the support needs of students as discussed in the ‘Student Interest’
section (1(f)), in that they require support to boost their skills, confidence and idea-generation.
What is entrepreneurship? Students’ responses
“Innovative ideas leading to an independent business venture.”
“Developing ideas for and running a successful business – innovation in business, making most of
scope to grow the business.”
“Having your own ideas on how something should be done and the motivation and ability to put it
into practice. Not toeing the line – being narcissistic.”
“Starting up your own business, with innovative ideas and goals.”
“Being inspired/motivated to initiate plans for your own business, to sell your ideas - seeing an
opportunity to fill.”
“Developing ideas and exploiting them.”
“The use of business and academic skills for personal as well as social benefit.”
“A relationship in business, skills to develop your own career.”
“ Way to cooperate and encourage people working in teams.”
“Materialise your business ideas – creating your own business.”
“Help to solve a problem or satisfy a business need.”
“Self employment – owning own business. Being able to develop ideas with reality of a successful
business, creating own opportunities with and for others and self.”
“[Before workshop] Initiative/originality in the line of business. Individual development of
ideas/plans. Riddled with risk.”
“[After workshop] Taking a chance and being able to convince those around you that it really can
change things.”
Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship GEES Subject Centre Resource Pack
11
What is entrepreneurship? Staff responses
“Innovation to achieve a specific goal, allows risk taking.”
“Business initiation that has a higher than normal risk associated with it (i.e. not all business
development is necessarily a result of entrepreneurship). It’s also your risk, mainly.”
“Innovation. Determination. Leadership. Risk-taking. Resilience.Vision. Ability”
“To have or develop the skills to establish a business oriented mind set.
“Thinking out of the box.”
“Creativity.”
“Ability to take ideas, own or others, and convert into a product or service which is profitable.”
“A serial assembler of bits and pieces into a previously unconsidered commercial whole.”
“Skills, attributes and competencies associated with entrepreneurs applied in the environment helps
to foster ‘entrepreneurial’ approach by staff and students for development of: transferable skills;
employability skills; creating and building for a successful future”
Examples of GEES-graduate entrepreneurs
Studying Geography, Earth or Environmental Sciences in higher education provides a thorough
knowledge and understanding of the Earth, its people and environment. Through team projects,
simulations, field courses, lab work and a variety of other learning experiences, students also have
the opportunity to develop a range of work-related skills. Thus GEES graduates are well equipped
to pursue a wide variety of careers both in these subject areas and beyond. During this project
we have identified many entrepreneurs who have graduated from the GEES disciplines. The types
of businesses they have set up include:
Subject-related, for example:
• Environmental consultancy e.g.http://www.terraqueousltd.co.uk/
• Geophysical site investigation services e.g.http://www.terradat.co.uk/
• Geological surveying
• Field equipment design and manufacture e.g.http://www.cambridge-insitu.com/
• (eco tourism, geological tours) e.g.http://www.fossilwalks.com/
• Recycling e.g.http://home.btconnect.com/fairfield/fairfield/fcomposting.htm
• Marine conservation
And beyond, for example:
• Web development e.g.http://www.ethicalwebsites.com
• IT training e.g.http://www.compu-train.co.uk
• Retail
• Freelancing (tv production; filming; science journalism)
Four case studies of GEES graduate entrepreneurs are available in Section 4.
GEES Subject Centre Resource Pack Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship
12
1(d) Enterprise or entrepreneurship? Some definitions
There was some debate at the January workshop over the definition of entrepreneurship. It was
agreed that a true ‘entrepreneur’ might be seen as “A serial assembler of bits and pieces into a
previously unconsidered commercial whole”, as one colleague put in his definition. By this
definition, the majority of GEES students are less likely to be ‘entrepreneurial’ than ‘enterprising’
and ‘interested in running their own business’. Whichever definition we personally prefer and
whatever types of students we have, the basic skills and knowledge development needs are
the same.
The following definitions have been offered as part of the Higher Education Academy’s generic
work in this area (seehttp://www.heacademy.ac.uk/951.htm):
Enterprise involves measures to encourage individuals to become entrepreneurs and
equip them with the necessary skills to make a business successful (Mason, 2000). In
essence, enterprise is about spotting opportunities, creating new ideas and having the
confidence and capabilities to turn these ideas into working realities (Nixon, 2004).
Entrepreneurship is an activity which leads to the creation and management of a new
organisation designed to pursue a unique, innovative opportunity (Hindle & Rushworth,
2000). Fundamentally, it is about using enterprise to create new business, new businesses
and ‘can-do’ organisations and services (Nixon, 2004).
Intrapreneurship is the art of working within an organisation to effect change, by
developing new ideas, procedures or products, by innovating practice and thereby enhancing
the business (Kneale, 2002).
Social entrepreneurship involves using entrepreneurial skills for the public good rather
than for private profit, that is using imagination to identify new opportunities and
determination to bring them to fruition (School for Social Entrepreneurs). Social
entrepreneurship is used to describe forms of activity and people who are socially
innovative, or ‘enterprising’ in the non-economic sense of the word. Hence, the label ‘social
entrepreneur’ has come to apply to any individual seeking to effect social change through
creative and innovative ways (National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO)).
The Higher Education Academy (and the GEES Subject Centre) has a very holistic view
of enterprise, entrepreneurship and intraprenuership which is encompassed in the
following definition:
“Enterprise is an inclusive concept which provides both the context in which subject
disciplines can be explored, as well as an approach, through skill development, which can be
taken to the exploration and discovery of a discipline. In these respects, it can provide a
challenging environment within which to explore a variety of teaching areas (the small
business context) as well as provide a dimension to learning, that of developing the skills of
being enterprising, which provide students with an attitude towards learning, which rewards
and supports innovation, change and development.
Enterprise supports the recognition of new market opportunities as well as develops
the opportunity to change and develop at the individual, business and industry/sector levels.
This includes the exploration of new ideas and developments from a corporate perspective
(as intrapreneurship) as well as the creation of new ventures, social programmes and the
exploration of new opportunities.” (Price, 2004)
Definitions of further terms relating to enterprise and entrepreneurship can be found in the
Glossary in Section 2.
Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship GEES Subject Centre Resource Pack
13
1(e) How can enterprise/entrepreneurship be supported
through the curriculum?
Including these skills in the curriculum need not be an added burden but can provide
an opportunity to:
• Be more creative within the curriculum
• Teach content with more relevance to real-life scenarios.
Examples of modules, projects and short tutorial exercises from geography, earth and
environmental sciences are provided in the body of this resource pack, together with more
discursive papers on embedding enterprise/entrepreneurship in the curriculum.
Discussions with staff in the GEES disciplines and with colleagues involved in supporting
graduate start-ups, has suggested that higher education can support entrepreneurship in
two ways.
Developing and enhancing skills, aptitudes and attitudes
This includes providing students with the opportunities and motivation to:
• work creatively and independently;
• develop research, analysis and critical thinking skills;
• practice time, project, risk and people management skills;
• be able to work in unfamiliar environments and respond to unexpected events;
• better understand their own capabilities and traits and to enhance their confidence in their
own abilities.
This dimension of entrepreneurship sits well with current skills development within the GEES
disciplines and is often manifest within team projects, dissertations, field and lab work. Such skills
are invaluable to all graduates whether they wish to set up their own businesses, work for an
employer or research/teach in secondary or higher education.
The resources developed by this project will provide additional support to higher education
staff looking to include entrepreneurial skills more explicitly within their curricula. (See also
student support in Section 1(g) – this is what they want too.)
Business and financial knowledge and understanding
Many staff in the GEES disciplines are less well equipped to provide detailed information on the
business and financial knowledge required to set up a business. However, supporting the students
in the above skills areas empowers them to seek out and take advantage of other sources of
information. Many, if not all, higher education institutions offer resources (e.g. booklets,
workshops, courses, guidance and advice) to support entrepreneurship through careers services,
enterprise units and business schools. In addition, several universities now have graduate start-up
facilities, including incubator units, which can directly support new ventures.
Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship GEES Subject Centre Resource Pack
15
1(f) Student interest in entrepreneurship skills
Fifteen students attended the GEES Subject Centre’s two-day residential workshop on ‘Enterprise,
Skills and Entrepreneurship’ in January 2005. In order to win a free place on the workshop, each
student was required to write a short statement detailing why they wished to attend and what
benefits they hoped to gain from it. These statements provide a revealing insight into the practical
and ‘blue skies’ motivations behind student career choices.
Some of their statements are available in this pack and make very interesting reading. These
students come from a variety of universities and it’s not unlikely that there’ll be some just like
them in your department. If you only have five minutes to spare, just pick one at random or have
a look at the quotes below for some inspiration:
Despite the impact of student loans and an increasingly consumer-driven society, the main
motivations for these students to set up their own business are environmental concerns and the
desire to ‘make a difference’; that is, social/environmental entrepreneurship. For example:
“I want to reduce fossil fuel dependence and see starting business/social enterprises as the best
way to achieve this through supplying affordable alternatives to the inadequate services available.”
“[To] contribute to solving some environmental problems with a realistic market friendly way.”
“I believe that ‘we’ can make business more sustainable or ‘green’ and I think that there are spaces
in the market place for ideas of mine.”
“I would like to set up a global natural hazards consultancy or join an existing consultancy….It
would combine my interest in earth sciences with my ambition of setting up a business. I would like
to make a difference by hopefully helping people, communities and governments.”
“…my long range goal is to start an environmental consultancy…Additionally, one of my greatest
concerns is to develop educational programs for Vietnamese people at all ages. I realise that
improving human awareness of the significance of the ecosystem and its function is the best way to
prevent the nature from being exhausted and polluted, so as to obtain sustainability.”
“…my interests lie fundamentally in the developing world and the challenges they face, but also in
the attitudes and understanding of the developed world to these challenges. I see myself as a
freelance researcher and spokesperson, working alongside charities and political agencies to
challenge people’s perceptions and promote a greater understanding, not only of the differences in
our cultures, but also in the similarities of the challenges that we all face.”
“I am also very interested in socially/ethically driven businesses, as I believe that businesses and
entrepreneurs have a responsibility to the communities they serve.”
“My goal is to set up an Outdoor Education centre, providing young people with the opportunity to
participate in a wide range of outdoor pursuits. I would also like to provide high quality facilities to
ensure an unforgettable and invaluable learning experience…to youngsters regardless of their race,
background or class, at an affordable price that is accessible to all.”
Of course, they also have practical reasons for considering self-employment as a career option:
“[I want to] take control of my life, being independent financially and work wise. Hoping to achieve
better work life balance as well as improvement in quality of life.”
“I would like the freedom/flexibility of running my own business.”
“Like the idea of having my own business – alternative lifestyle.”
Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship GEES Subject Centre Resource Pack
17
Student application statement
Rosie Stephens, School of Earth Sciences, University of Leeds
As part of my PhD research, I had the opportunity to attend a conference in Argentina in March.
The conference fieldtrip was a botanical transect across the Andes. Whilst on this trip, I was
struck by an idea for a potential business opportunity: to develop and organise botanical holidays,
rather like the companies who run climbing trips in Nepal, or cookery schools in France but
instead, running trips to visit regions of particular botanical interest. Small parties of tourists could
visit the region accompanied by a knowledgeable, preferably local, guide, with pleasant walks into
the field each day, good hotels, etc… promising regions include the Andes, New Caledonia, New
Zealand, and even parts of the UK. This would be the perfect holiday for gardening fanatics and
naturalists, and would be of interest to professional botanists, palaeontologists, and ecologists too.
Even if this dream doesn’t ever happen I realise that, although it develops academic knowledge,
a PhD like mine will not really give me scope to learn the day-to-day practical, creative, and
business sides of life. As I do not wish to remain in academia after I graduate, I feel that I need to
improve these kinds of skills to increase my employability. My first degree and subsequent PhD
work taught me to think logically, develop an enquiring mind, and to enjoy solving problems. I have
played small-team sports for many years and I work well as a team member. However, having been
a team leader in the past, I’m aware that I have difficulty in delegating tasks and am prone to panic
if things start going wrong. I enjoy giving carefully structured presentations and participating in
small group discussions, but I find it difficult to talk to/in large groups, especially when giving an
impromptu presentation or fielding questions; these are key skills for academic seminars, future
job interviews and getting started in a business. I have lots of disjointed fragments of
entrepreneurial skills, but I have little experience of, and few opportunities to learn about, good
business sense, being creative and inventive in a non-scientific way, and taking risks. This course
would be a perfect opportunity for me to both learn new skills, and to bring together my existing
skills, to present a more business-like, entrepreneurial, employable individual.
GEES Subject Centre Resource Pack Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship
18
Student application statement
Armen Asyran, School of Earth Sciences & Geography, Kingston University
Nowadays, we witness the convergence of science, technology and business. All of the parties
recognise the vital role of synergy across the disciplines. For science and technology it has
become imperative to look beyond it’s circles reaching out for business models of development in
the highly competitive world. For instance, commercialisation of science & technology cannot be
effectively implemented without a direct participation of the R&D centres, Universities and
individual researchers involved in the creation of knowledge. In the meantime, to facilitate this
processes, the above-mentioned institutions as well as the students should possess the certain set
of business skills to ensure better understanding between the private sector and educational
institutions. Needless to say, these developments channel additional funds for the R&D
institutions enabling them to continue quality research and therefore motivate more young people
into the science and technology related education.
This is why I consider this event to be of paramount importance for the Higher Education. I
am interested in this event primarily because it represents a true challenge of introducing business
skills into the science curricula. But the benefits will be colossal. Being a student myself, I see the
impact that the lack of these basic career management skills has on the science students’ self-
confidence and readiness to plunge into the real-life. This is where we need change.
How do you think you will benefit from the event (why do you want to attend)?
Most importantly, (being a participant in a number of entrepreneurship training sessions) I would
like to learn about the experience of the higher institutions i.e. customisation of training materials
for the field of earth sciences and geography. Also, I am willing to learn about the current
approaches and plans of instilling the entrepreneurial spirit into students who oftentimes have
very diverse backgrounds and professional skills.
What skills or attributes will you bring to the event (why would we want you there)?
I have gained substantial experience of starting a IT company from scratch, going through all the
processes i.e. market research, business development, projects management and operations.Yes,
there were failures. And my team and me have worked hard to learn from all those mistakes and
to build the knowledge base of the company and the set of best practices.
It is hard to start one’s own business… It requires outstanding dedication and commitment
and exceptional teamwork, plus business skills.
Now I am doing MSc in Applied GIS. The market for GIS services is rapidly growing and it is a
great opportunity for young graduates (including me when I complete my current studies) to
utilise their knowledge to the best of their benefit.
I will present my case of starting a company, and will share with participants our failures and
successes of a ‘business DIY’. I plan for my company to introduce GIS services in 1 – 2 years.
There a lot of background work that needs to be done here, including planning, market analysis
and a host of other things. This is what I would like to contribute to the event in the forms of
presentations, discussions on GIS business opportunities, in the UK and worldwide.
How might this event complement other aspects of employability that you have already
covered (or might cover in the future) in your course (e.g. key skills, career management)?
I believe in the idea of creating new knowledge through human synergy. No matter how much I
learn in the course, there is always more to learn from other people. Basically it’s an endless
process of learning. I plan to discover new knowledge on a variety of aspects through the
discussions and brainstorming, and I expect to be surprised by the diversity of opinions and
approaches on the subject.
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Student application statement
Dr. Victor Olugbemiga Olumekun, Liverpool Hope University College
The workshop on ‘Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship: Enhancing the GEES Curriculum’ aimed
at providing an intensive training programme for people in geography, environment and related
disciplines has been brought to my notice.
In response to the offer of free subsistence and training allowance for a selected few that
could provide adequate justification for inclusion in the programme, I wish to indicate my strong
interest to be offered the opportunity for a number of reasons.
Firstly, I wish to submit that I am a trained Plant/Crop Physiologist with a PhD in Plant
Physiology, an MSc in Crop Physiology and a Bachelor of Science in Botany. I have been a
university lecturer since 1987 and I have risen to the position of Associate Professor. In spite of
these modest qualifications/achievements, my burning desire is to be directly involved in
environmental management particularly as a consultant.
In search of this goal, I have developed keen interest in the environmental aspects of plant
physiology so as to be relevant when environmental issues are being considered, since this is an
emerging area particularly in the third world. Sadly, in spite of my knowledge of the issues involved
in the field, I cannot respectably lay claim to competence since I was neither trained nor
certificated in environmental management.
In order to remove such constraints I decided to take a year off my current job to register at
Liverpool Hope University College for an MSc in Ecology and Environmental Management in
preparation for a career in consultancy. It is my hope that as soon as possible I will set up an
environmental consultancy outfit. I therefore believe that attendance of the workshop will present
the best opportunity for me to progress in this direction, which I have chosen for myself.
It is my belief that the success of any enterprise lies in the foundation laid in course of its
development. In view of the fact that this workshop offers superb training and enterprise
development skills I believe this will be most beneficial in the establishment of an environmental
consultancy. It therefore an opportunity that should not be allowed to pass by unexplored.
Unfortunately, I do not have sufficient means of assuring my attendance of the workshop if
this opportunity is not offered to me. As a self funded student, without any other source of
funding besides my personal savings, there is considerable pressure on my finances and I have had
to seek odd jobs, far beneath my profile, in order to subsist, otherwise I would have opted to pay
my way through.
A generous support will therefore serve in no small way to help me realise my desired goal,
make me more relevant in the emerging scheme of things while relieving a lot of pressure that
would have weighed me down. I therefore strongly appeal that consideration be offered to me in
the award of the sponsorship.
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Student application statement
Pratik Shah, Department of Geography, University of Cambridge
Thanks for taking the time to consider my application to win a place at the forthcoming
entrepreneurial weekend. I hope to hear from you soon!
My interest in this event is driven by me wanting to learn more about entrepreneurship and
business opportunities. I have some basic business ideas, one of which I hope to start after
graduation. Although I already have lots of working experience (12 months with National Air
Traffic Services, 3 summers with a medium-sized company that develops property), I am always
interested in learning more and keeping my options open for the future. For this reason, I have
been attending since the start of this academic year, a course run by Cambridge University
(http://www.entrepreneurs. jims.cam.ac.uk/).
I will benefit by continuing my business, personal and social development amongst people that
also have the same desire as I do to start and run a successful business. I am also very interested
in socially/ethically driven businesses, as I believe that businesses and entrepreneurs have a
responsibility to the communities they serve. The course and attendees will benefit from my
growing knowledge of business and finance, my broad geographical studies (I specialize in the
human/social/economic side of geography), and my highly ambitions and enthusiastic nature.
I sincerely believe that as a geographer I am very well placed to be one of the most successful
people in industry. The simultaneous width and depth of the course allows me both freedom to
study various interlinked topics, but at an expert level. With this model in mind, my motivation is
to be the best in the various areas that I enter. The course will extend my ideas and should help
me integrate with like-minded students and teachers to help encourage and develop expertise in
required fields. I am both a very co-operative team player, but also have the ability to work
individually when necessary (references from employers available if requires). I want the course,
but the course needs me!
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Student application statement
Scot Devlin, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Leeds
What has prompted your interest in the event (e.g. you’ve got a business idea, you think
you might want to start a business when you graduate, you want to keep your future
employment options open etc.)?
Setting up my own business has always been a passion. I started selling sweets and yo-yo’s in the
playground when I was 10 years old. I was also involved in a business during A-level (Youth
Enterprise Scheme). I have helped a small company promote skis, skiboards and roller hockey
equipment (Triple Air Productions).
One of the reasons that I chose to study geophysics was because of a business idea. I would
like to set up a global natural hazards consultancy or join an existing consultancy. I envisage a
company, that goverments/local agengies could consult for advice on possible natural hazards.
Some areas of advice could be as follows:
• The likelihood of occurance of a natural disaster
• Measures to avoid or reduce risk of environmental damage
• Best possible course of action to avoid loss of life and resourses, i.e. when/if evacuation
is necessary
• Monitoring of risk factors
• Help dealing with natural disasters ofter occurance
I’d like to be able to analyse a range of natural hazards; earthquakes, typhoons, flooding, volcanoes
etc. I hope to fulfil this dream. It would combine my interest in earth sciences with my ambition of
setting up a business. I would like to make a difference by hopefully helping people, communites,
and governments.
How do you think you will benefit from the event (why do you want to attend)?
I am really impressed with the content of the website and the information about this event. I
would love to attend and develop skills such as problem solving and negotiating skills, and gain
entrepreneurial knowledge. It will be really interesting with a mix of students and lecturers. It will
be an great opportunity. I would also like to enhance my teambuilding skills. I feel this this course
would benefit and compliment my studies at university.
What skills or attributes will you bring to the event (why would we want you there)?
I am enthusiastic and creative. I would help to contribute to an exciting team environment. I
believe my best attribute is the ability to get on with all types of people. I have recently read
various entrepreneurial books. I would bring some knowledge and experience which I gained
working with Triple Air.
How might this event complement other aspects of employability that you have already
covered (or might cover in the future) in your course (e.g. key skills, career management)?
The geophysics degree will give me scientific knowledge, but I also want to learn business skills
during my 4 years at university. This event would definitely help with all the skills and knowledge
needed in starting my own business or joining a business.
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Student application statement
Melise Harland, School of Earth Sciences, University of Leeds
My reason for wishing to participate in this event is that I am interested in starting a specialist
consultancy in forensic wood identification on completion of my PhD. This would allow me to use
the specialist research, enquiry and problem-solving techniques acquired during my PhD, whilst at
the same time allowing me the freedom and creativity to grasp opportunities and take risks that
are not available by being employed within a large organisation. Having already made enquires
there is a demand for this service from the police, auctioneers etc but only one specialist unit
carrying out this work in the UK.
I feel I will benefit from this event by being able to discuss with others the problems I have had
gaining information on starting a small business and what information I would have found useful to
have been given during skills classes. It would also allow me to see specific examples of skills I
would need to consider e.g. business plan writing and hopefully provide information on where I
can obtain further advice.
I have recently been presenting with a Science Communicators Award by the Research Council
UK therefore I will be able to bring an ability to discuss issues clearly to the event. As a mature
student I have the benefit of having worked within industry before undertaking my studies
therefore I could also bring with me experiences from both education and employment.
Within the School of Earth Sciences at the Leeds employability skills are high on the agenda,
mainly focussing on employment within companies or large organisations. There are several
transferable skills covered that are applicable to self-employment such as ‘real life projects,’ report
writing and giving presentations. I feel that this event will complement these general employability
skills already gained within skills classes and general work by giving more focus to self
employment. I hope this will be achieved by providing information on issues that do not affect
you if employed within a company e.g. dealing with tax, business planning and accounting. It is
also hoped that the event will boost my enthusiasm and give me greater confidence to take this
project forward whilst helping to create programmes that will benefit future students interested
in self-employment.
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Student application statement
Dawn Robins, Geography Department, University College Chichester
I believe myself to be a highly self-motivating, enthusiastic and innovative individual with a passion
for our planet and the cultural diversity of all those who inhabit it. I have strong communication
skills and the ability to motivate and inspire others to challenge and succeed. I am focused and
determined and able to channel my abundant energy into the task in hand to maintain momentum
and see it through to a successful conclusion.
Yet sadly, I appreciate that I lack the clear direction for a strong career plan and also the
confidence in my ability as a strategic manager to ultimately succeed, and hopefully, make a
difference. That is why, when my Head of Department, Dr. Clegg, suggested I enter this
competition, I saw the potential in what you are offering and the chance it would give me to build
upon my strengths and enable me to gain confidence in my abilities as a future entrepreneur.
Although I have, as yet, no definite career plan, my interests lie fundamentally in the developing
world and the challenges they face, but also in the attitudes and understanding of the developed
world to these challenges. I see myself as a freelance researcher and spokesperson, working
alongside charities and political agencies to challenge peoples perceptions and promote a greater
understanding, not only of the differences in our cultures, but also in the similarities of the
challenges that we all face.
By giving me this chance to improve my skills you will also be helping others within my
department. As discussed with Dr. Clegg, I intend to disseminate the information gained from the
seminar to my peers and enable them to benefit from what is clearly a unique opportunity to
strengthen personal skills. As an almost defunct department (closure due in 2005 and less than
20 students remaining), our resources are limited, and yet we have a strong sense of unity and
share experiences and knowledge to help develop the entire group.
I hope to start on a Masters course next year and feel that this workshop will enable me to
focus my research and future learning more directly and effectively. I hope you are able to
consider my application favourably and look forward to seeing you in January.
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Student application statement
Jan Nicholson, Sociology, Lancaster University
I feel I should be chosen to attend as I am going to start up my own business after completing my
MA in Travel and Tourism and I feel I will benefit greatly from attending this event.
I choose late in life to change career as I realised I wanted to pursue my hobby as a career. To
do this I had to leave secure employment and complete a one year Travel and Tourism course at
Furness College. This then allowed me to apply for a MA place at Lancaster University which I
have just started in September. To fund my placement I am working as a part-time travel agent
which is not the career I envisage being in in three years’ time. I hope to use my first degree and
work experience in the agricultural field to start up farm study tours in Cumbria mainly providing
for the overseas market.
I feel attendance at the event will have tremendous networking potential to meet like minded
students and staff. I also feel as a mature student I would have great expertise to bring to the
event. In the past I have run my own outdoor business from home which fitted in well with my
work as a mother. I realise now the skills I need to set up and run my own business in a travel
fields may be different than those I used running my last business.
Last year I also completed my Certificate of Education which would help me be a better tour
leader and I feel able to take part in any discussion which was being undertaken at the event.
My final reason for wanting to attend the event that it is being held in my old university city
and it would be interesting to see how it has changed over the years.
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Student application statement
Nick Stantzos, Environmental Change Institute, Oxford University
Businesses are often regarded as part of the problem of environmental degradation rather than
part of the solution. However, I believe that the relationship between business and sustainable
development is not an oxymoron. From my experience in the renewable energy industry and the
waste management sector, I realised that through pioneering research work, solutions to
environmental problems could be found with high entrepreneurial potential.
As part of my degree in Environmental Sciences at the University of Brighton, I did an industrial
placement in one of the biggest renewable energy companies in the UK. My most important
achievement there was the introduction of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for the
identification of suitable sites for wind farm development. Before the application of GIS, crucial
information about wind farm development such as wind speed and access to distribution network
was in different, incompatible and paper-based formats. I used the unique analytic abilities of GIS
to integrate all this information into a single, flexible digital map model which revolutionised the
site selection process. My work there made me realise the potential of GIS as a strategic decision
making tool but also that many organisations are not aware of this potential. From an innovation
point of view, the above GIS model could be itself a marketable consulting service product offered
to other interested organisations.
The other area that stimulated my interest was waste management, where there are numerous
opportunities for innovation through reuse and recycling of materials. As a research assistant in
the Waste and Energy Research Group at the University of Brighton, I worked on how to make
automotive shredder residue (ASR) more suitable for commercial use, especially in the cement
industry, and how to use the plastics component of ASR for developing new products (plastic
flower pots).
Currently, as a postgraduate at the University of Oxford, I work on a project to install
photovoltaic panels in my college buildings. This offers a good insight on how to deal with
government agencies, prepare grants applications and identify funding opportunities, all of them
useful skills for business development.
The above described examples demonstrate that I have developed some initial skills like the
ability to identify where an improvement could be made in an organisation, provide an innovative
alternative solution and persuade people to adapt to change. However, there are many other areas
that I need to increase my understanding such as raising capital, negotiating skills, creating business
plans, understanding financial control. I am confident that the GEES workshop will help me to
acquire the necessary background on these business skills. As environmental entrepreneurship will
play an important development role in the future, I would value the opportunity to participate in
the GEES workshop as a preparation for this future.
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Student application statement
Uyen To Nguyen, Department of Environment, University of York
I am a Vietnamese student doing a MSc at the University of York. I also have a Graduate Diploma
in Environmental Sciences certificated by the University of East Anglia, Norwich. The reason why I
address my interests to environmental sciences came from the severe environmental degradation
in my country. Like other developing countries,Vietnamese economy is crucially based on natural
resource extraction (mostly timber, oil and coal). This has led to the over-exploitation of
resources which, in turn, has resulted in the mass destruction of the natural ecosystems. Having
seriously concern about this issue, my purpose of studying in the UK is to further my knowledge
in both theory and practice in environmental field so as to contribute to the protection activities
in Vietnam.
After graduation, I will work firstly as a researcher for an NGO in Vietnam. However, my long
range goal is to start an environmental consultancy. Its objectives would be: (i) to advise
enterprises and individuals on environmental problems; (ii) to consult and assist the government
in resource evaluation, EIAs and the like; (iii) to provide domestic and foreign investors with useful
guidelines about the current environmental situation in Vietnam and the related regulations and
legislations so as to reduce human impacts on the environment. Additionally, one of my greatest
concerns is to develop educational programs for Vietnamese people at all ages. I realise that
improving human awareness of the significance of the ecosystem and its function is the best way
to prevent the nature from being exhausted and polluted, so as to obtain sustainability. To achieve
these goals, one of the determined factors is how to work effectively and prove to be convincing.
This is what draws my attention to this Entrepreneurship workshop.
What I expect to attain from this workshop is to improve my creativity and research skills, and
to gain helpful guidelines in problem-solving. I also expect to develop my ability to co-operate and
co-ordinate in business and communication. I wish to complete my existing skills and to find out
my strengths and weaknesses in practice through this course. I strongly believe that this workshop
is a great opportunity for me to perceive full comprehension before actually working in the field
of environmental sciences.
What I expect to contribute to this event is a combination of knowledge of environmental
sciences and various economic techniques that can be applied in economic analysis and market
research. By participating in this workshop, I hope to bring forward real evidences from my
country about the typical portrait of environmental depletion. I am willing to do my best to make
the workshop successful with my enthusiasm to learn. As one of the first students studying
environment in Vietnam, I wish to have as many opportunities as possible to absorb knowledge in
this field. By choosing me as a candidate you will not only offer the precious opportunity to me
myself but there would also be a chance for this knowledge to be propagated in my country.
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1(g) What support do students need?
It is sometimes argued that ‘true entrepreneurs’ will not need additional support as they will
‘naturally’ have the drive and motivation to find their own way. For a very small minority of
students this may be the case. However, there are also other students out there who are fully
capable of setting up their own businesses and have some great, enterprising ideas but who need
a little guidance and confidence-boosting to get them started.
At the beginning of the GEES Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship workshop, the
participants were asked to note down what they wanted to get from the event. Their notes,
together with their application statements, suggest that their main reasons for wishing to attend
the event related to enhancing their general skills base and developing self-
confidence.
These quotes are from some of the students’ application statements:
“…although it develops academic knowledge, a PhD like mine will not really give me scope to learn
the day-to-day practical, creative and business sides of life….I feel I need to improve these kinds of
skills to increase my employability.”
“I am a motivated person. I want to learn as much as I can and whenever and wherever I can so
that I am able to apply those skills that I have learned in the future, to contribute to society.”
“I am now looking to develop my personal and creative skills with a particular focus within the
environmental sector. I also aim to develop my social entrepreneurial skills on the basis that I am
managing an increasing number of charity co-ordinators.”
“I want to find out about support available. I hope to be able to leave with even more enthusiasm
and confidence and some proper direction about my next steps. Meet new people and exchange
ideas, have discussions, maybe keep in touch for morale etc.!”
These are some relevant quotes from the students’ notes at the beginning of the workshop:
“[I need] the confidence to take what ideas I have and give them a go, rather than just becoming
another slave to the system.”
“[I want] methods of communication – practicalities – inspiration, motivation and most of all the
belief that I can do it!”
“[I want] ideas for innovation and ways of thinking. See behind business – is it viable for me to get
involved as a self-employed business entrepreneur? Do I really want to sent up my own business?”
“[I need] more inspiration and enthusiasm to start. Know where to get help when problems arise.”
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Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship
Enhancing the curriculum in Geography, Earth and
Environmental Sciences
Section 2: Information/Papers
(a) Embedding business start-up in the university curriculum
(b) Considerations for embedding enterprise in the curriculum
(c) Exploring gender issues in entrepreneurship
(d) Examples of enterprise in the curriculum
(e) A few useful websites
(f) Higher Education Academy (generic) resources
(g) University enterprise/entrepreneurship support units
(h) Glossary of terms
2(a) Embedding business start-up in the
university curriculum
Pauline Kneale, University of Leeds
Introduction
Embedding Business Start-Up learning opportunities in the university curriculum presents a
serious challenge because:
• There is limited room in the curriculum.
• Most academics want to teach their own research materials.
• There is no clear fit to the more traditional ‘academic’ subjects.
• Some students are clear that they are not interested in being self-employed.
On the positive side:
• The skills associated with start-ups are graduate skills that can enhance students’ academic
approaches.
• In the sciences and applied subjects (design, media) there are clear market links.
• Many students have experienced ‘Young Enterprise’ in their school days. They have already
had the experience of setting up a small business, selling a product and closing it down. Their
university experience can build on that.
The whole module
The ‘Business Start-Up’ module, taught through group work, is established in a range of Business
and Management degrees and may be accessed as an elective by students from other subjects. It
appears in various guises: Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurship in Business, Student Enterprise,
Enterprise Management, Managing the Growing Business, and Innovation and Enterprise.
Such modules, although available through elective systems, are unlikely to be noticed by a
student in film studies or textile design unless heavily advertised and tailored to their needs.
Where I have asked students why they do not take it, comments include: ‘this is really for business
students’; ‘I don’t have their theory background’; and ‘I can get better marks by staying with my own
School’s modules’.
In my experience, the take up of elective modules across campus will be very small until such
modules are called: Entrepreneurship for Earth Scientists, Entrepreneurship in the Music Business,
Student Enterprise for Classicists, Enterprise Management in Politics, Managing the Growing
History Business, and Innovation and Enterprise for Philosophers. This gives students a sense of
ownership and a feeling that the module is for them, focussed at an appropriate level for their
degree, background and skills. Such tailoring is extremely important. Teaching geographers for
example the concept of CBA (Cost Benefit Analysis) will be already understood. A class of Fine
Art or Hellenic Studies students would deserve a fuller explanation.
In tailoring start-up modules to specific academic subjects ideally one would envisage an
enthusiastic Business Start-Up specialist academic sharing the teaching with staff from the
departments involved so that there is a real link to the subject curriculum; the module is
grounded in subject-based examples and the students see that their School values the module. A
School specialist is in an excellent position to ask School alumni to contribute to sessions. The
Business Start-Up specialist will be involved with, or at least aware of, colleagues in Careers and
Innovation, the University third arm activity and current campus start-ups bringing a real feel of
excitement to the process.
This type of module is probably best taught at level 2 of the undergraduate curriculum when
level 1 skills are in place and group work at HE level is understood, but is early enough to
influence employment applications and choices made in the final year. It could also influence
students’ choice of final year dissertation topic. In my view this is an option module.
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Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship GEES Subject Centre Resource Pack
Integrating into modules
Business Start-Up is potentially one theme in the ‘skills, careers and employability’ element of
curriculum planning. Where either staff or students are reluctant to commit to whole module
then a more subtle approach is to integrate materials. This approach has the attraction of
capturing students for whom a Business Start-Up is ‘too scary,’ ‘not me at all,’‘something I want to
do in the future, but not now.’ It is arguable that students benefit from the skills involved and
some people will move to start-up their business sooner.
I would argue that all university degrees have a real world aspect. It is the approach in teaching
that may root them entirely in intellectual discussion and erudite debate. Twenty years ago
archaeology might have been in this group but the BBC Time Team changed all that. Simon
Scharma and the History Channel have recently revitalised history. The Discovery Channel brings
botany, zoology, geography, earth sciences and many other technical subjects to the table. There is
enormous scope for setting a module around ‘Popularising Hebrew Studies’ or ‘Doing a Time
Team for Sociologists’ or ‘Creativity in Solid State Physics’ which challenges students to work in
teams, to be creative in developing approaches to taking their subject to a wider audience. The
aim is to attract school pupils so that your University department has a future, and to capture the
general public so that awareness is raised, capacity is built and there is increased scope for you to
continue to work within your subject area later in life. Links can be made to employability issues
more broadly through, for example, intrapreneurship and entrepreneurship skills and abilities.
There is an opportunity to let students use their creativity to make, for example, Hispanic Studies
relevant at a local or regional scale, and to think of organisations that are voluntary as well as
money-making. Social entrepreneurship, starting up a voluntary, support organisation, will appeal
more to some students.
More prosaically there is a great deal of benefit in making sure that present day students are
introduced to alumni in their subject who are involved in both new and more established
organisations. Students need to understand more about the culture of organisations and realise
that they do have skills and attributes to offer. Inviting such role models to contribute in relevant
lectures, careers modules and school seminar series has the potential to bring the real world
closer to non-business students.
Embedding within modules will depend on current course structures. It is important that there
is alignment in the curriculum design so that a student does not, for example, end up doing a
business plan in each year. The following represent some possible scenarios although elements
under each heading might also contribute to other headings.
Within skills modules
Activities from Business Start-Up curricula in preparing students to be better organised in their
degrees could include those based around the skills agenda - time, management, flexibility,
networking, negotiations, discussion, group report writing, problem solving and leadership.
Enhancing all these skills is important in developing our students. During such sessions, and
especially in the debriefing stage, students should be made aware that these are also graduate
skills, and ones which will enhance their effectiveness in business and in starting businesses.
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Within careers modules
Where there are modules that expressly address career opportunities, as in the Leeds University
modules taught by Careers Centre staff, there is room in ten sessions to take two or three of
these to raise awareness of start-up opportunities and related skills. Activities from Business
Start-Up curricula in preparing students could include:
• Using entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship case studies to enhance skills such as
networking and time management as well as business awareness.
• The advocacy of alumni and local start-up staff emphasising the role of graduate skills.
• Sharing learning from schools’ Young Enterprise would be a useful link here.
• Some students will have worked in small companies and some will have parents who are
entrepreneurs, capturing some of their reflections can be illuminating.
• Emphasise social entrepreneurship opportunities.
• Assessment activities as a group or individually might include researching: an enterprise,
commercial opportunities; the changing nature of the workplace through interviews with
employers and employees; or the workplace culture of different organisations, sources of
business start up funding.
Within introduction to research and introduction to dissertation modules
The learning outcomes for the final year or taught Masters degrees may include, amongst
others, to:
• Develop students’ ability to complete an independent project.
• Develop skills involving research and analysis, critique of scientific papers, presentation
of data, and report writing.
• Develop self-motivation, time management skills and hence and ability to work to
a deadline.
These are also the main skills for independent business start ups. Where a curriculum makes
reference to business applications and includes contributions from alumni, the enhancement of
awareness should help students to identify issues around start ups as a topic for research. The use
of entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship case studies as part of preparation will help students to
engage with the appropriate skills agenda.
Within tutorials
Activities might include work around their Progress Files, researching a local start up company,
working on entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship case studies, cases around creativity and
innovation, raising awareness of work placement and internship opportunities in level 1 and 2, and
many other topics as listed here.
Within work placement, year in industry, work experience modules
In this type of module students are expected to apply their degree-related knowledge and use a
wide range of skills while working in a non-academic environment. Preparation for the experience
could include:
• Asking a School graduate to present in the research seminar series.
• Using entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship case studies to bring out skills such as
networking and time management as well as business awareness. The aim here is to broaden
students’ understanding of the experience they are embarking on, and to appreciate the
broader workplace experiences than their immediate placement offers.
Assessment methods here could include taking and passing the Licentiateship of the City and
Guilds Institute.
Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship GEES Subject Centre Resource Pack
35
GEES Subject Centre Resource Pack Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship
36
Within a personal study, research seminar, independent study type module:
This is generally a final year undergraduate module which allows a student to research and write
one or two essays on an approved topic, or in relation to a topic presented at a research seminar.
Activities from Business Start-Up curricula in preparing students for this type of work could
include asking a School graduate to present in the research seminar series. The suggestions under
dissertation preparation and work placement modules are also relevant to this type
of module.
Useful sources of teaching and stimulus materials
Activities around motivating student Personal Development Planninghttp://www.geog.leeds.ac.uk/courses/other/performance/pdpindex.html
Intrapreneurship Context case materialshttp://www.geog.leeds.ac.uk/courses/other/casestudies/
Context case studieshttp://www.heacademy.ac.uk/938.htm
Entrepreneurship skills for graduateshttp://www.heacademy.ac.uk/Enterprise.htm
Resources in the Imaginative Curriculum projecthttp://www.heacademy.ac.uk/853.htm
White Rose Centre for Enterprise case materialshttp://www.wrce.org.uk/
Contact details
Pauline E Kneale
Professor of Applied Hydrology with Learning and Teaching in Geography
School of Geography
University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT
Email: [email protected]
2(b) Considerations for embedding enterprise
in the curriculum
Extracted from the Higher Education Academy’s resourceshttp://www.heacademy.ac.uk/Enterprise.htm
What skills do we need to develop in future graduate entrepreneurs?
According to the business support development community, the graduate entrepreneur should
have the following:
KNOWLEDGE ATTRIBUTES QUALITIES
Source: 2004 LTSN ‘Professions’ Event (views captured from lawyers, accountants, bankers and business support and
development professionals).
How does this impact upon course development?
• How does this match the skills development and personal development planning within your
course aims?
• How can you adjust your course delivery to develop graduates with these essential
attributes and qualities?
• How can you incorporate the required knowledge into your current course delivery?
• Or do you know where to ‘signpost’ your students to, in order to fill the gaps between HEI
delivery and their needs?
Marketing principles
Company law
Strategy
Basic cost accounting
Product or service
People skills
Specialist knowledge
Networking
Microsoft Office Pro
Budgetary principles
Basic business acumen
Product
Communication skills
Technical skills
Youth market
Know your market
Know your self
Knowing where to find
help and support
Vision
Has had to fit in with
wide mix of people
at university
Creative
Specialist knowledge on a
particular subject
‘Workaholic’
Smart appearance
Planning and organisation
Risk taker
Creative
Leadership
Enterprising
Determination
Conviction
Determination to succeed
Inventive
Flexible
Energetic
Staying power
Thoughtful
Transferable skills
Resilient
Stamina
Sense of humour
Flexibility
New ideas
Energy
Listener
Commitment
Vision
Resourceful
Be able to ASK
Loyalty
Confidence
Ambition
Outgoing
Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship GEES Subject Centre Resource Pack
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Thematic analysis of the module descriptors suggests the following
approaches to developing enterprise skills (stand alone modules)
Module Title Content
General – Historical context and importance of enterprise
Conceptual
Enterprise Theory
Entrepreneurial trait analysis
Entrepreneurial
Strategies Exploring notions of enterprise, innovation
Enterprise in and creativity
General –
Business Exploring entrepreneurial traits
Conceptual
Developing Intrapreneurship (in corporations)
Entrepreneurial Models of enterprise
Practice
Enterprise – Economic contribution
Policy Context, Process US-UK comparisons
and Policy Hard and soft policy developments
Self development
Personal
Career
Social role
Development
Leadership
Innovation
Business
Creativity and
Creativity
Start Up
Innovation for/in
Idea generation/recognition
Business
Recognising opportunity
Business Recognising (science based) opportunity
Start Up
Commercialisation
Viability and feasibility of idea /venture
Business Valuation techniques
Start Up - Raising capital / venture capital
Specialised
Financing an SME
Multiple financing rounds
(High Growth) Exit strategies
Business Team-working/negotiating and softer skills
Start Up – Running an SME Experience interlinking business functions
Mature Run own operation (not for profit / profit)
Understanding of knowledge as resource
Specialised
Knowledge
Knowledge enterprise models
Management
Integrate knowledge flow
Enterprise Enterprise culture
Conceptual
Development Entrepreneurial structures
Building a team
Crises of growth
Practical Growing an SME
Succession planning
Failure – symptoms and management
Understanding of the social sector
Social Identify gaps and needs
Entrepreneur- Social Enterprise History / future trends
ship Finance for social ventures
Planning – social modelling
Specific Consultancy Consultancy skills
Applying for funding
Specific Elements Design Enterprise
Gaining premises
Specific Elements E Commerce Business start up with internet emphasis
GEES Subject Centre Resource Pack Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship
38
Typical assessment options
Discipline origins
Content Area Assessment of delivery
methods
Exam
General – Conceptual
Essay
Traditional
Exam
Policy
Essay
Traditional
Panel debate Careers models of
Personal
CV / Business plan delivery
Business plan
Business Start Up Group presentation
Business School
Essay
modes
Business Start Up - Critique of business plan Business School
Specialised Group presentation modes
Business Start Up – Individual case summary Business School
Mature Business plan continuation modes
Additional % from Class participation
EMERGING Personal Development Plan New initiative
Learning modes
Gibb (1993) found that the learning mode for enterprise was the opposite of the didactic approach
commonly used within higher education institutions.
Didactic Enterprising
Learning from teacher alone Learning from each other
Passive role as listener Learning by doing
Learning from written texts Learning from personal exchange and debate
Learning from ‘expert’ frameworks
of teacher
Learning by discovering (under guidance)
Learning from feedback from one key
person (the teacher)
Learning from reactions of many people
Learning in well-organised,
timetabled environment
Learning in flexible, informal environment
Learning without pressure of
immediate goals
Learning under pressure to achieve goals
Copying from others discouraged Learning by borrowing from others
Mistakes feared Mistakes learned from
Learning by notes Learning by problem solving
Source: Gibb (1993), Didactic and Enterprising Learning Modes
• How does this link with your existing delivery?
• What changes might you easily make?
• What support/materials/advice to you need to make those changes?
Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship GEES Subject Centre Resource Pack
39
What do you need most to get teaching in enterprise and/or to
stimulate enterprise learning?
Please rank these in one of three categories - either:
“Y” “Yes - I want this!”
“?” I am unsure why I would want this / what this is for!
“X” I do not want this
Understanding of the subject area (business start up) itself
Understanding of what students will need to set up a business themselves
Understanding of skills required (to develop within existing course)
Overheads on specific business topics (indicate which)
A ‘toolkit’ to dip in and out of
Examples of businesses which have started up (in my subject area)
An ‘ethos’ for delivery
Techniques to inspire and motivate
Module descriptors/outlines
Subject specific information for your discipline
Role models
Games and simulations
Sources of support – academic
Sources of support – for students wanting to start up
Examples of how this has been achieved within my subject area
Guest speakers – where do I get them from?
Advice for determining quality of guest lecturer
Checklist to determine quality of materials in the future
Signposting for staff to advise interested students where to go for professional
advice
Assessment advice/options
Assessment examples
Videos
Enterprise learning through placements / work experience
Problem-solving enterprise tasks
GEES Subject Centre Resource Pack Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship
40
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Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship GEES Subject Centre Resource Pack
41
Notes
HEI experience indicates two types of embedding: (a) embedding enterprise materials/content/
coverage within the module or programme at the time of development; and (b) embedding ‘by the
back door’ through ‘adding in’ enterprise elements into a module that has been around for some
time. The difficulty with the latter is that, because the content is not documented within
module/programme descriptors, it is difficult to ‘police’ in terms of quality and internal alignment
of courses.
Extra-curricula activities are a useful way of moving towards embedding materials into the
mainstream of programmes/modules. For example, the University of Newcastle supported extra-
curricula activities that, through student demand, now form part of their mainstream provision in
certain areas. For extra-curricula activities to become ‘cemented’ into the mainstream provision
requires a commitment from schools/departments that activities will be accredited or valued in
some way towards the final award.
GEES Subject Centre Resource Pack Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship
42
2(c) Exploring gender issues in entrepreneurship
Pauline Kneale, University of Leeds
Introduction
This is a short briefing to raise the issue and offer some suggestions. It is difficult to address
gender and class, especially as research suggests that amongst students there are no gender
differences in aspirations and expectations. They are equally as likely to be considering setting up a
business and the areas they consider are broad. The difference in uptake comes later in life.
However it is worth raising the basic facts and is a potential research/essay topic. The Prowess
web site, and Heilman and Chen (2003) are good starting points.
Some background to the issues
These materials are taken from various parts of the Prowess Site:http://www.prowess.org.uk
Entrepreneurship is male dominated
Men are still twice as likely as women to be involved in entrepreneurial activity or to be thinking
about it, according to a new report from the Small Business Service. ‘The SBS Household Survey
of Entrepreneurship’ is based on a survey of over 10,000 people, looking at UK attitudes towards
self-employment. Seehttp://www.sbs.gov.uk/default.php?page=/analytical/default.php
The UK Global Entrepreneurship Report (GEM UK 2001) found that:
• Men are around two and a half times more likely to be an entrepreneur than women
• The peak age group at which people start businesses is 35-44 for men and 45-54 for
women – which suggests that having children may be a factor
• Women are relatively more likely than men to believe that they will create no jobs in the
next five years
• Men are nearly twice as likely to think that they have the skills to start a business as
a woman
All these facts indicate some clear differences in factors which affect the attitudes and
motivations of women – and therefore clear implications for the type of support and funding
which women require to get started. Seehttp://www.gemconsortium.org/
Extract from ‘Female entrepreneurship rises – but barriers to entry remain’:
Compared to our global competitors the UK ranks 7th behind countries including the US, Canada,
Greece and Spain. For every ten male entrepreneurs in the UK there are four female entrepreneurs
– a gap that is wider than Canada, the US, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy.
Press release 8 June 2004http://www.chamberonline.co.uk/press_centre/press_08062004/view
Student research suggestions
A mini project/essay could cover the following themes:
• Explore the literature on the barriers to practical entrepreneurship.
• Exemplify the factors that encourage and discourage a business start up?
• To what extent is there a level playing field in entrepreneurship?
• Are there gender/ethnic aspects to entrepreneurship?
• For every ten male entrepreneurs in the UK there are just four female entrepreneurs. Explore
the reasons behind this imbalance in start ups.
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Sources to check include
Small Business Servicehttp://www.sbs.gov.uk/default.php?page=/analytical/default.php
Prowesshttp://www.prowess.org.uk an organisation that supports women entrepreneurs, log into
their research area
Global Entrepreneurship Monitorhttp://www.gemconsortium.org/
Center for Women’s Business Researchhttp://www.nfwbo.org/
Some references to start with
Anna, A.L., Chandler, G.N., Jansen, E. and Mero, N.P, (2000). Women business owners in traditional
and non-traditional industries, Journal of Business Venturing, 15: 3, 279-303
Carter, S Tagg, S., Ennis, S. and Webb, J. (2002). Lifting the Barriers to Growth in UK Small Businesses
Report to the Federation of Small Businesses onlinehttp://www.sbs.gov.uk/default.php?page=/analytical/default.php
Gundry, L.K. and Welsch, H.P. (2001). The ambitious entrepreneur: High growth strategies of
women-owned enterprises, Journal of Business Venturing, 16: 5, 453-470
Harding, R. Cowling, M. and Ream, M. (2004). Achieving the Vision - Female Entrepreneurship Report
for Learning Skills Council on line.http://www.chamberonline.co.uk/policy/issues/women/
womens_entrepreneurship.pdf
Heilman M.E. and Chen, J.J. (2003). Entrepreneurship as a solution: the allure of self-employment
for women and minorities, Human Resource Management Review, 13: 2, 347-364
Stroh, L.K., and Reilly, A.H. (1999). Gender and careers: present experiences and emerging trends.
In Powell, G.N. (Ed.), Handbook of Gender and Work pp. 307–324 Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Watson, J. and Robinson, S. (2003). Adjusting for risk in comparing the performances of male- and
female-controlled SMEs, Journal of Business Venturing, 18: 6, 773-788
On the ethnic front start with
Clark, K. and Drinkwater, S. (2002). Enclaves, neighbourhood effects and employment outcomes:
Ethnic minorities in England and Wales, Journal of Population Economics, 5: 1, 5-29
Jones,T, and Ram, M. (2003). South Asian businesses in retreat? The case of the UK, Journal of Ethnic
and Migration Studies, 29: 3, 485-500
Ram, M. and Smallbone, D. (2003). Policies to support ethnic minority enterprise: the English
experience, Entrepreneurship and Regional Development, 15: 2, 151-166
Contact details
Pauline E Kneale
Professor of Applied Hydrology with Learning and Teaching in Geography
School of Geography
University of Leeds
Leeds LS2 9JT
Email: [email protected]
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2(d) Examples of enterprise in the curriculum
This resource is collated from a variety of UK websites presenting examples of enterprise in the
curriculum. It is offered without comment as a resource to stimulate GEES readers thinking about
developing their own activities.
~~/~~
Scottish Institute for Enterprise
Who wants to be an entrepreneur?http://www.sie.ac.uk/sie/emm.html
All you ever wanted to know about entrepreneurship but have been too busy to find out! These
interactive multimedia modules are designed to help you to be entrepreneurial in whatever career
you choose to follow. They will help provide skills for work and skills for life.
The Entrepreneurship Multimedia Modules suite comprises of four core modules (1, 2, 3 and 4)
and four support modules (5, 6, 7 and 8):
Module 1: Reference EMM1 - Recognising business opportunities
Module 2: Reference EMM2 - Resourcing new businesses
Module 3: Reference EMM3 - Managing business growth
Module 4: Reference EMM4 - New frontiers in entrepreneurship
Module 5: Reference EMM5 - Personal effectiveness and creativity
Module 6: Reference EMM6 - Entrepreneurial finance
Module 7: Reference EMM7 - Entrepreneurial marketing
Module 8: Reference EMM8 - Intellectual property
The suite of modules is targeted primarily at undergraduates new to the subject of
entrepreneurship. However, the learning materials are available and suitable for use by all students,
lecturers, alumni and commercialisation practitioners involved in the teaching and learning of
entrepreneurship and enterprise in Scotland’s universities.
The modules have been developed by the Scottish Institute for Enterprise (SIE) in collaboration
with Scottish-based academics to enhance, encourage and develop entrepreneurship education in
Scotland’s universities.
Brief description of modules
Module 1: Recognising business opportunities. This module concentrates on the
concept and nature of entrepreneurship and the sources of entrepreneurial opportunities. The
module introduces the student to the basic principles of designing an entrepreneurial organisation
and helps him/her focus and reflect upon the entrepreneurial ambitions he or she might hold.
Module 2: Resourcing new businesses. This module concentrates on enhancing the
student’s capacity to determine the resource needs of a new business, to understand how to
access these resources and assess these resources in order to exploit a business opportunity.
Module 3: Managing business growth. This module concentrates on contributing to the
student’s knowledge and understanding of strategies used for managing growth ventures and
growing firms. Students are introduced to the basic models of growth and the growth strategies
commonly employed by firms, as well as basic management techniques important to the
growing venture.
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Module 4: New frontiers in entrepreneurship. This module concentrates on showing
why entrepreneurship can be successful in organisational settings other than independent business
ventures and why this matters. It helps the student apply his or her entrepreneurial knowledge
and skills to these settings and review his or her entrepreneurial ambitions.
Module 5: Personal effectiveness and creativity. This module concentrates on
examining the personal skills required by the entrepreneur to be successful within the context of
a start-up organisation and the particular skills involved in enhancing creativity both within
themselves and others. It also examines the process of creativity and the factors that may
promote creativity within the organisation.
Module 6: Entrepreneurial finance. This module concentrates on introducing the student
to the most important financial reports required to be understood and utilised in a typical start-
up business situation.
Module 7: Entrepreneurial marketing. This module concentrates on examining the key
market concepts, methods and strategic issues required by the entrepreneur to be successful
within the context of a start-up business and the particular skills involved in marketing new
products and services and selling to new customers.
Module 8: Intellectual property. This module concentrates on examining the nature, role
and function of intellectual property in the commercialisation process. It introduces the student to
entrepreneurial Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) strategies and aspects of corporate IPR.
How can I access the modules?
To access the modules and to discuss how best to study these learning materials please contact
either the SIE Education Manager [email protected] or the SIE contact at your local university.
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University of Ulster
Informatics Entrepreneurshiphttp://www.infm.ulst.ac.uk/~scis/modules/com418m1.htm
Module Code: COM418M1
Module Level: 2
Credit Points: 0
Summary description
This module deals with issues relating to the identification, exploitation and development of new
venture opportunities. The module aims to increase the students’ understanding of
entrepreneurship and develop his/her competencies in applying entrepreneurial skills in enterprise
development. The module is divided into four distinct areas covering: the entrepreneurial process;
identifying and exploiting the entrepreneurial opportunity; managing the resources necessary for
the process; and finally the transition from idea to launch. Students also develop essential skills
such as writing business plans, managing financial resources and team development.
Rationale
Rapid changes in technology, political structures and lifestyles are creating new products, new
markets and many more opportunities for new venture creation than ever before. Within
established, seemingly successful businesses too, the need to maintain the entrepreneurial effort
that characterised early beginnings remains a constant challenge. If a student is to be effective in
this increasingly competitive employment market for graduates there is a need:
• To increase his/her level of understanding of entrepreneurship
• To develop his/her attitudes and behaviours as well as competencies in applying
entrepreneurship in enterprise development
Aims
• To build the students’ awareness of entrepreneurship
• To provide them with a basic framework for assessing the viability of any innovative project
or new venture or the development of an existing one.
• To give the student basic insights to the problems and issues associated with establishing
and managing the development of a new or existing venture.
• To give students an opportunity to audit their personal entrepreneurial potential
Learning outcomes
Upon the successful completion of this module a student should be able to:
(i) Understand entrepreneurship, the entrepreneur and the entrepreneurial process.
(ii) Understand the central role of creativity and innovation in entrepreneurship and the
challenges of protecting new ideas.
(iii) Identify steps required to research the potential for a new venture opportunity
or innovation.
(iv) Understand the components of a business/project plan and aspects of the
planning process.
(v) Identify the key resources, including finance, available for new venture creation.
(vi) Identify the steps required in setting up a new venture.
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Content
The entrepreneurial process. The entrepreneurial process; The entrepreneur; The
entrepreneurial environment.
The entrepreneurial opportunity. Opportunity identification; Analysing an opportunity;
Exploiting the opportunity.
The entrepreneurial resources. Developing a business plan; Managing financial resources; The
entrepreneurial team.
After the launch. The entrepreneurial transition; Entrepreneurial management; Further issues
and concepts of life after the launch; Strategies for diversification.
Learning and teaching methods
The module will be delivered almost exclusively via WebCT. An introductory lecture will be given
at the start of the module to provide the students with a detailed overview of the module.
Additional lectures may be scheduled as required. Additional lectures should ideally include a
number of guest lecturers from an industrial background.
The module material will be presented online. The material will consist of a comprehensive set
of notes, practice tests, individual and group exercises and links to relevant further reading. The
practice tests will be provided to assist learners assessing their own knowledge of each subject
area. Students will be directed to relevant materials and case studies both in the prescribed text
books and on-line articles.
Assessment
Coursework Assignments: 100%
Students will undertake two computer-based assessments (in weeks 6 and 11) to enable them to
measure their own understanding and ability in this module. Upon completion of the assessments,
and within 24 hours, students will receive results and may attempt to correct their work by
comparing their submissions with the correct results.
This assignment will measure the student’s achievement of learning outcomes (i), (ii), (iii), (v)
and (iv).
Reading list
Recommended:
Bott, F. et al. (2000). Professional Issues in Software Engineering, UCL Press. ISBN 0-74-840-9513
Indicative:
BCS Code of Conduct. www.bcs.org
Joint Task Force of IEEE Computer Society and ACM. Software Engineering Code of Ethics, athttp://www.computer.org/tab/seprof/code.htm
Myers, C. (Ed) (1995). Professional Awareness in Software Engineering, McGraw-Hill.
ISBN 0-07-707837-3
Myers, C. et al (Eds) (1997). The Responsible Software Engineer: Selected Readings in IT Professionalism,
Springer, ISBN 3-540-76041-5
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University of Aberdeen
Master of Arts in Entrepreneurship
Geography (01ln8c70)http://www.abdn.ac.uk/registry/courses03/contents.php
This programme includes the following modules:
MS 3016 Conceptual approaches to enterprise - 30 Credits
Course co-ordinator: Dr A Anderson
Pre-requisite(s): MS 1502 and MS 2505
Note: Offered every alternate year starting 2002/03.
This course introduces students to theories of entrepreneurial development, concentrating on the
four main contemporary departments of thought:
(1) Sociological models: class, gender, ethnicity and life patterns.
(2) Trait theories: psychological, psychodynamic and behaviourist models.
(3) Business process approaches: stage models, process models, knowledge.
(4) Business population theories: Schumpeterian models, population ecology.
Two 2-hour lectures per week.
Examination (80%) and course work (20%)
MS 3024 New venture creation - 30 Credits
Course Co-ordinator: To be arranged
Pre-requisite(s): Available only to students in programme year 3 or above.
Note(s): Offered in alternate years.
The essence of the course is that the students will develop a business plan for a new venture. This
plan is intended to be the basis of an application for external finance for the new business and will
include the following elements:
• The Business Idea (showing how new value will be generated)
• The Operational Plan (showing how the different elements of the business
will operate, including premises, plant and personnel)
• The Financial Requirements (a statement of projected income etc)
• The Marketing Plan (demonstrating the market potential and how this might
be realised)
While the plan will be a group project, the necessary elements will be taught in lecture/
seminar format.
Two 3-hour seminars per week.
(1) Group project presented by the student (20%); (2) Formal written business plan (group)
(20%); (3) individual 3 hour examination based on a case study (60%). Parts 1 and 2 will include an
element of peer group assessment; the group will be allocated a mark by the examiners, students
will then allocate this mark amongst the group.
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MS 3523 Business Development - 30 Credits
Course co-ordinator: Dr S Jack
Pre-requisite(s): Available only to students in programme year 3 or above who have passed
at least 50 credit points in Management Studies at levels 1 and 2.
Note: Offered every alternate year.
This course will provide students with a knowledge and understanding of business development,
from the start-up stages, through growth and internationalisation. A combination of case studies,
group activities and lectures will be used. The case studies will involve looking at real business
situations and how companies have developed, including local firms and non-UK firms. Students
will analyse these case studies interactively to develop an understanding of the problems which
were encountered and how these were overcome. The importance of personal, cultural and
environmental factors and their interactions will be assessed.
Two 2-hour lectures per week.
Examination (80%) and course work (20%)
MS 3522 Managing Creativity - Credits 30
Course co-ordinator: To be arranged
Pre-requisite(s): Available only to students in programme year 3 or above.
Note: Offered every alternate year starting 2002/03.
This course introduces students to the concept of creative management at both an individual and
organisational level. The course covers (a) indivdual creativity: different perceptions and values,
styles and development, reflectivity and networking (b) organisational creativity: role of
organisational creativity, approaches to fostering organisational creativity, the management of
innovation, organisational renewal. Alongside enhancing student understanding creativity at the
organisational level, the course involves significant skill development in terms of developing
reflective skills, problem solving, and use of exploratory to develop creative approaches to
strategy development.
Two 1-hour lectures and one 2-hour seminar per week.
Examination (80%), course work (20%).
MS 3525 Innovation And Entrepreneurship – Credits 30
Course co-ordinator: Mr M Freel
Pre-requisite(s): Available only to students in programme year 3 or above.
Note: Offered every alternate year starting 2001/02.
The course addresses the role of industrial innovation in economic progress generally, while
placing particular emphasis on the place of Entrepreneurship and small firms within the process.
After discussing the historical context, the course considers contemporary issues at the level of
the firm, the industry and national and international economies. Whilst strongly grounded in
theory the course enjoys considerable practical relevance.
Three 1-hour lectures and one 1-hour tutorial per week.
Examination (80%), continuous assessment (20%).
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University of Manchester
Master of Enterprise in Environmental Innovation
The School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Scienceshttp://www.seaes.manchester.ac.uk/ProspectivePostgraduates/TaughtMastersProgrammes/Progra
mes/MasterofEnterpriseinEnvironmentalInnovation/
Rationale
The environmental science and technology sector ranges from the fast-moving competitive
marketplace for energy efficiency and effective solutions to air, water and land pollution, to the
variably-paced greening of every other facet of human activity in the region. This programme
represents an innovative approach to meeting these rapidly evolving needs in the context of
environmental science and technology, through a partnership between the University of
Manchester Environment Centre (UMEC) and the Manchester Science and Enterprise Centre
(MSEC). This full-time, one-year programme has been designed to appeal to scientists and
engineers who would like to develop their entrepreneurial skills and go on to either develop their
own business or work for a company where enterprise and entrepreneurship is valued. It will also
appeal to companies who want to use the course to develop their staff for more entrepreneurial
roles, for example where an in-company project is ready for commercial
development/exploitation.
Structure
The programme focuses on an enterprise project, which is an exercise in technology transfer,
combining scientific research and development, performed in a research group, with commercial
work performed in the Centre’s Enterprise Laboratories. Its taught element includes three
science- or technology-based modules drawn from existing environment-related postgraduate
programmes and three commercially orientated modules (the enterprise modules) that develop
the student’s knowledge and capability in technology transfer - knowledge that feeds directly into
their enterprise project.
Aims
The programme will advance the scientific understanding and technical skills of its students within
an entrepreneurial framework of teaching and training in business skills. The programme will
produce a stream of science students with awareness and experience of the technology transfer
process, well prepared for work in entrepreneurial high-technology companies. Graduates will
understand the nature of enterprise, its growth and development. They will also have developed
entrepreneurial skills and have knowledge of the business development process from inception to
establishment and long-term management.
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University of Leeds
MA Environmental Enterprise and Innovation
School of Environmenthttp://www.env.leeds.ac.uk/teaching/postgraduate4.htm
Exploit the business opportunities in the environmental arena by setting up an environmental
company selling innovative products or services.
• An innovative blend of environmental science, business know-how and enterprise
experience in a one year taught Masters programme.
• Training in the skills and expertise for business entrepreneurship and environmental
innovation.
• Experience in developing a product or service and setting up a company on
environmental terms.
This new and exciting MA in Environmental Enterprise and Innovation is a one-year taught
postgraduate programme with a chance to set up a company in the Environmental Enterprise
Project (part-time option available). It is aimed at U.K. and overseas candidates who wish to
become an environmental entrepreneur developing their own environmental products
and services.
The MA will equip students with market analysis skills, the tools to develop an innovative
product or service, and training in setting up a company. Students will acquire knowledge of
environmental and sustainable development entrepreneurs as well as products and services. They
have the skills to operate a company such as marketing, accounting and contract development. By
the end of this programme, students will have the basis for starting and operating an
environmentally innovative company.
Programme structure
Students are required to take 180 credits during the MA, consisting of:
• 95 compulsory credits on core environmental enterprise and innovation issues;
• 15 optional credit module chosen from a range of subjects to suit the students’ needs and
interests; and,
• 60 compulsory credits project on setting up an environmentally innovative company.
Core modules
• Environmental enterprise training
• Environmental market analysis and related business-environment innovation tools
• The environment, business and sustainable development
• Case studies in environment and business
• Environmental contract development and management
• Accounting for managers
• Marketing for managers
• Environmental enterprise project
Optional modules
• ICT and environmental information and management
• Evolutionary economics
• Environmental law 1: the regulation of pollution
• Environmental law 2: key challenges in environmental pollution control
• European environmental law
• Pollution sampling and analysis
• GIS and the environment
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2(e) A few useful websites
The Higher Education Academy Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Web Pageshttp://www.heacademy.ac.uk/Enterprise.htm
Contains generic resources to support embedding enterprise and entrepreneurship in
the curriculum.
DTI: Knowledge Transfer Partnershipshttp://www.ktponline.org.uk/
Information for research organisations, HEIs, FE colleges, companies and graduates. Knowledge
Transfer Partnerships enable HEIs to apply their wealth of knowledge and expertise to important
business problems. For graduates: business-based training and personal and professional
development, whilst managing a project within a company.
Scottish Enterprisehttp://www.scottish-enterprise.com/
Scottish Enterprise is Scotland’s main economic development agency, funded by the Scottish
Executive: “Our mission is to help the people and businesses of Scotland succeed. In doing so, we
aim to build a world-class economy.”http://www.scottish-enterprise.com/sedotcom_home/sig/academics/proofofconceptfund.htm
The Scottish Enterprise Proof of Concept Fund supports the pre-commercialisation of leading-
edge technologies emerging from Scotland’s universities, research institutes and NHS Trusts. It
helps researchers to export their ideas and inventions from the lab to the global marketplace.
Invest Northern Irelandhttp://www.investni.com/
Invest Northern Ireland was formed in April 2002 by the Northern Ireland Government as
the main economic development organisation: “As well as companies and individuals, we work
with universities, FE colleges, local councils and other public sector organisations to achieve
[our] objectives.”
Go Wales: Self-Employment and Entrepreneurshiphttp://gwserver.bangor.ac.uk/e/guidance/new/student/self-employment_entrepreneurship.php
These web pages provide an annotated list of really useful websites with information and
resources on starting up your own business in Wales.
Shell LiveWIREhttp://www.shell-livewire.org/
“Shell LiveWIRE helps 16-30 year olds to start and develop their own business and hosts a
national competition for new business start-ups.”
Channel 4: The REAL DEALhttp://www.channel4.com/life/microsites/R/realdeal/
The REAL DEAL is: “the place where people with great ideas can find out how to stand on their
own two business feet. If you already have a great idea or just want to know how to get an idea
off the ground, we’re here to help you work out how to do it. When you’ve got an idea, we’ll
show you how to put a formal business plan together, what kind of investment is out there and
we’ll help you pitch to potential investors.”
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BBC 2: Dragon’s Denhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/dragonsden/
“High drama meets big business with nail-biting results in Dragons’ Den, the new show that pits
ambitious entrepreneurs against the Dragons – the crème of business talent. Watch as wannabe
millionaires from all walks of life try to persuade the super-successful dragons to part with their
cash.” This website also includes links to information on pitching and other entrepreneurial skills.
Small Firms Enterprise Development Initiative (SFEDI)http://www.sfedi.co.uk/
“SFEDI is a Government-recognised body responsible for researching and disseminating what
works best for small businesses.”
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2(f) Higher Education Academy (generic) resources
The main (generic) resources for entrepreneurship are athttp://www.heacademy.ac.uk/enterprise.htm
This is the front page of the HEA site which is the main resource for Teaching materials around
Entrepreneurship:
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2(g) University Enterprise/Entrepreneurship Support Units
The information below was gathered from publicly available websites during December 2004.
There may be more information on your institution’s intranet site or via your careers service.
Information was gathered only on the HEI’s represented by participants at the GEES Subject
Centre Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship event in January 2005.
University of Abertay Dundee
Embreonix is one of the country’s most innovative graduate enterprise training and support
programmes, designed to help students and graduates get their business idea off the ground -
from initial idea to trading. Students and graduates who have a business idea they wish to develop
and exploit will be supported to create their business in an action learning environment. The
programme is undertaken for one full year, from September to September and we are open to all
graduates from any University.
Contact name: Jackie McKenzie
Tel: 01382 308920
Email: [email protected]
Website:http://www.embreonix.com
University of Brighton
Brighton Ideas: a business ideas and entrepreneurs forum for staff and students.
Contact Name: Jennifer Wells (Business Services)
Tel: 01273 643222
Email: [email protected]
Website:http://www.brighton.ac.uk/audience/bus/entrepreneur.htm
New Business Idea? GRIST – Great Ideas in Science and Technology: The GRIST
scheme will give you a chance to turn your idea into a solid business proposal with a generous
financial loan and regular access to a business mentor and advisor and university expertise.
Brighton Vizion Accelerator – Creative and Media: If your idea is more media orientated, then
access to the Brighton Vizion Accelerator can provide you with a fully funded and supported
space in the Brighton Media Centre for six months, courtesy of the University of Brighton.
Contact Name: Peter Rock (Business Services)
Tel: 01273 642602
Email: [email protected]
University of Cambridge
The Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning (CfEL) delivers a range of educational
activities on the practise of Entrepreneurship, to inspire and build skills and ‘spread the spirit of
enterprise’ within the University of Cambridge and beyond.
Address: 2nd Floor, Keynes House, 24a Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1QA
Tel: 01223 766900
Fax: 01223 766922
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:http://www.entrepreneurs.jims.cam.ac.uk/
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Cambridge Enterprise, part of the University’s Research Services Division, exists to help
University of Cambridge inventors, innovators and entrepreneurs make their ideas and concepts
more commercially successful for the benefit of society, the UK economy, the inventors and
the University.
Address: 2nd Floor, 16 Mill Lane, Cambridge, CB2 1SB
Tel: 01223 760339
Fax: 01223 332988
Email: [email protected]
Website:http://www.enterprise.cam.ac.uk/
University College Chester
Centre for Work Related Studies (CWRS): through The Enterprise Centre support is
provided for student entrepreneurship and business skills.
Mail address: Parkgate Road, Chester, CH1 4BJ
Visitor address: Blue Coat School, Upper Northgate Street, CHESTER
Tel: 01244 392878
Fax: 01244 403713
Email: [email protected]
Website:http://www.chester.ac.uk/cwrs/index.html
University College Chichester
Careers and Training Shop (CATS)
Address: Westgate Fields, Chichester, PO19 1SB
Tel: 01243 786321 ext 2340
Fax: 01243 539481
Website:http://www.chichester.ac.uk/facilities/careers.htm
Coventry University
Careers Service / Enterprise: information on courses, workshops and seminars to learn
how to become enterprising and the invaluable steps required to develop your ideas. Attend the
University’s Skills and Jobs Fest 2004 and the Enterprise Fest 2005 for help and advice identifying
ways in which you can gain enterprising skills and support.
Address: 1st Floor, Alma Building, Alma Street, Coventry CV1 5QA
Tel: 024 7688 7323
Fax: 024 7688 7321
Email: [email protected]
Website:http://www.coventry.ac.uk/cms/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=1193
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University of Durham
North East Centre for Scientific Enterprise (NECSE): The Centre was established in
early 2001 and is one of a number created nationally under the Science Enterprise Challenge
initiative. This aims to raise awareness of the importance of business enterprise at all levels within
Universities, including both students and staff. Assistance available includes intellectual property
and legal services, sourcing of finance and venture capital, business development advice and
mentoring, market assessments, and business incubation space.
Address: Block 2 (Ground Floor), Mountjoy Research Centre, Stockton Road, Durham
DH1 3UP
Tel: 0191 334 3210 / 0191 334 3208
Fax: 0191 334 3211
Email: [email protected]
Website:http://www.dur.ac.uk/scientific.enterprise/
Kingston University
Part of The Enterprise Exchange, WestFocus is an integrated innovation programme that aims
to realise the commercial and social potential of a large, collaborative knowledge base and to
ensure that higher education engages fully with business and the local community.
Contact Name: Jenny Ilsley (WestFocus Administrator)
Address: River House, Swan Wing, 53-57 High St., Kingston-upon-Thames KT1 1LQ
Website:http://www.kingston.ac.uk/business-services/index.htm
Lancaster University
Institute for Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development: Lancaster has a well
established tradition of teaching entrepreneurship. They have run modules in this area since the
late 1980s. Many students choose to include an element of entrepreneurship within their
undergraduate degrees - each year they register around 500-600 students on to their various
electives which are designed for second and final year students. Many are studying for degrees in
business and management, but the modules are open to students from all faculties of the
University.
Contact name: Julie Plank
Address: Lancaster University Management School, Bailrigg, Lancaster LA1 4YX
Tel: 01524 594743
Fax: 01524 594743
Email: [email protected]
Website:http://www.lums.lancs.ac.uk/Departments/Entrep/
The Lancaster Business Creation (LBC) project is funded by the European Union and
Lancaster University and seeks to assist University staff and entrepreneurs in the Lancaster and
Blackpool area to launch their business ideas into operating companies.
Address: Business Enterprise Centre, Enterprise and Commercialisation Division, Bowland
Tower South, Lancaster University Lancaster LA1 4YT
Tel: 01524 593230
Email: [email protected]
Website:http://www.bec.lancs.ac.uk/pages/showpage.php?id=26
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University of Leeds
Spark: University of Leeds 4 Graduate Start Ups: A new initiative at the University of
Leeds supporting self-employment and graduate business startup.
Contact name: Joel McKay,
Address: University of Leeds Careers Centre, 5-7 Cromer Terrace, University of Leeds,
LS2 9JT
Tel: 0113 343 5028
Mobile: 07710 033 447
Email: [email protected]
Website:http://www.spark.leeds.ac.uk
Knowledge Transfer: support offered by the staff and departmental development unit
(SDDU) through:
• offering a commercial awareness programme for academic and related staff who have an interest
in commercialising the output of their research or other activities.
• offering an enhanced programme of courses for University staff who are, or might soon become,
directors of University spin-out companies.
Contact name: Jim Baxter
Tel: 0113 343 2205
Email: [email protected]
Website:http://www.leeds.ac.uk/sddu/Knowledge.htm
White Rose Centre for Enterprise is based at the University of Sheffield and has staff at
Leeds and York. The key aims of White Rose Centre for Enterprise are to increase the
entrepreneurial skills and competency of graduates, postgraduates and research staff, and to give
encouragement and support to technology transfer, particularly via the formation of new
companies.
Contact name: Samantha Aspinall
Tel: 0113 343 3326
Email: [email protected]
Website:http://www.wrce.org.uk/
University of Leicester
Enterprise Learning: At the University, there are many learning opportunities provided over
the course of the academic year, including competitions and workshops. There is also a FREE
joint University of Leicester / DMU student enterprise club ‘Tuesdays on the Terrace’ which gives
you the chance to see what it is like to run your own business from those have done it
themselves. They also work closely with the University Careers Service who give advice, and
organise events and learning programmes on developing your enterprise and employability skills.
‘Tuesdays on the Terrace’ and the Enterprise Forum are open to staff and students. Enterprise
Learning also provides resources and support to academic staff interested in including
entrepreneurship skills in the curriculum.
Contact name: Anne Newman
Address: Institute of Lifelong Learning, 128 Regent Road, Leicester LE1 7PA
Tel: 0116 252 5926
Email: [email protected]
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Liverpool Hope University
Career Development
Tel: 0151 291 3417
E-mail: [email protected]
Manchester Metropolitan University
Careers
Email: [email protected]
Website:http://www.mmu.ac.uk/careers/
The Centre for Enterprise has been developed mainly to allow local small businesses to
take advantage of the knowledge and skills within the MMU Business School.
Website:http://www.business.mmu.ac.uk/centreforenterprise/
Oxford University
Isis Innovation supports undergraduates and postgraduates with regular seminars on new
business formation and a brochure on ‘Starting a New Company’.
Address: Ewert House, Ewert Place, Summertown, Oxford OX2 7SG
Tel: 01865 280830
Fax: 01865 280831
Email: [email protected]
Website:http://www.isis-innovation.com/
The Oxford Science Enterprise Centre, based at the Saïd Business School, encourages
entrepreneurship by giving staff, students and members of the local community the vision and
skills to deal with the reality of business. Its eight-week, free ‘Building a Business’ seminars are
regularly attended by more than 200 people. The Centre works closely with the student society,
Oxford Entrepreneurs.
Address: Saïd Business School, Park End Street, Oxford OX1 1HP
Tel: 01865 288800 (Switchboard)
Fax: 01865 288805
Website:http://www.science-enterprise.ox.ac.uk/
University of Plymouth
University of Plymouth Enterprise: The Entrepreneurship Programme is practical and
innovative, structured around the following levels of involvement:
• Teaching entrepreneurship - workshops equipping students and staff with practical
entrepreneurial and enterprise skills
• Practical entrepreneurship - the opportunity to set up a business in practice, in a safe
environment with private sector mentor support
• On-line support - a website of resource materials featuring fact sheets, success stories,
events and points of contact
• Annual business plan competition
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The University provides funding to support staff and students in developing their business ideas,
with the potential of being made available to support entrepreneurial individuals from the wider
business community. Currently this funding supports Proof of Concept Ideas and the Entreprise
Fellowship Awards.
Contact Name: Dr Susan Boulton
Tel: 01752 233556
mail: [email protected]
Website:http://www.plymouth.ac.uk/entrepreneur
Queen’s University Belfast
Northern Ireland Centre for Entrepreneurship (NICENT). The aim of the Northern
Ireland Centre for Entrepreneurship (NICENT) in its widest context is to embed a culture of
entrepreneurship within the universities. (NICENT) was established in October 2000 as a
partnership between by Queen’s University Belfast and the University of Ulster and has more
recently been joined by Loughry Campus (CAFRE). There is a particular emphasis on the delivery
of modules and programmes for students and academic staff in entrepreneurship, idea
development and business planning.
Website:
University of Southampton
Institute for Entrepreneurship (IfE), School of Management, has a number of key aims
including to simulate an entrepreneurial experience in the teaching of entrepreneurship,
innovation and small business; and to reach out to practitioners and to involve them in the
development and delivery of knowledge about and for entrepreneurship. The IfE offers a range of
flexible learning opportunities designed to help students maximise their potential whilst
simultaneously providing an enjoyable and valuable experience.
Address: Building 25, Level 3 (Penthouse), Highfield, Southampton SO17 1BJ
Tel: 023 8059 8899
Fax: 023 8059 8981
Email: [email protected]
Website:http://www.ife.soton.ac.uk/about-us/
University of Stirling
The Centre for Entrepreneurship at Stirling University was established in April 2001. The
Centre’s aims include to: promote entrepreneurship education to equip students to confidently
face uncertain labour markets and the entrepreneurial opportunities and challenges of the
modern economy; and to create new value both social and commercial from academic activities.
Website:http://www.entrepreneurship.stir.ac.uk/index.html
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University of Ulster
The aim of The Northern Ireland Centre for Entrepreneurship (NICENT) in its
widest context is to embed a culture of entrepreneurship within the universities. There is a
particular emphasis on the delivery of modules and programmes for students and academic staff
in entrepreneurship, idea development and business planning.
Contact name: Dr Pauric McGowan
Tel: 028 9036 8864
Fax: 028 9036 6015
Email: [email protected]
Website:http://www.nicent.ulster.ac.uk
University of Wales Bangor
The Centre for Careers and opportunities is committed to helping students and graduates
to be more enterprising whether they want to be self-employed, freelance consultants or in
regular employment. Whatever your employment preference, developing your entrepreneurial
skills will put you ahead of the game.
Tel: 01248 382071
Fax: 01248 383644
Email: [email protected]
Address:http://www.bangor.ac.uk/careers/enterprise.html
University of Bangor Innovation: The stimulation of entrepreneurship and new business
ventures is crucial to the future of the Welsh economy and to ensuring that Wales becomes one
of the most enterprising nations in Europe. In order to support the growth of entrepreneurship in
Wales, a major role of University Innovation Bangor (UIB) is to help new ventures develop and
expand.
Address: 9th Floor, Alun Roberts Building, Deiniol Road, Bangor LL57 2UW
Tel: 01248 382501
Fax: 01248 383657
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:http://www.bangor.ac.uk/innovation/
University of Wolverhampton
Offers undergraduate BA(Hons) in Entrepreneurship but otherwise advice can be obtained from
the Careers and Employment Services:
Tel: 01902 321414
Email: [email protected]
Website:http://asp.wlv.ac.uk/Level2.asp?UserType=11&Subsection=499
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University of York
Workshops for undergraduate students;http://www.york.ac.uk/admin/ssdu/ya/courses/courseyes.html
and postgraduates:http://www.york.ac.uk/admin/ssdu/gradstudents/pgrsenterprise.html
White Rose Centre for Enterprise
The White Rose Centre for Enterprise is based at the University of Sheffield and has staff at
Leeds and York. Its key aims are to increase the entrepreneurial skills and competency of
graduates, postgraduates and research staff, and to give encouragement and support to technology
transfer, particularly via the formation of new companies.
Contact Name: Andrew Ferguson
Tel: 01904 433329
Email: [email protected]
Website:http://www.wrce.org.uk/
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2(h) Glossary of entrepreneurship-related terms
Source: The Higher Education Academyhttp://www.heacademy.ac.uk/Enterprise.htm (accessed October 2005)
Enterprise involves measures to encourage individuals to become entrepreneurs and equip
them with the necessary skills to make a business successful (Mason, 2000). In essence
enterprise is about spotting opportunities, creating new ideas and having the confidence and
capabilities to turn these ideas into working realities (Nixon, 2004)
Entrepreneurship is an activity which leads to the creation and management of a new
organisation designed to pursue a unique, innovative opportunity (Hindle & Rushworth, 2000)
Fundamentally, it is about using enterprise to create new business, new businesses and ‘can-do’
organisations and services (Nixon, 2004).
Intrapreneurship is the art of working within an organisation to effect change, by developing
new ideas, procedures or products, by innovating practice and thereby enhancing the business
(Kneale, 2002).
Social entrepreneurship involves using entrepreneurial skills for the public good rather than
for private profit, that is using imagination to identify new opportunities and determination to
bring them to fruition (School for Social Entrepreneurs).
~~/~~
The following terms relate to entrepreneurship and in particular, business start-up:
Account
Record of a business transaction. When you buy something on credit, the company you are
dealing with will set up an ‘account’. This means that they set up a record of what you buy and
what you pay.You should do the same thing with any customers to whom you give credit.
Accounts
A generic term for the financial documents that companies in the UK are required to file each
year. Most companies filing will include a Profit and Loss account, a Balance Sheet, a Director’s
Report and Auditor’s Statement.
Adding value
Providing something extra, over and above your competitors, which makes your proposition more
attractive then theirs, e.g. personal service.
Asset
Anything of worth that is owned by the business. The assets of a business are money in the bank,
accounts receivable, securities held in the name of the business, equipment, fixtures, property or
buildings, merchandise for sale or being made, supplies and all things of value that the
business owns.
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Audit
A process carried out by an accountant (auditor) on all limited companies each year to check that
the financial records are correct. The auditor cannot be the company’s own accountant. Sole
traders and partnerships do not need to have their accounts audited.
Balance sheet
A statement of the assets and liabilities of the business at any given time.
Benchmarking
A method used to compare the relative performance ranges of different businesses. It is an
effective way of identifying areas for business improvement.
Best practice
Best performance of a function or process or methods that lead to exceptional performance.
Brainstorming
A technique of solving problems in which members of a group put forward ideas to resolve the
issues raised.
Break even
Break-even point represents the volume of sales at which total revenue equals total costs.
Budget
A plan, usually expressed in monetary terms, which projects the operation of a business over a
period of time.
Business angel
An individual investing in businesses, especially start-up businesses.
Business plan
A document, which analyses your business activities in detail and predicts the expenditures of the
business for at least the coming year. Usually presented to the bank to support a request for a
loan and/or overdraft facilities.
Capital
This has several meanings, but usually refers to the amount of money in the business belonging to
the proprietors or shareholders.
Capital expenditure
Money spent on the purchase of an asset.
Cash book
A daily record of payments and receipts.
Cash flow
The difference between total cash coming in and going out of a business over a period of time.
Companies
A Company is a type of business structure created and regulated by state law. What sets the
company apart from all other types of businesses is that a company is an independent legal entity,
separate from the people who own, control and manage it.
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Conditions of payment
The written terms under which one must make payment or could seek payment if it was due
to him/her.
Cost of sales
A term used in a trading account representing the cost of the materials used which, when taken
from the sales figures, gives the gross profit.
Cost plus pricing
Selling a range of products/services by setting the price on the basis of adding a fixed mark-up to
the total costs of production and associated costs.
Credit
The period allowed, or taken, to pay for goods or services.
Credit account
An agreement made with a trusted customer so that he or she can buy goods or services and pay
for them later.
Creditor
A party to whom money is owed by the business.
Current asset
A cash balance and other assets intended for conversion in cash.
Current liability
A temporary debt which is capable of being paid off within one year, for example, creditors, bank
overdraft and short term loans.
Debtors
A party who owes money to the business.
Depreciation
A way of measuring the cost of using an asset which decreases in value with time and/or use.
Differentiation
To make one’s product/service different from others in the market place.
Direct (Variable) costs
Expenses, such as materials, which vary according to the number of goods produced or
services offered.
Drawings
Money taken out of the business by the owner for personal purposes (sole trader and
partnership only).
E-Commerce
Conducting business over electronic networks, usually via the Internet.
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Economics of scale
Rationalising a business operation to maximise the use of each individual resource so that each is
cost effective; to ensure there is no competition or waste of activities.
Exit route
How the company plans to leave the market and possibility, sell up.
Expenditure
Expenditure is money that is spent in the course of the business.
Facility
Usually a loan or overdraft offered to the business by a bank.
Financial Year
The accounting year of a business, the period covered by the accountant.
Fire fighting
Having so much work and so few resources we can only react to events and hence ‘fire fight’
rather then working to plan.
Fixed assets
Assets such as machinery, land and buildings which the company do not intend to sell and which
are intended for use within the business.
Focus groups
A professionally moderated discussion among a group (four or more participants) of individuals
whose opinions are thought to reflect those of the product’s intended purchasers.
Franchise
The right to use the name of another company, and to sell its products or services in exchange
for a royalty. The franchisee agrees to abide by the conditions set out in the franchiser’s
agreement.
Gearing
Gearing is an indicator of a company’s ability to service its debt. The higher the proportion of
debt to equity, the higher the gearing.
Gross profit (also Gross margin)
Difference between sales and direct costs.
Guerrilla marketing approach
Highly aggressive marketing intended to get maximum results from minimal resources.
Hedging
An insurance policy designed to protect individuals or companies from major market movements.
Hedging involves buying two investments that will move in opposite ways as markets move,
leaving investors unaffected by major movements. Companies typically hedge against exchange
rate movements.
ICT
Information and Communications Technology. Includes computers, telecommunications,
internet, etc.
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IIP
The guardians of the Investors in People Standard are responsible for the quality assurance
arrangements for the assessment and recognition of staff within an organisation.
Intangible assets
Assets which have no material existence, i.e. goodwill.
Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)
A state granted right to protect a form of intellectual property, (property such as an idea, a
design, etc, which has been created by an individual but doesn’t exist in physical form) for e.g. a
patent right, design right, trade mark right or copyright.
Kickback
An illegal, secret payment made in return for a referral which resulted in a transaction
or contract.
Liquid assets
An asset which can be converted into cash very easily, for example debtors.
Long-term liability
A debt, such as a secured loan extending over 1 year.
Market segmentation
The process of looking at the different customer needs within a market and dividing them into
different segments based on these needs.
Market proposition
Your unique offering to a particular market or part of a market.
Mortgage
A mortgage is a secured charge for which the lender has stipulated property (real estate)
as security.
Net profit
The figure remaining after direct cost and overheads have been deducted from sales revenue.
Net worth
Indicates an owner’s equity in a business, calculated by deducting total liabilities from total assets.
Similarly, the net worth of an individual is calculated by deducting all personal liabilities from
personal assets.
Niche markets
A small or little explored market which mass market corporate may miss, giving smaller
companies the opportunity to design their offering to fit its particular requirements.
Overdraft
The amount which a bank is prepared to extend as credit on a current account.
Overheads (indirect or fixed costs)
Expenses which do not vary with the level of production or number of employees and which
cannot be attributed to production costs, e.g. lighting, rent, rates.
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Partners
More than one person owns and manages a business. All have equal responsibility.
Patent
The exclusive legal rights to make and sell an invention or new product.
PAYE
Pay As You Earn. A scheme that every small business employing people must set up and administer
to pay income tax and National Insurance contributions to the Inland Revenue.
Positioning
Positioning is how a product appears in relation to other products in the same market.
Pre-selling campaigns
Marketing activities prior to product launch.
Profit and loss account
Statement showing sales costs, expenses and profit (or loss) for an accounting period, normally
one year.
Profit margin
The ratio by which a company’s income exceeds its outgoings.
Purchases
The materials or stock that a business buys over a given period.
Profiling
To increase the public image of an individual, or ones business.
Quality systems (ISOs)
The process within an organisation which ensures that work is carried out to the highest
standard and documented as such.
Receiver
A person appointed to collect and manage the assets of a company, or partnership in serious
financial difficulties. In the case of bankruptcy, the assets may be sold and distributed by a receiver
to creditors.
Registered office
The address where a company is officially registered with the Register of Companies. (Not
necessarily the trading address).
Revenue expenditure
Money spent in the running costs of the business.
Segmentation
See ‘Market Segmentation’.
Shareholder
A person or entity that owns shares of stock in a company or mutual fund.
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SME
Small and Medium-sized Enterprise. The technical definition covers companies that have less than
250 employees, (50 for a small business) and are less than 25% foreign owned.
Social enterprise
An enterprise whose primary aim is to meet some social rather than business need. Examples
include charities, co-operatives and community businesses. Although generally run as not-for-profit
enterprises, their success usually depends on application of the sound business practices described
on this website.
Socio-economic background
Social class (grade A to E) which is of course related to ones income, is used to identify the kinds
of people who buy your product and hence to target more of them.
Sole trader
An individual running a business. All revenues and payments from the business are incorporated
within the individual’s personal financial and tax affairs.
Statement of account
The record you receive, from your bank or a company with which you have been dealing, which
shows all the relevant transactions and finishes with the amount you owe or are owed.
Stock
Goods-whether finished, in production or raw materials.
Supply chain
The name given to the overall system that covers the flow of material and information from a
business’s sources of supply to its customer. It includes intermediaries such as wholesalers and
distribution logistics.
Top line
Sales or turnover.
Trading account
A summary of your sales for a period, usually a year, together with the cost of sales for the same
period, showing the resulting gross profit.
Turnover
Total invoiced sales net of VAT.
Unique Selling Point (USP)
An unusual or unique feature of a product or service that no other product has. Or:
The thing about the product that makes consumers buy it.
VAT
Value Added Tax is a sales tax set at 17.5% of value within the UK. Most goods and services
supplied within the UK are liable to VAT.
Working capital
The capital which is used for the day-to-day running of the business.
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Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship
Enhancing the curriculum in Geography, Earth and
Environmental Sciences
Section 3: Examples of practice
(a) Enterprise and employability
(b) Verbal business card icebreaker
(c) Two lectures to introduce the concepts of intrapreneurship
(d) Developing understanding of intrapreneurship and the links to entrepreneurship
(e) Entrepreneurship assessment opportunities
(f) Exploring the motivation and skills of entrepreneurs
(g) Selling ideas, an enterprising activity for many modules: the elevator pitch
(h) Science communication
(i) An environmental impact assessment of a brownfield site
(j) Outline scope for a commercial practice module
(k) Students as consultants
(l) Aberdeen Oil Game
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Example A: Enterprise and employability
Sarah Maguire, University of Ulster
Level: 2
Number of Students: ~30
Type of Exercise: 10 credit point module (100 hours student effort)
Summary
This is an optional module within the BSc (Hons) Environmental Science and BSc (Hons)
Geography programmes at the University of Ulster. It is compulsory for all students undertaking
an intercalary industrial placement. There is a need for students to understand how businesses can
exploit scientific practices and how they can lead such exploitation through entrepreneurial
activity. It is also important for students to develop skills and business awareness when
approaching work experience and graduate employment. This module aims to provide students
with a range of environmentally orientated business and management skills and practices in order
that they can integrate more successfully into a particular company or set up their own business.
In particular, recognition of future business opportunities is an important goal. This module assists
students in the development of their own career paths.
~~/~~
Aims and learning outcomes
The aims of the module are to provide students with a range of environmentally orientated
business and management skills and practices in order that they can integrate more successfully
into a particular company or set up their own business. In particular, recognition of future
business opportunities is an important goal. This module will also assist students in the
development of their own career paths.
By the end of this module, the students will:
1. Have developed a knowledge of important areas of business and management with respect to
the new product development process and the entrepreneurial business plan, including key
sources of business support and finance, the steps required to research a market and protect
the intellectual property for a business opportunity, the management of people and operations,
and financial forecasts.
2. Understand the context in which new products or services are developed within
Environmental Science and Geography.
3. Have developed an awareness of a range of environmental and geographical career
opportunities.
4. Have reflected on their own career choices and developed action plans to support these.
5. Have developed the skills necessary for applying for work placements and employment.
This module will further develop the following skills:
1. Innovative thinking and creativity skills through the formulation of a business proposition based
on a market need.
2. Intellectual skills will be achieved through the evaluation and analysis of a business proposition
3. Communication skills through the preparation of written reports, oral presentation and
interview experience.
4. Group working skills achieved through class discussion, and group development from forming
to performing within the group feasibility study assignment.
5. Project planning and management skills through the development of the group feasibility study
for a business proposition.
6. Self management skills through meeting deadlines and working independently on assessments.
Design and operation
Teaching takes the form of lectures, workshops and tutorials where students are expected to
engage in active discussions. A core of materials is delivered by the Faculty of Life and Health
Sciences, Co-ordinator of Academic-Enterprise who has over five years experience in enterprise
training. The three teaching staff mentor groups in the creation and development of their
business ideas. Field work and guest speakers are used to enhance the real world context of the
students’ learning experience. Private study is supported by extensive study notes and sign
posting to the web-sites of organisations involved in aspects of business planning. Students are
expected to work independently as individuals and groups. The module is organised into two
sections, both of which have six two-hour workshops.
The enterprise section covers topics such as:
• Introducing enterprise
o What is it? Why should you study it? Its context within your subject
o Finding business ideas
o Business support networks
o Business planning
o Feasibility study assignment
• Visit to a Science Innovation Centre
• Innovation and technology transfer
• Marketing
• Operations
• Managing People
• Managing Finance
• Group work on the feasibility study
The employability section covers:
• Introducing employability
• Graduate destinations and skills review
• Employer presentations
• CVs and applications
• Interview techniques
Assessment
1. Job application and interview (50%)
Students are provided with a number of job scenarios. This assessment requires them to select
one, to research what the job entails and to submit an application for it by Week 4 (25%). They
also undergo a simulated interview for this job during Week 6 (25%). Interviews are assessed
using the following criteria relating to their ability to answer the interview questions –
Mark range Criteria
7+ A highly relevant and full answer illustrated by examples to demonstrate your
knowledge/skills/experience/awareness of current issues
5-6 A reasonable answer largely relevant with some examples
4-5 A weak answer, may be less relevant or brief with few illustrative examples
fail An inadequate answer of little relevance or with no examples
This assessment tests learning outcomes 3-5
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2. Group feasibility study report and presentation (50%)
Each group of 4 or 5 students produces and submits an outline plan (feasibility study) on Week 6
(35%), which summarises, in simple terms, the nature of their business idea within the context of
Environmental Science. The feasibility study should cover the main features of the business, and
should be as specific as possible. The feasibility study needs to be clear to the readers, persuasive
and as convincing as possible. In addition, each group is required to give a presentation of their
feasibility study lasting 6 to 8 minutes, and to answer questions for 3 to 4 minutes on their
business proposition (15%). This assessment tests learning outcomes 1-2.
Support materials
These included:
• Careers guidance materials and videos accessible through any HEI’s Careers Department.
• Career destination data for the courses were also used.
• Job pages and websites
A more detailed description and evaluation of the module is available in: Maguire S and Guyer C
(2004). ‘Preparing GEES students for employment in the enterprise culture’ Journal of Geography in
Higher Education,28:3; 369-379
Evaluation
The module has been extensively evaluated through:
o An analysis of student motivations for selecting the module
o Analysis of module performance data
o Conducting end of module evaluations
o Tutor feedback
A number of key elements can be identified as having worked together positively:
• The module was designed with cognisance of pedagogic theory for course design and
student learning.
• The teaching staff had confidence in their knowledge and ability to deliver the employability
section. This had been developed through participation in subject-centre staff development and
close working relationships with the Institution’s careers department.
• The Institution had made available expert staff and resources for teaching the enterprise
section. It would be easy to deliver a generic course to students from all disciplines. However,
experience from skills courses has demonstrated that student learning is optimised when
courses are fully embedded within the subject rather than appearing to be ‘bolt-on’. Therefore
this input was further supported and enhanced by the School teaching staff supplying
appropriate subject orientated examples and case studies.
• Teaching staff had maintained links with past graduates and were able to set up a career
convention reflecting a range of opportunities.
• The majority of students valued the syllabus as relevant and appropriate and were intrinsically
motivated to attend and learn. However, it was necessary to convince a small minority that
this was not an easy escape from chemistry or computer-based modules.
However, a number of challenges were faced during the development of this module, some of
which continue to cause difficulty:
• Although academic colleagues recognise and accept the Institutional requirement for
entrepreneurship, the module is still perceived by many to be lightweight and superfluous to
the needs of the subject. These attitudes impact upon students when they are seeking advice
regarding module choices. It is anticipated though that the student grapevine will prove
effective with feedback from previous cohorts providing a balance to this.
• Staffing on the module is an ongoing concern. As entrepreneurship rolls out across the faculty it
is unlikely that the faculty co-ordinator for academic enterprise will be able to commit so much
time to teaching on individual modules. At this stage web-based resources are being developed
that will provide an alternative to classroom teaching.
Advice
Colleagues in other institutions may not be in a position, as we were, to include an entire module
focused on enterprise and employability issues within their curricula and may wish to consider
the following alternatives:
• Provide opportunities within subject-based modules for students to engage in real world
scenarios e.g. problem-solving case studies
• Use students’ personal development plans to identify and work towards career goals
• Ask visiting speakers to discuss their careers with students and the skills required for them.
Contact details
Dr Sarah Maguire
Staff Development Unit, University of Ulster
Email: [email protected]
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Example B: Verbal business card icebreaker
Pauline Kneale, University of Leeds
Level: All
Number of Students: Any
Type of Exercise: As an ice breaker before a lecture / workshop
Summary
The Power Point slides introduce some issues that raise student awareness of the importance of
networking. The whole session takes about 20 minutes but just using slides 11-13 ‘creating a
verbal business card’ makes a great starter to a session.
~~/~~
Aims and learning outcomes
To raise awareness of how you can create a positive impression in a very short space of time.
Design and operation
In the slides, 11-13 people design and practice their opening lines that really makes someone want
to talk to them.You may want to distribute blank business cards to the group so they really get
the point of creating a statement that is short and punchy enough to go on a business card.
Support materials
See Power Point slides and notes below (the PowerPoint presentation is available on-line athttp://www.gees.ac.uk/projtheme/entrep/entrepres.htm
Evaluation
The students, class of 160, found it a little intimidating at first and ‘felt really silly’ standing up and
shaking hands. But as they introduced themselves to the third person they began to get the idea: ‘I
was using different words with the third person, it made me think more about what I really wanted to
say;’ ‘Good fun.’
It is worth letting them take the time to introduce themselves to 4/5 people and get to feel
more comfortable with the process
Advice
Be enthusiastic, up beat but take it seriously. This is a worthwhile exercise. Have your own version
ready as an example. Be funny about needing different versions for different situations
Contact details
Pauline E Kneale
Professor of Applied Hydrology with Learning and Teaching in Geography
School of Geography, University of Leeds
Leeds LS2 9JT
Email: [email protected]
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Networking- a starter session
A short session to cover:
• Why bother?
• How to get organised
• How to start in meetings / social sessions
At one level this is about getting your act
together so you have the self confidence to
do really well.
Why bother now and in first years
at work?
Is there a gender issue here?
• Generally men network naturally at
work and after work with colleagues
through sport and social activities
• Generally women network naturally
outside work with their friends
Ok give me your ideas:
Get better known? Increase your reputation?
Find people that will help you progress
Build up contacts
So other people think of you when they need
someone like you
Helps to get a job
Shows you are sociable and have social skills
Some people see this as a tacky activity and start losing
confidence and don’t want to exploit people. Just be a bit
American and remember there are people competing for
your job/position who have no such scruples.
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Networking has a personal benefit
but is also a business skill.
• Effective teams will be knowledge-sharing.
They use their collective memory. They
know the capabilities of colleagues, and can
make the most of each others’ expertise.
• Networking can help you to understand the
big picture and help to make wise decisions
quickly.
• Knowing the big picture can help you make
more mature suggestions and tackle more
senior assignments effectively.
• Internally in an organisation, networking is
key to:
– Creating teams and communities built on
trust and real commitment
– Extracting valuable intelligence. With
increasing data-overload, the need for
networking increases
• Externally, networking is the key to:
– Understanding and acting on market
trends. As the world changes at a faster
pace, the need for networking increases.
Integrating with third parties –
customers, suppliers and partners
– It is important to most business functions, not
just obvious ones like sales & marketing.
What is networking about?
• Visibility
• Being remembered
Research evidence for the
effectiveness of networking
• John P. Kotter (1999) What Leaders Really
Do, Harvard Business School Press, Mass.
‘Good managers are good networkers. They
make/take the time in the schedule to meet
people’
‘Networking is a key skill of successful
managers and is often overlooked’
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• Kanter, R.M. (1985)The Change Masters,
Jossey Bass Wiley, New York.
‘Networking is an effective source of power
and influence’
Activity
At a group two-day interview
• Why should you network?
• Who should you aim to network with?
• What can you offer as you network?
Make some notes of your answers – 3 minutes.
How will you introduce yourself?
Hi, I’m Jimmy from Wigan, who are you?
OK but:
• What do you want to get across to people?
• What do you tell them so that they say ‘Hey
that is really cool, can you tell me more about
…’
• How can you be really clear?
A verbal business card
• Hi, I’m Jim a geography student at Leeds but I
have got really interested in .... and I want to …
so that …
• Asked about what you do as a part-
time job:
I’m a bar person at weekends.
Or
You know how some bars you go in are really
dull & boring, well my job involves making
sure the place has a welcome feel and is a
pleasure to visit. It’s so important in the pub
business to make people want to come back.
Task: write a verbal business card for you
– 3 minutes.
Get their feedback.
Before you go to a meeting of any sort take some
time to work out who you may meet / what you have
to offer them / how you can be seen as approachable
and worth talking to. Remember people are more
likely to offer you something if you are giving them
something. This is not the time for lame impressions.
You may want to distribute blank business cards to
the group so they really get the point of creating a
statement that is short and punchy enough to go on a
business card.
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Task
• Pick a partner
• Stand up and introduce yourself to your
partner. Shake hands, be positive and
enthusiastic
• Partner: listen carefully and respond. Then
suggest ways to improve the introduction
• Then swap roles
- 6 minutes
Managing a first meeting
Ok you have arrived at the interview and
people are gathering with /without a drink
• Put your name label on your right hand
lapel
• How do you feel walking into a room
knowing no one?
• Approach who?
o People standing alone
o Group
• Introduce yourself: use your prepared card
• Ask the first questions – easy ones
Starter questions
• Where do you come from?
• How is life at university of ….?
• What is Leeds like?
• I couldn’t help admiring your jacket, can
I ask where you found it?
• Is this your first interview?
Ask/introduce in the expectation of a positive reply.
Cheerful positive outgoing body language.
Then try with some other people.
The students, a class of 160, found it a little
intimidating at first and ‘felt really silly’ standing up and
shaking hands. But as they introduced themselves to
the third person they began to get the idea. ‘I was using
different words …, it made me think more about what I
really wanted to say.’ ‘Good fun’ It is worth letting them
take the time to introduce themselves to four or five
people and get to feel more comfortable with
the process.
Right hand lapel, so seen when you shake hands.
98% of people going into a room are nervous.
Spot people who are pleased to see you – those alone,
along the wall, etc.
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Networking needs small talk
• You need people to be on your side,
interested and ‘comfortable’ with you
• Small talk builds up the comfort zone
• Be interested in what others have to offer
Talk topics: sport; hobbies; work; holidays;
family; books; news; music; films; …
Create appropriate introductions
• You need different introductions for
yourself in different situations
Homework: Create 3 introductions that
cause people to say ‘Hey that is really cool, can
you tell me more about …’
• For an interview / someone meeting you
at work / an aunt / someone on the bus /
at a club / someone meeting you in the
uni / …
Go for it!
• Networking is a real business and
social activity
• Have a plan
• Keep the contact list of attendees
if available
• Follow up people
• Keep track of contacts
• Find ways of keeping up with people
• Enjoy meeting people
You don’t have to do all the talking. Show that you are
a good listener too. Don’t:
• Keep looking for more interesting people or
move on every 5 minutes. Take the time to have
a relaxed conversation with whoever you meet.
• Appear to target the room like a piranha – for
only the attractive men/women or the company
reps. At an interview, the people running the
session will notice if you ignore the other
candidates. They might conclude that you are
focused and driven, but also that you are not a
team player with social skills. Oh and the rest of
the candidates will notice and not want you on
their team!
Escaping people: I want a drink can I get you one? I
need a breath of fresh air do you want to come? I
have just spotted x, have you met her? Let me
introduce you.
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Example C: You are on your own - ice breaker
Pauline Kneale, University of Leeds
Level: Any
Number of Students: Any in groups of 2-4
Type of Exercise: A useful ice breaker or start to a session for those not yet
introduced to the idea of starting a business
Summary
The aim of this activity is for the participants to realise they have resources and skills that they
could use if they were pushed into starting a business.
~~/~~
Aims and learning outcomes
The objectives for the participants are
• to have a fuller understanding of their own enterprising skills
• to start discussing enterprising ideas, get comfortable with group discussions
Design and operation
1. Pose the question: ‘If you were out of work/University tomorrow and no one, NO ONE
would employ you, how would you make a living? You have three minutes to develop a list
– on your own’.
2. At the end of 3 minutes ask for a quick feedback on their ideas, which will bring out the
diversity of their ideas, ‘oh yes I could do that too’ comments.
3. Then ask students to share their ideas with their neighbour and create a list of the skills
they already have to support their ambition to start this new enterprise.
4. After 5 minutes ask them to work out what they would need to do in the first week and
first month to get the business going. Put the main points on a OHP/Poster.
5. Do a group show and tell of the mini posters. With people moving around the room to
look at a variety of opportunities.
Students discuss, staff encourage. No formal assessment.
Support materials
Flip chart/poster paper, pens, blu-tac,
Evaluation
This is a fun session that takes about 20 minutes and gets the students to realise they could go
down this route. It pulls out the skills. In debriefing be positive and enthusiastic no matter how
whacky the idea. The later sessions in a course can address some of the realities of starting a
business. In my experience a class of 60 has about 130 ideas between them. Some students do
list posters – but most create elaborate spiders’ webs of people with links.
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Student comments
I really found this difficult at the start, but once I heard what the girls behind me were doing I
realised that there are things that I can do. I am very involved with the junior school some of her
each year and this showed me that I do enjoy getting good together for the store and I really enjoy
selling and talking to people.
Gruber had so many I feared it was hard to choose one to plan which was really surprising. I sell on
eBay quite a lot, developing an idea around a web site and selling is something I realise I could do.
Lots of fun to hear everyone’s ideas, they were all so different.
Sharing ideas at the start really helped me to understand what be enterprising can be. It was much
harder to make a plan for the first week and first month.
Advice
Be cheerful and enthusiastic. Encourage discussion and creative thinking. Give examples – dog
walking service; gardening; serious car boot trader; meals from home; writing web pages; tutoring;
teaching yoga; …
Contact details
Pauline E Kneale
Professor of Applied Hydrology with Learning and Teaching in Geography
School of Geography, University of Leeds
Leeds LS2 9JT
Email: [email protected]
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Example D: Two lectures to introduce the concepts
of intrapreneurship
Pauline Kneale, University of Leeds
Level: Any
Number of Students: Any - has been used with 15 and 120
Type of Exercise: Lecture 50 minute or 20 minute
Summary
These two fully scripted lectures are designed to introduce the concepts of intrapreneurship to a
class at any level. Each is a scripted Powerpoint presentation with a number of activities. The
lecturer will need to decide which activities to include to suit the class.
~~/~~
Aims and learning outcomes
• To introduce the concept of intrapreneurship
• The class will have an understanding of the nature of intrapreneurship, the literature it is
based on, and an insight into what this means in the workplace.
Design and operation
A lecture with activities. No direct assessment but could lead to an essay - see Assessment
opportunities file.
Support materialshttp://www.geog.leeds.ac.uk/courses/other/casestudies/
See the section under Lectures half way down the page. Customise the materials for your use. i.e.
start by replacing your name for mine on slide 1.
Evaluation
The students have found this a positive experience. ‘I liked the exercises, it was good to do
something instead of just listening’. ‘I hadn’t thought about what I was doing at work as being
important for getting a job’. ‘I can see that you can be positive from the start if that’s what you
want, I am not sure I have the confidence to be like that’ ‘It is good to see that businesses want
people to be hving ideas and telling them. Interesting to see how organisations work’. ‘Liked
the examples’
Advice
Try to get an example from a recent graduate from your School you can quote to help students
see that being intrapreneurial at work does relate to them and their subject.
Contact details
Pauline E Kneale
Professor of Applied Hydrology with Learning and Teaching in Geography
School of Geography, University of Leeds,
Leeds LS2 9JT
Email: [email protected]
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Example E: Developing understanding of
intrapreneurship and the links to
entrepreneurship. An intrapreneur’s story:
Education Officer and Senior Ranger.
Pauline Kneale, University of Leeds
Level: Any
Number of Students: Ideally a small / tutorial group of maximum 6, but larger groups can
discuss the case in groups of 5-6
Type of Exercise: Pre reading for a tutorial / seminar discussion
Summary
A case example of a Park Ranger working for a local authority is used to let students draw out
ideas about how people can influence their workplace, put new ideas in place and develop both
their business, their job and their career. While this is an example of enterprise within a business
the tutor can get students to draw parallels with the skills for entrepreneurship.
~~/~~
Aims and learning outcomes
To understand the enterprising role someone can play in a business. Develop an understanding of
business practices
Design and operation
The case is fully documented. Students are asked to read the Park Rangers story in advance and
come to the tutorial ready to discuss the case..
Support materials
Seehttp://www.geog.leeds.ac.uk/courses/other/casestudies/ the materials are under the Context
Case Materials section; orhttp://www.geog.leeds.ac.uk/courses/other/casestudies/intra/IntrapreneurStoryEducationOfficerAn
dSeniorRanger.doc
Evaluation
This case has evolved following a couple of runs. Student comments ‘It is not obvious until you
read about real people that you can actually make changes to what you do at work. I had not
realised people act like this.’ ‘It was really interesting to read about a person doing a job and
someone that works in a park. It is not a job I had thought of but (I) can see that it could be
really interesting’. ‘I had decided I would be a teacher but this case shows you can be doing
teaching in a different way’. ‘The different challenges that she has to face are a bit difficult but you
can see how it is possible to do differently (sic)’.
Advice
Make sure students are really encouraged to pre-read otherwise they waste time reading at the
start. I ask them to come with notes and points threatening a mini presentation!
Contact details
Pauline E Kneale, Professor of Applied Hydrology with Learning and Teaching in Geography
School of Geography, University of Leeds,
Leeds LS2 9JT
Email: [email protected]
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Example F: Entrepreneurship assessment opportunities
Sharon Gedye, GEES Subject Centre
Assessment Explanation
Business Plan A business plan may typically contain an executive summary, an
outline of the business opportunity, a marketing and sales strategy,
management team and personnel details, operations information
and a financial forecast. Business plans can be individually or group
assessed. For group presentations you might like to request that
students submit minutes of meetings as evidence of their
teamwork, which is a key business skill.
Feasibility Study A written or oral presentation detailing the feasibility of a business
concept. The presentation should critically examine the business
product/service, the market, competitors, costs and
personnel/management requirements.
Business ‘Pitch’ An oral presentation selling a business concept to a potential
backer. This type of presentation concentrates on the unique selling
point of the business idea. Assessment will need to take into
account how convincing, confident and professional the student is in
presenting the concept.
Critique of a Business Students may be required to critically examine a real business plan
Plan selected by the module tutor or one chosen for them-self.
Alternatively, they may peer evaluate mock business plans.
Business / Business Students are required to present a report on a business or a business
Person Case Study person/entrepreneur. The case study can be tutor or student
selected. This type of assessment could be desk-based or may
involve site visits to a business and/or interviews with an
entrepreneur and their personnel.
Personal Development The development of a personal development plan (PDP) that focuses
Plan on entrepreneurial skills and competencies. The enterprise PDP may
involve action planning and reflection around the students business
idea.
Essay/Examination Traditional essays and examinations are widely used in assessing
entrepreneurship/enterprise courses. See example overleaf.
Contact details
Sharon Gedye
GEES Subject Centre
Buckland House, University of Plymouth
Plymouth, Devon PL4 8AA
[email protected]
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An essay that for good marks needs some personal research
Pauline Kneale, University of Leeds
Introduction
The following titles build around a common theme. The essay title does not direct a student
towards interviewing an intrapreneur or an entrepreneur but the support materials encourage
students to use that route. The references below are deliberately ‘dated’ so the good students
can prove to me they have the research skills to find the more recent examples and get
appropriate credit. These titles have been used with level 2 students for a number of years. Most
students do research an employment sector and their answers are very diverse. Good answers
include mini interview reports and an understanding of the sector and literature. Despite the
instructions below less good answers waffle randomly about work in many sectors with little
grounding in fact.
The essay
For a particular occupational sector discuss the ways in which the workplace has changed in
the last ten years and how it can be expected to change in the next five years.
Or
Discuss the role of intrapreneurs in a particular occupational sector. How might an employee
in their first years at work act in an intrapreneurial role?
Or
Discuss the role of entrepreneurs in a particular occupational sector. Explore the facets and
attributes that lead to success in entrepreneurship.
Your essay should build on the module sessions and reading, together with the information
you gain from discussing the nature of the workplace with people you meet over the next
few months.
Each of these essays will benefit from your using your geographical research skills to find some
one to talk to so that your comments are grounded in the real workplace. Occupational sectors
you might choose include voluntary organisations, public service sector, public utilities, blue chip
companies, SME’s (small and medium sized enterprises), or international corporations. Why not
choose a sector you might like to work in?
Each essay needs equal weight given to each of its sections to gain high marks. A general waffle
around multiple sectors will get few marks. An essay that is not grounded in the literature is
unlikely to score above 45%. Evidence of relevant research with someone from your chosen
sector is good dissertation practice and likely to score well.
Selected references
Journals to check include: Journal of Business Venturing; People Management; Capability: Journal
of Autonomous Learning for Life and Work; Journal of Graduate Education; Personnel Management
The changing workplace
Cusumano, M.A. (1997). How Microsoft Makes Large Teams Work Like Small Teams, Sloan
Management Review, Fall, 9-20
Forrester, K., Payne, J. and Ward, K. (1995). Workplace Learning: perspectives on education, training,
and work, Aldershot: Avebury, 173pp
Harvey L., Moon S., Geall V. and Bower R. (1997). Graduates Work: organisational change and
students attributes, Centre for Research into Quality and Association of Graduate
Recruiters, 132 pp,
Hawkins, P. and Winter J. (1995). Skills for Graduates in the 21st Century, The Association of
Graduate Recruiters, 49pp.
Malecki, E.J. (1997). Technology and Economic Development: the dynamics of local, regional and national
competitiveness, 2nd Ed., Longmans, 460pp.
Purcell K. and Pitcher J. (1996). Great Expectations: the new diversity of graduate skills and aspirations,
Higher Education Careers Services Unit, Careers Service Trust, Institute for Employment
Research, 54pp.
Semler, R (1994). Maverick!: the success story behind the world’s most unusual workplace, Arrow:
London, 321pp.
Wajcman, J. and Martin, B. (2001). My company or my career: managerial achievement and loyalty,
British Journal of Sociology, 52: 4, 559-578
Entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs
Antoncic, B. and Hisrich, R.D. (2001). Intrapreneurship: construct refinement and cross-cultural
validation, Journal of Business Venturing, 16: 5, 495-527
Bridges, W 1997 Creating You & Co.: learn to think like the CEO of your own career, London: Nicholas
Brealey.
Chen, C.C., Greene, P.G. and Crick, A. (1998). Does entrepreneurial self-efficacy distinguish
entrepreneurs from managers? Journal of Business Venturing, 13: 4, 295-316
Daly, G.G. 1998 Entrepreneurship and business culture in Japan and the US, Japan And The World
Economy, 10: 4, 487-494
Hollinshead, G, and Michailova, S. (2001). Blockbusters or bridge-builders? The role of western
trainers in developing new entrepreneurialism in Eastern Europe, Management Learning, 32: 4,
419-436
Jennings, R., Cox, C. and Cooper C.L. (1994). Business Elites: the psychology of entrepreneurs and
Intrapreneurs, London: Routledge.
Macrae, N. (1982). Intrapreneurial now, The Economist, April 17.
Pinchot, G. (1985). Intrapreneuring: why you don’t have to leave the corporation to become an
entrepreneur, NewYork: Harper & Row.
Pinochet, G. and Pellman, R. (1999). Intrapreneuring in Action, Berrett-Koehler, San Francisco
Wickham, P.A. (2004). Strategic Entrepreneurship, 3
rd
Edition, Harlow: Pearson Education Ltd, .
Contact details
Pauline E Kneale
Professor of Applied Hydrology with Learning and Teaching in Geography
School of Geography, University of Leeds
Leeds LS2 9JT
Email: [email protected]
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Example G: Exploring the motivation and skills of
entrepreneurs
Pauline Kneale, University of Leeds
Level: Any
Number of Students: Any in groups of 5-6
Type of Exercise: Two hours comfortably, but could be done in an hour if students
have pre read the materials.
Summary
The aim of this case activity is for the participants to try to understand how entrepreneurs
operate, what motivates entrepreneurs and how they behave in certain circumstances. What were
the challenges, what are their personal qualities?
The outcome is a presentation which needs to be clear, concise and enthusiastic. The
presentation is created under considerable time pressure.
~~/~~
Aims and learning outcomes
The objectives for the participants are:
• to have a fuller understanding of ‘entrepreneurial behaviour’;
• to give a persuasive and convincing presentation to their peers.
Design and operation
Students discuss, staff facilitate, The materials suggest a variety of sources for examples so tutors
can choose the type of entrepreneur to suit their class. We have run this using the UK examples
which students find more accessible than the Starbucks or Dell examples which ‘are beyond our
reach’. Using a range of examples with a large class makes for more interesting feed back. I
suggest that you have a different case for every two groups
Support materials
See tutor and students’ notes below.
Entrepreneur Case Studies:http://www.gees.ac.uk/projects/entrep.htm
Advice
Be cheerful and enthusiastic. Encourage discussion and creative thinking.
Contact details
Pauline E Kneale
Professor of Applied Hydrology with Learning and Teaching in Geography
School of Geography, University of Leeds
Leeds LS2 9JT
Email: [email protected]
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Tutor notes
The aim of this case activity is for the participants to try to understand how entrepreneurs
operate, what motivates entrepreneurs and how they behave in certain circumstances. What were
the challenges, what are their personal qualities?
The outcome is a presentation which needs to be clear, concise and enthusiastic. The
presentation is created under considerable time pressure.
The objectives for the participants are
• to have a fuller understanding of ‘entrepreneurial behaviour’
• to give a persuasive and convincing presentation to their peers
There are a range of examples of entrepreneurship that tutors can call on. These make excellent
examples in lectures but students gain considerable understanding from working with the cases
themselves to draw out the motivations, skills and challenges of real entrepreneurs. While many
cases are available at a price (a Google search will find them), example cases are available to
download free from:
Entrepreneurship Case Studies, UKhttp://www.heacademy.ac.uk/thematic/950.htm
A range of US examples is athttp://entrepreneurs.about.com/od/casestudies/
See alsohttp://www.zeromillion.com/entrepreneurship for extracts that include: Howard
Schultz, Starbucks; Michael Dell, Dell Computer Corporation; Robert L. Johnson, BET Holdings;
Black Entertainment Television; and many others
You may wish to select one case, but we suggest each group works on a different case to enrich
the presentation and sharing session.
The cases you choose will need to be printed off with either a copy for each participant, or
two per group. Restricting the number of copies forces the group to start talking to share the
case information. They are also annoyed at not having one each which initiates some bonding in
the group.
Some universities run incubators for graduates starting their own companies. Asking one of
these entrepreneurs to talk to the group about the process to date is potentially inspiring.You
might ask him/her to set the scene, or to listen to and to comment on the presentations and to
tell their own story as part of the debriefing session. Follow-up activities could include asking
students to research their own case examples with entrepreneurs in the university or locally.
These data can be used to expand the case study list. Local entrepreneurs really help students to
understand the realities and see it is possible for ‘someone like me’.
Running the case study
The participants need to be in groups, maximum six people. Please try not to run this in a tiered
lecture theatre where group work is more constrained. The participants remain in their groups
throughout the case.
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Handouts
Each group needs one copy of the Participant’s Brief. They also need presentation material, of your
choice (flipcharts/pens/OHTs etc).
Timing (OHT 1) please complete with your own start/finish times (e.g. 9.00-9.10).
10 minutes: Introduction - handout 1 plus the case study chosen
45 minutes: Planning and preparing presentation
20 minutes: Presentations (circa 5 minutes per group) – handout 2
30 minutes: Collecting the overarching points and de-brief – handout 3
Tasks
The participants need to read through the entrepreneurship case example, discuss the
information and prepare a presentation which explores the motivations and skills of their
entrepreneur. Emphasise that the groups are not competing, they are all trying to give the best
presentation they possibly can. If they all have different examples they will also need to say a little
about what their entrepreneur has done.
If you have a large number of groups, you may want to split it into streams for the
presentations; four presentations is probably plenty for each subset. If you do choose this option,
them you will need to co-opt someone else to hear the parallel groups presentation.
Before the presentation give everyone the comment sheet below to guide their listening.
At the end of the presentations ask the groups to collate their comments and focus on what
they find are the collective learning points to share.
Go through the debrief, picking up on both preparing and delivering presentations under
pressure and the entrepreneurial points.
Follow up work includes reference to the literature on the entrepreneurial skill set. See
for example:
Bolton, B. and Thompson, J. (2000). Entrepreneurs Talent,Temperament,Technique, Oxford:
Butterworth Heinemann.
Wickham, P.A. (2001).Strategic Entrepreneurship, 3
rd
Edition, Harlow: Pearson Education.
Suggested introduction
This session will let you explore the motivations and skills that young entrepreneurs meet in practice. Each
group is being given a case study about an entrepreneur.They are different so that we get a broad view of
entrepreneurial activities. Quoting from the HEA web site:
‘Entrepreneurship is an activity which leads to the creation and management of a new organisation
designed to pursue a unique, innovative opportunity (Hindle & Rushworth, 2000) Fundamentally, it
is about using enterprise to create new business, new businesses and ‘can-do’ organisations and
services (Nixon, 2004).
Entrepreneurs start all kinds of businesses. In a few minutes you will be given a brief which gives you
information about one business and a task to complete in your groups. You do not have a lot of time, so
you really need to think about the situation and the outcome that you want from your group presentation.
A good presentation is essential. Any questions?
You have 45 minutes to get to grips with your brief and prepare your presentation.
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Presentations (c. 20 minutes for 4 groups)
• Ask participants to listen for the good and less good techniques used by the presenters and
to ready to comment on the presentation style as well as content.
• Before the presentation give everyone the comment sheet below to guide their listening.
• At the end of the presentations ask the groups to collate their comments and focus on
what they find are the collective learning points to share. Give them 3 minutes to do this
and then collect ideas on a flipchart, asking for an idea/comment from each group in turn.
The de-brief (allow at least 15 minutes)
Reflect on the presentations, ones that stood out. Example questions –
How did it feel to be doing this?
What were the best parts of the presentation? What could be improved?
Have any of you had to give a presentation previously that meant a lot to you – what happened?
What were the key things to remember?
What skills were you using?
Did you ‘own’ the project?
How did it feel to act as an interpreter of motivation and challenges?
What would have made it easier for you?
How has your understanding of entrepreneurship developed through hearing about the cases?
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Exploring the motivation and skills of entrepreneur
Handout 1: Participant’s brief
Attached is a case example of an entrepreneur for consideration by your group.Your group task is
to develop an understanding of the skills and motivations of the individuals involved. How do
entrepreneurs operate, what motivates entrepreneurs, how do they meet challenges, what were
their personal qualities?
You will need to discuss these aspects and prepare a short presentation that highlights these
issues to the other groups. Each group is looking at a different example, therefore you will need
to take 30-60 seconds to outline the business context.
Your challenge is to work together as a group to come up with the most persuasive
presentation you possibly can. Each presentation is 5 minutes – please make it look as professional
as possible.
This means that your presentation will need to be:
• Clear - stating and evidencing motivations and skills
• Concise - you only have five minutes to present
• Enthusiastic - your audience need to see that you believe in what you are doing.
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OHT 1
Introduction 10 minutes
Planning and preparing presentation 45 minutes
Presentations (five minutes per group) 20 minutes
Collection of summary points 15 minutes
De-brief 15 minutes
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Exploring the motivation and skills of entrepreneurs
Handout 2
A framework to help when listening to the presentations:
• Listen actively to the presentations.
• Do not think about your own presentation to come.
• Concentrate on the speakers: What are they telling you that is new? What is reinforcing the
ideas your group had? Is there something you don’t understand?
• What are the good presentation techniques you can use in future?
New points
Points that are reinforcing/restating/developing previous thinking
Questions that arise
Presentation techniques I can learn
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Exploring the motivation and skills of entrepreneurs
Handout 3: Debriefing your understanding of entrepreneurship
1. What do you understand about the working culture of
entrepreneurial organizations?
2. What have you learned about how innovation is promoted?
3. How do your skills fit with those of entrepreneurs? What strengths can
you offer a start-up business?
4. How might you apply what you have learned in this case to your own
activities? How might you use some of these ideas in your part-time
job, social activities, workplace?
5. How did your group work together, what was the main challenge for
you and how was this met?
6. Other thoughts:
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Example H: Selling ideas, an enterprising activity for
many modules - the elevator pitch
Pauline Kneale, University of Leeds
Level: All
Number of Students: Any, can be done as an individual or group activity
Type of Exercise: This depends on how it is set up. It might be 15 minutes within a
module with individuals or groups making pitches to two or three
other groups, or it might be a tutorial activity.
Summary
In order to get ideas across to inaccessible bosses, American staff discovered that they could find
the right boss in the elevator and pitch their ideas in the short time the elevator was in motion.
Hence the concept of the ‘elevator pitch’. This concept can be used by students in many different
learning scenarios. Essentially participants are asked to create and present either a 30-second, or
a one-minute or three-minute presentation. For example, students in a tutorial group might be
asked to give one-minute presentations of their proposed dissertation methodology and main
argument for an essay, or a three-minute pitch to persuade a member of staff to grant them a
work placement or year in industry position. This has the potential for activities within group
work when individuals within groups put forward the ideas to progress the task in hand, and
in giving updates to tutors on the progress so far. With a large class, the two-minute pitch to
technicians for equipment can be helpful in getting through requests from large numbers
of groups.
Essentially, the process requires the participants to really focus on the message they want to
get across to be precise, and to be confident and enthusiastic. Wherever this process is used, it is
important in debriefing the students to point out that this kind of pitch is extremely useful at job
interviews, recruitment fairs, in telephone interviews. Preparing yourself to persuade someone of
your case in a short and sharp manner is a good technique to have at your command. We are
not in this case suggesting that students should be riding up and down in lifts waiting to find the
right person, but they may find cross-referencing to ‘elevator pitch competitions’ both amusing
and a way of making the participants take this activity seriously. Type ‘elevator pitch’ into Google,
and you will find pages and pages of links.
As an entrepreneurial activity it has its original place in the curriculum in persuading the boss
to take on board and possibly fund your idea. The US examples tend to be dominated by
marketing people.
~~/~~
Aims and learning outcomes
To develop students skills in making short and pointed presentations. To give them practice in
selling their ideas.
Support materials
Adapt the following for a student handout:
Elevator pitches are used as a way of getting essential information across to people in a very
short space of time. The name derives from American business people making pitches to the
bosses, whom they could only catch in the company elevator. This activity is now recognized as
a management technique and the subject of competitions in the USA. (For examples type
elevator pitch into Google) Your pitch must persuade tutor / fellow group members /
competing groups …
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Points to bear in mind when preparing your pitch:
a) Be aware of the expertise of your audience.You need to use appropriately technical
language, and not waste time on essentials and facts that he/she will already know.
b) Get your unique selling point (USP) across from the start. Aim to make your message
memorable; your points need to stand out from others being made on the same day.
c) Be enthusiastic, confident and sure of your information. Take time to practice in advance.
It is difficult to complete the task in such a short time without having rehearsed
your argument.
d) In selling your idea, look beyond the immediate process or service. Aim to show the wider
benefits to your tutor, course, community, subject area,etc. In elevator pitch terms, this is
looking to show that you have an idea and a wider vision.
Cut and paste from the tasks below to suit your class or adapt the idea for your own module/workshop.
Pitch topics:
• Course related
- a new field class in Italy/Greece/Mexico/China …
- a new module in Antarctica Studies/Poverty/ ….
- purchase a relevant journal for the Student Common Room , e.g. New Scientist/Economist/
Geology Today …
- no formal examinations for your degree course.
- ATraidcraft snack dispenser for your building.
- Water cooler for the laboratory/Student Common Room/
• Generic/Entrepreneurship related
- Imagine that you have just invented … Your task is to create a 30s/360s pitch to sell it as
a concept to your group. Eg: Paper clip / post it note / floppy disk / deckchairs / massage
wheel / egg slicer / fizzy water / weekend break / artificial nails / balloons …
• For interview/employment preparation, useful topics are:
- my USP (unique selling point) to the company/organisation is …
- the attributes I have to bring to this company are …
- the skills and experience I can bring to this organisation/company include ...
- In my first year at work I would like to achieve …
We suggest that if this is run as an in-class exercise students require about 20 minutes to prepare
their pitch. Suggest they take the first 10 minutes to get the main points together, and 10 minutes
to practise their pitches. Then move to pitching to other groups in the room. Giving 20 minutes
to this, allowing groups to move round and get three or four opportunities to speak really helps
students to develop their thinking and speaking skills. Actually pitching an idea or concept the first
time shows you how you can adapt to do a better job the second time.
Assessment
This has not been formally assessed, but I take bags of sweets and ask each group to award it to
the best ‘pitcher’. Maltesers/Revels (that the group usually shares) make good prizes.
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Evaluation
Student comments:
The whole idea seemed bizarre, and our group were not keen to get organized. It is worse than
putting a poster together, because you have to really think about what you want to say.
Doing the pitches in the groups was really fun and quite entertaining. It really made you think
about how you wanted to get your message across.
I don’t really come across as an enthusiastic person normally, but you have to get involved when
time is so short.
You find that you are changing what you say when you repeat the pitch to the next group. Even
though we had practiced quite a lot we were changing a story as we pitched to each new group.
I can see that using this idea at an interview could be quite helpful. It does stop you rabbiting on
and on when you don’t have much to say.Trying to isolate USPs for our project did make us look at
what we were going to do in a lot more detail.
I don’t like having to do things quickly, I don’t think this sort of exercise is very suitable. I like to be
able to talk around are subject and to be able to bring in other parts of an argument. I think that
people will take time to talk to you for much longer than you say.Why would people want just to
have half of the story?
In my view, most of the time we want students to write and speak extensively. This is therefore a
rather artificial exercise but one which gives students opportunities which are relevant in real life
situations. The first student comment above and the last are not untypical. I would argue that at
least once or twice in a student’s career, being made to think through and express the
fundamental points is a good intellectual exercise, and one which has considerable payoff if they
then use it in real job situations. It is worth reinforcing the point that many people in business will
not be prepared to listen if you waffle, that they expect arguments on one side of the paper not
an extended essay, and they expect points to be put across with considerable clarity. This is
essentially an exercise that gives some practice in that arena.
Advice
Be very encouraging from the start. The tutor needs to be enthusiastic. Aim to pitch the process
in 120s to demonstrate what is required. Point out that this is a quite difficult task to do but that
it can be really helpful when faced with people who you want to impress and who have very little
time to spend with you for example at interviews, when you start work, during vacation, casual
or placement employment.
If participants do one pitch only they will get something from it, but they will get a great deal
more if they can move around and pitch their ideas to other groups. The student comment above
indicates that when they repeat the pitch they refine it and develop it into something that is more
persuasive, more accurate and more to the point.
While this activity can and has been done in a tiered lecture theatre, a flat floored room with
space to move around is helpful.
Contact details
Pauline E Kneale
Professor of Applied Hydrology with Learning and Teaching in Geography
School of Geography, University of Leeds
Leeds LS2 9JT
Email: [email protected]
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Example I: Communicating science
Alun Lewis, Royal Holloway University of London
Number of Students: 10
Type of Exercise: degree course
Summary
Good communication is a vital skill for entrepreneurs both for marketing themselves and their
‘product’ and for working effectively with staff teams, clients, suppliers and the many other
individuals and organisations they will encounter. Scientists are inherently poor communicators as
they are taught to speak the un-natural language of formal science. This course has been
specifically designed to allow young scientists to speak to non peers in a way they will understand
– and in a way that will grab their attention and keep it.
~~/~~
Aims and learning outcomes
While undergraduates are being taught to present their ideas in the formal language of science
report writing, I teach them to translate the same ideas and concepts into everyday language that
is accessible to non scientists or to those interested in science but without a detailed knowledge
of their subject. They will all be able after this course to communicate their ideas effectively to a
given target audience. The skills are transferable to getting a job interview, doing well in an
interview, pursuing a successful career in science, teaching science, communicating science either
to a live audience or through books, museums, or broadcast media.
Design and operation
Students learn in formal teaching sessions which introduce the ideas and techniques and then
immediately put the ideas into practice in the media lab or the main TV studio. Learn – do – make
mistakes and assess. Each exercise leaves the student with a piece of writing, an image, a score
sheet, a radio tape, a script, a story board or a video tape. Advanced projects involve creating
complete documentaries, radio programmes or magazines.
Staff (me) lecture and demonstrate but then leave the students to learn how to use the
technology themselves through experimentation. Each student will respond in very different ways
to the open ended challenges set them.
Assessment
There are no exams. Assessing for communication clarity and engagement is my responsibility –
an assigned tutor in each of the major science departments checks the work for factual accuracy
where I am unsure of the science being discussed.
Support materials
Real articles and their source material (papers in Nature etc.,) real radio and TV interviews
from my own archive or material collected for broadcast on BBC and elsewhere, Posters
through various stages of development. Websites under construction and in use. Talks from
authors and radio and TV producers which demonstrate the problems involved in the real world
of science communication.
Contact details
Alun Lewis
Faculty of Science, Royal Holloway
Email: [email protected]http://www.gl.rhul.ac.uk/scicom/
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Example J: Environmental consultancy: an environmental
impact assessment of a brownfield site
Clive Roberts, University of Wolverhampton
Level: 3
Number of Students: up to 45
Type of Exercise: Module
Summary
This example illustrates a group-based approach that allows students to experience first-hand
the type of work environmental consultants might do in the field. Setting up such consultancies
is a common example of GEES-related entrepreneurship activities (see also the case studies
in Section 3). This module introduces the student to the various techniques and applications of
site investigation procedures. The overall aim is to give the student valuable experience in
undertaking a real-time case study of a brownfield site and to provide the student with an insight
into professional applications of site investigation for their overall degree profile. The module
therefore has direct relevance to potential career opportunities. The general syllabus aims to be
holistic and will cover the environmental, socio-environmental, economic, ecological, legal,
geotechnical, geochemical, geological and hydrogeological evaluation of derelict industrial and
landfill sites. Both practical work in the laboratory and a field trip is undertaken to supplement
theoretical knowledge.
~~/~~
Aims and learning outcomes
1. Recognise those matters of a technical, legal or environmental characteristic that need to be
considered and investigated when selecting sites for the development of constructional or
recreational facilities.
2. Assess the relevant geological, ecological, hydrological, geochemical, hydrogeological,
environmental, socio-political and economic factors that may give rise to unfavourable
conditions within given areas and suggest appropriate techniques of assessment.
3. Appreciate the legal framework which directs and influences site evaluation and suggest
appropriate remediation strategies for contaminated land.
4. Interpret various geological, geochemical, environmental and ecological criteria from a given
case study site and synthesize all derived information by completing an environmental
risk assessment.
5. Construct a professional site investigation report, which includes and environmental impact
assessment for a proposed development on the chosen case study site.
Design and operation
1. Lectures: Factual material is presented to students by oral presentations, notes/handouts,
videos and selected case study material.
2. Directed reading: Such activities are carried out by students to reinforce and supplement
lecture material. New concepts and ideas are introduced to the student to encourage
independent learning. Feedback is provided on expected levels of achievement through self-
assessed exercises.
3. Group work: Students work in groups during contact time to solve problems related to
lectures and directed reading. Team building skills are established and enhanced.
4. Fieldwork: Enables students to apply theory to actual situations. Develops interpretative
and data collection skills.
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5. Laboratory work: Provides analytical skills by assessing soils for concentrations of
heavy metals
6. Oral presentations: Students present summaries of group work activities to each other
and to the whole class. Verbal communication is developed and enhanced.
7. Information Technology: Computer skills are enhanced through database searches, word
processing, GIS, drawing packages and collation of a professional site report.
8. Project management: Students develop problem-solving skills through the planning, design
and construction of a site investigation report.
9. Independent learning: Students are required to enhance their independent learning skills
by critical thinking and reflective practices.
10. Time management: Personal organisational skills are developed and enhanced by keeping
to set deadlines and by submitting work at the appropriate times
Assessment
65%: A professional site investigation report, which includes an environmental impact assessment
for a proposed development on a brownfield site.
35%: Oral examination based on the case study site.
Support materials
Support material includes: archive maps going back to 1887; modern OS maps; thematic set of
engineering geology maps for the Black Country; consultants’ reports from the local Council; and
planning and development strategy documents for Government Office West Midlands. The
students are also ‘fed’ data from previous fieldwork. Aerial photographs are used as base maps for
development proposals.
Evaluation
Evaluation has been extremely positive from students. Students complete a module evaluation at
the end of the module and are asked to complete a self reflective review of the skills they have
gained. When the module was first designed, more lectures were planned. Student feedback has
indicated group work is more productive in achieving the module outcomes and so the module
has evolved more into an active learning experience by increasing group work activities. Some
students have used their consultancy reports in their personal portfolio to gain employment.
Local employers have also fed their comments on the module back to the module team, allowing
refinement of some aspects of the investigation procedure.
Advice
Group work and experiential learning on a real-time exercise is a very good way to develop
problem-solving skills. Although it does take time to set up the relatively large resources base
required for group work, the benefits to the students are great.
Contact details
Dr Clive Roberts
Division of Environmental and Analytical Sciences
University of Wolverhampton
Email: [email protected]
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Example K: Outline scope for a commercial
practice module
Dei Huws, University of Wales: Bangor
Background
Upon graduation, the School considers it important that a Masters student is equipped not only
with a sound theoretical and practical understanding of their aspect of marine science, but is also
capable of using these skills to contribute directly to the nation’s economy. This may be in the
form of gaining experience within an established organisation or may involve the setting-up of a
business enterprise. The scope of any module concerning ‘Commercial Practice’ within an
intensive, subject-specific Masters course can, by nature, only provide knowledge and
understanding at an elementary level, but its purpose is to introduce an awareness of key issues
which will relate to their career development.
The aim of this module is twofold: to give an introduction to the world of business in a generic
sense; and to introduce the student to the practices of specific branches of industry and business
in marine science. Within our Masters programme, each course will attend Lecture Series I (The
World of Business) with Lecture Series II being course-specific and involving guest speakers from
the commercial sector.
Lecture series I. The world of business
Entrepreneurship
• The characteristics of an entrepreneur
• An introduction to the concept of the small business
• Routes into small firm employment
• The inter-relationship between large and small firms
Small business planning and development
• An introduction to the business plan.
• Predicting the future of small business development in the regions
Marketing: control and planning
• Core marketing concepts
• Marketing management
• Customer value and satisfaction,
• Marketing strategy
• Predicting client behaviour.
Human resources (HR): role, scope and responsibility of HR staff
• Strategic and administrative roles of HR management
Management and organisation
• The nature of management and leadership roles
• Organisational structure within business
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Lecture series II. MSc Applied Marine Geoscience: the
offshore industry
• Role of the contractor
• Role of the consultant
• Role of the research institute
• Role of professional bodies
• Case study site investigation: Seafloor characterisation
• Case study site investigation: Geohazard mapping
Contact details
Dr Dei Huws
School of Ocean Sciences
University of Wales: Bangor
Email: [email protected]
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Example L: Students as consultants
Gordon Clark, Lancaster University
In brief
Students at Lancaster University can volunteer to become consultants to local tourism firms,
producing a research report on a topic specified by the firm.
How it works
Two full-time staff, paid for by the European Regional Development Fund, run the Learning
Tourism project which is based in Geography. This is part of the University’s Third Mission work.
The staff find small local firms (SMEs) in Objective 2 areas of Cumbria and Lancashire, which wish
to have some research done to help develop their tourism or leisure businesses. Once terms of
reference have been agreed, the opportunity is advertised across the University. Students from
any discipline may apply, using a formal procedure with a letter of application and curriculum vitae.
The firm and the Learning Tourism staff choose the student to be appointed to each project,
trying to fit the student’s disciplinary background to the task to be done.
Each project comprises 20 days’ research work. The Learning Tourism staff train the student to
become an ‘apprentice consultant’ working to a professional standard, using teaching materials
prepared by the University’s Careers Service. The staff also monitor the students’ progress while
carrying out the research, check health and safety issues, and deal with any crises. Once a report
meeting the terms of reference and of acceptable quality has been delivered to the firm, the
student is paid a fee of £800. The students who undertake these projects are all volunteers (over
50 so far), doing this in their spare time. They have been drawn from UK and overseas students,
and a wide range of disciplines.
The types of research so far have included project development, investment appraisal,
environmental sustainability audits, marketing and promotional planning, competitor analysis and
benchmarking, and IT/web developments. The projects’ effects in terms of job creation and
increases in turnover for the firms will be measured during 2005. A few projects have failed, in
that the firm has decided not to proceed with the project or the student has not performed as
we would have hoped, but these cases are rare. For the students the main benefit, aside from the
£800 fee, is curriculum enhancement through using academic skills in work for a real-world local
company to a professional standard and within time constraints. They also gain a clearer
understanding of how firms work and of entrepreneurship in action.
Developments
During late 2004 funds will become available to offer more student consultancies, first in
Blackpool’s tourism industry, and then, using Higerh Education Innovation Fund (HEIF) and North
West Development Agency (NWDA) money, more widely in the North West of England. The
intention is to widen the recruitment of students to other NW universities, and to offer
consultancies of different lengths. During 2005 a more formal evaluation of the scheme will take
place. The Learning Tourism website athttp://learningtourism.lancs.ac.uk provides examples of
projects and training materials, and contact details.
Contact details
Dr Gordon Clark
Department of Geography
Lancaster University
Email: [email protected]
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Example M: Aberdeen Oil Game
Gordon Walkden, University of Aberdeen
Introduction
Professionally accredited degree programmes establish a mechanistic link with employability, but in
practice the required ‘elements’ of these can fail to connect a student with workplace reality.
Exercises can develop specific employability skills, and delivery by professionals will raise
credibility, but problems remain of ensuring focus and student ‘buy-in’. The Aberdeen University
Oil Business Game addresses this by taking advantage of the unique atmosphere of a week long
off-campus residential field course. It links a familiar learning activity with an immediate sense of
‘need to know’. Students work, eat and sleep engaged in the Game, and the separation from daily
reality maximises focus and buy-in. The extended contact also enables activities to evolve, skills to
interact, the unexpected to happen. Realistic issues emerge and there is time for resolution.
The Game combines the already highly integrative activity of a discipline-based field course
with the skills-rich demands of team play and competition. It demonstrates how self-knowledge,
teambuilding awareness, pooled skills, effective division of labour and good command of geology
play a key role in business decisions. The exercise also focuses upon how we cope with
uncertainty and real deadlines in a competitive environment. By generating a ‘need to know’ the
game demonstrates how knowledge ‘adds value’. Despite its serious intent, which is to train
employability and provide drive and focus for the field course, its pursuit is great fun for all!
Outline of the game
Individuals play as members of a pair and also as members of a six-person team (company). They
earn ‘cash’ as individuals which they invest in companies (both their own and others) through a
simulated stock market. Company share values are set by the companies themselves at the outset
(floatation) and can then rise and fall according to the popularity of the stocks and the success of
the companies. The central part of the exercise simulates a hydrocarbon licensing round where
exploration/production blocks in an oil prospective region (e.g. the North Sea) are put up for
competitive tender. Capital received from investors is used by the companies to assess, bid for
and develop hydrocarbon prospects, hopefully at a profit. The blocks are precisely defined, based
on real local geological maps, and they involve the actual rocks and structural features that are
visited and examined in detail at various stages in the field course.
The development costs of fields, and the ultimate recovery figures are, of course, imaginary.
After all, the rocks being examined are now at the surface rather than a couple of km
underground, but figures are based on reasonable calculations made by the ‘regulators’ using
exactly the same methods as the teams. Key tools in the Game are three specially-built
spreadsheets. One records all individual share dealings and simulates stockmarket movements,
another provides a means of integrating reservoir characters and volume to determine value, and
the third calculates profit and losses made by companies after successful bids for blocks,
exploration and production of any hydrocarbons. The results are calculated through the
stockmarket spreadsheet on the last evening of the course. The winners are the team that makes
the best profit through exploration and production from their block portfolio, but there is also a
prize for the individual who makes the best profit through a wise choice of stockmarket
investments in the companies!
The game is fully integrated with daily geological itineraries, and most of the supporting
research, value calculation and field work planning is done in the evenings – often (and without
encouragement) into the small hours of the night.
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The programme
Day 1: Outline and rules of Game, publication of personal CVs
Day 2: Interviews, team building, allocation of personal capital
Day 3: Company floatation, the stockmarket, buying shares
Day 4: More share dealing, allocation of consultancy work to companies
Day 5: Powerpoint presentations by companies, fees to companies, exploration/production
license blocks are revealed
Day 6: Team research evaluating blocks
Day 7: Bids for block licenses by tender, allocation of blocks, calculation of profits/losses,
stockmarket results.
Individual and team winners, prizes.
By their own account, students learn a lot about their own personal and interpersonal skills and
often they appreciate for the first time how the application of good scientific skills can inform
business decisions. Evidence for the ways in which their employability skills have been exercised
and developed is usually contained in a series of daily Business Game notes, reports and reactions
which students are expected to maintain. The overall exercise is assessed by submission, but
relative success in the Game is not part of this. Instead, we look for a structured and responsive
approach to the exercise, including evidence that students have developed and used their
geological knowledge during the progress of the Game.
The learning outcomes
• Advanced geological knowledge, both general and specific.
• How information can inform commercial judgements and create added value.
• Enhanced skills, especially jobseeker skills, self-management, communication, numeracy,
problem-solving, decisions and teamworking.
• Experience of the conflicts between fact finding, uncertainty and short deadlines in a
competitive environment.
• Awareness of the roles of business organisations, stock markets and central and local
government in relation to resource exploitation.
• Awareness of the effects of business decisions on people and the environment.
Reference
Walkden, G.M., (2001). A field-based ‘Oil Business Game’ for Honours geology students. Planet
(Journal of the Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Subject Centre, GEES) 1, 8-11http://www.gees.ac.uk/pubs/planet/index.htm#P1
Contact details
Gordon Walkden
Geology and Petroleum Geology
University of Aberdeen
Email: [email protected]
Enterprise, Skills and Entrepreneurship
Enhancing the curriculum in Geography, Earth and
Environmental Sciences
Section 4: Case studies of
GEES entrepreneurs
(a) Colin Deady: Ethical WebSites
(b) Ben Malin: Terraqueous Ltd., Environmental Consultancy
(c) Nick Russill: TerraDat Geophysics
(d) Emma Smith: Fairfield Materials Management
4(a) Colin Deady: Ethical WebSites
Graduated from the University of Plymouth in 1997, BSc (Hons)
Environmental Science
Stage 1: Pre-project
Childhood experiences/ambitions: background influences and traits
The idea that one can be successful in self-employment came to me after discussion with my
father. Although he had never been self-employed at the time, his extensive experience of working
with business (employed by Berkshire County Libraries as a Business Information Officer) allowed
me to explore ideas for self-employment on paper before committing myself.
My career aspirations as a child were completely different! I had at one point wanted to
become a Veterinary Surgeon but realised that the trend at the time was for universities to only
offer such courses to ‘straight A’ students, whereas I could be described as a ‘straight B.’ Once I
realised that this was not to be, I decided on a career in the environmental sector and
successfully completed a degree in Environmental Science. However upon graduating I realised
that there is an unfortunate ‘catch 22’ with environmental work – most companies want you to
have experience before employing you but to get that experience you need employment (and
voluntary work does not pay the bills unfortunately). I was lucky to find a 50:50 job with the
Centre for Sustainable Energy in Bristol, working as an Environmental Project Officer (sustainable
development) and the organisation’s IT System Administrator. It was from this basis that I was able
to develop my IT skills to a point where I now have two jobs – by day I am a Software Test
Engineer for Centennial Software in Swindon, and ‘by night’ I am self-employed, working on EWS.
Perceptions of self-employment/motivations
What really attracted me to self-employment was the ‘be your own boss’ attitude of those people
who are self-employed that I had met. However I realised that EWS would at best provide me
with 1/3 of my income and that I would need a steady day job in addition. I realised that I was to
leave all environmental work behind when I started on a career as a software tester and
therefore EWS was motivated by my desire to remain involved with environmental organisations
and the excellent work that they undertake.
Skills gathering: part-time jobs / school / university
Business skills came late in the day! In hindsight I should have paid much more attention to
subjects such as project management, invoicing and accounting from day one – but these are
boring subjects, with designing and writing websites being much more interesting!
At school I had the typical ‘hotel kitchen staff ’ job that many teenagers do. Low pay,
horrendous hours (for the pay) and not a smidgen of job satisfaction turned me completely
off the service industry – but it gave me great respect for those on low pay and in part this was
one of the reasons for the remit of Ethical WebSites: ‘high quality with low cost’ – to provide
websites to organisations that just do not have the resources available to spend a fortune on
their internet presence.
I was employed full-time (and still am) before setting up EWS and the two balance each other
very well. On the one hand being a keen software tester means that I am very thorough when
testing the websites that I write; and on the other, being a ‘web developer’ gives me more
respect when I am working as a tester for the difficulties faced by Programmers, Developers and
Software Engineers.
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Idea generation
Interestingly EWS was formed in 2000, only a year or so into the ‘dot com boom’ and I have
been asked if there was a ‘get rich quick’ formula behind my plans. If only this was the case! The
truth is that the dot com’s showed me that individuals could create successful web-based
businesses. Coupled with my father’s excellent advice on working in business, and my mother’s
extensive knowledge of the UK tax system I found that I had lots of business-oriented inspiration.
As mentioned earlier, I also had a great desire to stay involved with environmental organisations
even though I could see my career going into a purely IT-based one. EWS was therefore a
combination of all of these factors – a desire to provide something that almost no-one else was
providing at the time: websites dedicated to providing success online for small environmental and
social organisations.
Stage 2: Early development
Information gathering. Problems/positives/actions
Once I had discussed the outline with my father and mother I realised that EWS would be a
viable venture.You see, unlike a lot of people in self-employment I was lucky – EWS did not have
to succeed as it would only ever account for a proportion of my annual income. As it turns out
EWS has been hugely successful and has now worked with several local authorities, small charities
and other organisations.
Firming the idea into reality did involve a large amount of market research online. I searched
everywhere I could for web development agencies specialising in environmental and social
organisations and came up with almost no hits in any of the search engines of the day (Lycos,
Yahoo, Alta Vista being the main three at the time – Google had yet to grab market share).
The only problem I came against was that to develop websites I needed up-to-date computer
technology and all of my computers were starting to show their age. I opted for a £600 Windows
PC as my base development machine, bought because of price rather than performance and
bought (with the help of my father) a couple of domain names – ethicalwebsites.com and
ethicalwebsites.co.uk. I also bought a cheap printer (good for printing out mock-ups of web pages
to show clients) and a low capacity zip drive for backing up data. Total start-up cost was in the
region of £800 – not bad for a new business!
The reason I was able to get into business so cheaply is that working online brings huge
advantages – a domain name and web space can set you back as little as £25 a year, or possibly
£100 if you have a large website. This provides you with a 24x7 365-day-a-year advertisement for
your products, services, and possibly even an online shop if that is your cup of tea. As I was in the
business of writing websites I had no need to pay someone else to write mine, further reducing
costs. Compare this with the activities for a ‘high-street business’: renting premises, paying for
advertising in magazines etc. This can easily run into thousands of pounds before you have sold
your first widget!
Ideas stage to the beginning of the project
I talked a lot about EWS as a possible secondary source of income with my wife. Julia has always
had a much more practical head on her shoulders than I, and I am very grateful for this input! She
helped me identify that we could not afford much to start the business – we agreed that the
entire cost had to be below £1000, and I am pleased to say we stuck to this.
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The only difficulties I had were getting EWS known. I tried lots of online marketing by
registering the site on this and that search engine, web directory etc. In the end I realised that
although my business was online, it would be through word of mouth that I would gain contracts.
This has proved true with over 75% of new business resulting from a contract being generated
as a spin off of either existing work, or because a client recommends me to someone that
they know.
Things are starting to change though and EWS is now known online.You wouldn’t believe the
amount of money I have been offered for the domain names alone! People recognise there is
value in being able to state up front: ‘we can help you, we will be honest with you and ethical in
the way we deal with you.’ The EWS website sells this theme both in its domain name and the
web content therein. As a result I am beginning to see contracts being generated by people who
come across EWS purely by searching.
Running with the project / early stages
It was very stressful – hugely so! I had no idea how long a site would take to develop and would
vastly underestimate. However I prided myself and EWS’ reputation on completing a contract by
the specified deadline and would quite often be working from 6pm until 2am in the morning after
getting home from my day job, and then getting up to work again from 9-5!
However it was very enjoyable at the same time. I love the freedom and creativity that
designing websites gave me, as I had always been useless at ‘arts and crafts’ at school. At last I
could design, create and implement my own and other ideas in a very visual manner!
Expectations versus reality
‘Yes and no’! My expectations were for an easy life, producing web sites and making money – isn’t
that how everyone sees self-employment ;o)! However my family helped earth me and make me
realise that it takes a huge amount of effort to reap the rewards.
If I was to talk with someone about entering self-employment I would say: “You know the
amount of effort you think it will take? Treble it.You know the amount of time you think it will
take? Treble it.”
Does that mean I don’t recommend self-employment? I think it is a fantastic opportunity as I
would also say: “Yes, you really really really get to be your own boss – and that is quite often
worth suffering all of the problems you will undertake on its own!” You see, self-employment
offers an individual the chance to dictate their own boundaries, work, direction for their creative
output. Although I enjoy my day job, I have to work to other peoples’ schedules, deadlines, and on
tasks that they assign me. I love balancing this with the creative freedom of writing websites.
Stage 3: Present day
Lessons learned. Challenges met
1) It takes a lot more time and effort than I thought!
2) I should have read number 1 and taken this into account from an earlier stage.
3) It is great fun and very rewarding.
4) I have met the challenge of starting with nothing to building up a nationally-known web design
and development agency.
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What I wish I’d known / top tips
1) Prepare for the end of year tax return from the start of the year, and do not leave till the
end! A well-documented set of receipts and invoices will halve the amount of time it takes to
complete your tax return.
2) Spend time researching your business area – I bought lots of web design/development books
early on and balanced this with several business-oriented ones.
3) Learn about creating effective invoices, terms and conditions and an applicable privacy policy
that satisfies the Data Protection Act.
4) Register with the Data Protection Act; as a business this is pretty much compulsory (EWS is
of course registered!)
5) Research and find clients – use directed marketing techniques if applicable, BUT do NOT send
out bulk unsolicited email; this is SPAM and will get your business a black mark almost
immediately. EWS has a policy of never dealing with any organisation that we consider to be
sending out SPAM.
EWS provides high quality internet solutions for UK companies and organisations, focussing on
those involved in the environmental and social sectors. EWS brings together the talents of
several individuals to offer effective high-quality websites to organisations who are traditionally
excluded from having such an internet presence due to prohibitive cost.http://www.ethicalwebsites.co.uk
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4(b) Ben Malin: Terraqueous Ltd.,
Environmental Consultancy
Graduated from the University of Kent at Canterbury in 1994,
BA Geography & The University of Cambridge in 1995, MPhil
Land Economy
Stage 1: Pre-project
Childhood experiences/ambitions: background influences and traits
There may be elements of my character that point towards self-employment, as I am to a degree
an ‘organiser’, but I am probably not the best person to make that judgement.
My father has been a senior business executive for many years and my stepfather is Managing
Director of his family’s growing media business, both of which undoubtedly reinforced my desire
to be involved in business. Self-employment has, however, been a long-term aspiration and I recall
an occasion at Primary School when we all had to choose a job to talk and write about. Much to
the amusement of my teacher I chose ‘Managing Director’.
Whilst there were periods when I may have said that I wanted to follow a specific career, for
example law, this was usually a response to the perceived ‘need to say something’. People
frequently ask a teenager what they want to do, be it a teacher, careers advisor, family or friends,
and the response ‘work for myself ’ rarely seems to satisfy them. When in the Sixth Form my
immediate ambition was to read Geography at university and when asked what I wanted to do
afterwards, I would say that I would ‘look for a niche in the market’.
Perceptions of self-employment/motivations
From my perspective, the desire to be in control to some extent was the most important
motivation in considering self-employment as an option. In fact it is often the clients that are in
control, but at least I am in the position of decision-maker in terms of day-to-day planning and
which projects we accept (and which we put in an outrageous quote for). I have also been
motivated by the desire to achieve something myself and for myself. The other important factor is
the understanding that I developed as a geographer of the importance of both environmental
issues and manufacturing to the economy. Whilst we are not directly involved in manufacturing we
do contribute in a small way to the success or otherwise of the manufacturing sector.
Perception of entrepreneurs may have had some influence on my decision-making, but I am not
certain that entrepreneurs are always the most attractive personalities. Much of that may, of
course, be a matter of media presentation but a number of current entrepreneurs are presented
as somewhat anodyne. Others are more interesting if not necessarily more pleasant. The
perception of the rewards available to entrepreneurs was certainly a factor but there are also
several high profile examples of the potential pitfalls.
Skills gathering: part-time jobs / school / university
The part-time job as a horticultural nursery worker that I had whilst at school and university and
after graduating was of limited relevance to setting up my own business, although it did teach me
how to work hard and reinforced my view that I wanted to work for myself.
I was fortunate to have the opportunity to go directly from this to setting up Terraqueous Ltd.
and the skills that I learnt during my degree courses were the most important in setting up
the business. In particular I would point to the ability to carry out research and project work
as invaluable.
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After graduating I spent three months in southern India carrying out a voluntary research
project into agricultural failure for a small NGO. The skills that I learnt from that were also
helpful, particularly the need to break down a project into very small elements when faced with a
very big issue and very limited resources. My time in India, including a week in hospital on a drip,
also helped me to decide where my priorities lay. As a result I resisted the bright lights and large
salaries of the City of London, where a number of my friends from university had jobs.
Idea generation
During my three years as an undergraduate reading Geography, the idea of working in
environmental consultancy took root. Whilst I had a preference for human geography, the ‘applied
physical course’ that I took as a second year was a particular inspiration. My undergraduate
dissertation and the extended essay that I wrote as part of my Masters both pointed towards
environmental consultancy. I did, however, consider other alternatives such as a career in the City
or in development economics.
In the summer of 1996 I had returned from India and my brother had graduated from Reading
University, where he had read ‘Rural Resource Management’. We both spent the autumn of that
year applying for a variety of jobs, some in the field of environmental consultancy, but without
success. We also toyed with ides for our own business, but no firm plans were developed.
Stage 2: Early development
Information gathering. Problems/positives/actions
The opportunity to establish Terraqueous Ltd. was delivered by serendipity. In Autumn 1996 my
stepfather proposed to enter three areas of company land into a Countryside Stewardship
Scheme ‘Special Project’, which required the preparation of a ‘Restoration & Conservation
Management Plan’ for each site. He knew that my brother and I were both seeking to do
something in that field and told the Stewardship Officer that he would ask us to prepare the plans
for him. We thought nothing more of this until late November 1996 when my brother and I were
invited to an interview in order to demonstrate that we were sufficiently competent to prepare
the plans.
Ideas stage to the beginning of the project
We learnt that the interview panel would be made up of representatives from Somerset County
Council, MAFF (now DEFRA), English Nature, Somerset Wildlife Trust and the RSPB, and that in
addition to ourselves they would be interviewing two established consultancy firms. At that stage
we had no real expectation of doing anything more than the three plans for my stepfather as a
method of gaining experience.
We prepared for the interview by going through the plan brief in detail and breaking down the
method by which we proposed to deal with each section. This formed the basis of the
presentation that we gave, which also included a brief review of our qualifications and our
dissertations / extended essays. We were fortunate that we both had some experience of similar
project work from our dissertations and extended essays, which we used at the interview in
order to demonstrate our ability to complete projects of this nature.
Shortly after the interview we were informed that we had passed and the two established
consultancy firms had both failed. I am sure that they had both sent juniors and were under-
prepared, but for a time we were the only approved consultants – one of the firms was re-
interviewed and approved a couple of weeks later. In the meantime we were approached by
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my stepfather’s Land Agent, who worked for a local firm. He asked us to quote for the
preparation of five further plans for some of his other clients. We duly did so and were awarded
all five contracts!
That gave us eight projects to complete, with a total value of almost £10,000. We immediately
realised that there was an opportunity to do far more than gain experience. A meeting with an
accountant followed, and soon we were directors of our own company. At the time it felt like the
most difficult part of the process was thinking of a company name – and after much thought we
settled on Terraqueous Ltd. This seemed appropriate for a company preparation restoration and
management plans for wetland sites.
Running with the project / early stages
At the start of January 1997 we were therefore immediately presented with the eight projects, to
be completed in a two-month timescale, but the first couple of weeks were relatively relaxed as
we carried out site surveys. As we had both been living at home and working prior to starting
our business the limited finance required was not a problem. We had access to a computer, but
purchased an optical level and other supplies secure in the knowledge that we had almost
£10,000 of contracts, and worked from home. At that time we produced hand drawn site plans, as
I had been taught to do as an undergraduate.
Before we had even half completed the first round of projects we were again approached by
my stepfather’s Land Agent, with a number of smaller but urgent jobs of a similar nature. These
were completed and submitted within two weeks, and when the Land Agent saw these he
immediately started to provide us with a steady flow of additional projects for various clients.
Unfortunately, however, the additional work put us under significant short-term pressure with
the original eight projects, which each turned out to be in the region of 80 pages long. As this was
a new scheme we were not constrained by existing formats, but this meant that we had to
undertake some of the development work ourselves as problems became apparent and had to be
overcome. It was very similar to writing a dissertation or extended essay in so much as in the
early and middle stages of each project ‘the more we did, the more there was to do’. For a long
time the more survey and research work we did, the more queries and points for clarification
were raised. The week before the deadline for the draft reports was extremely stressful, with late
nights, early mornings and a dash to submit the drafts on the last afternoon prior to the 5pm
deadline. In many respects it was again similar to the situation in my final year as dissertation
deadline day approached.
After that initial period we were able to take stock, and begin to look at the financial side,
which we had not had time to consider in detail up to that point. For example, we had to learn
how to run a payroll, draw up a rudimentary first year budget and recover our expenses to date.
Our accountant was invaluable during that period. Broadly, however, we were fortunate that we
did not have to seek work at any stage and the more projects we completed the more people
came to us with further projects.
Expectations versus reality
In some respects the reality of running my own business has met my expectations, but in other
ways it has not. On the plus side we were able to pick and choose when we worked for the first
couple of years, when the workload was constant but generally reasonable. At that time we also
had a limited cost base and were satisfied with earning more than we had previously. Whilst the
day to day planning is still in our hands we are now constantly busy and usually work a very long
week. When it is your own business to do so is understandable, but not what you would hope for
at the outset.
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We are continually disappointed at being let down by other people, particularly where cash
flow is concerned. The length of time that people take to pay, when they know that we are a small
business and cash flow is crucial, is a constant issue. At times it can also be very difficult to truly
relax and let go during business hours, even when away on holiday.
Overall, however, I would have to be offered a great deal of money before I was willing to work
for anyone else, and only then as Managing Director. I also still enjoy the perks, however small!
Stage 3: Present day
Lessons learned. Challenges met
Whilst organisation is a key to business success, probably the most important lesson that I have
learnt is the need to take personal responsibility, which is very often missing in large companies
where individuals are often terrified to make a decision in case it is wrong. I think that is
something that our clients appreciate.
Importantly I have also learnt that almost nothing is impossible – whatever your client asks
there usually someone, somewhere who can offer the service. It is matter of finding that person
and the client accepting the cost. Managing cash flow, and not buckling under the pressure of
adverse cash flow conditions, is also important.
I would also say that it is important to recognise that you can be very good at what you do,
but you won’t necessarily make a fortune quickly. Also, you don’t have to do something forever –
if you have set up a business once in one field it must be possible to do it again in another.
Finally, it is important not to get personally involved and to switch off at the end of the day,
even if you have to accept that clients will occasionally ring in the evening or when you are on
holiday.
What I wish I’d known / top tips
Whilst the good fortune at the set up stage that we experienced cannot be directly replicated
there are a number of points that can be of value to others. These are:
• I believe that the value of gaining experience in any way cannot be underestimated.
• Don’t be intimated by other firms. An established firm can’t necessarily do something as well
or better than you – often junior staff are given tasks that you can do far better and at
lower cost to the client.
• If you are asked to do something that you can’t do, some else will be able to as a sub-
contractor.
• In some respects we were saved from worrying too much and thinking that we needed all
the equipment as we were thrown in at the deep end. A consultancy company does not
have to have a big investment to get started.
• With just your own capital and limited expenditure there isn’t too much to risk.
• At the start work at home to keep cost down, but move to a separate office as soon as you
can – it is more professional and allows you to become more detached.
At the outset I wish that I had known the level of fees that other consultants charged. We started
with our fees too low and as a result cash flow became very difficult in year two when costs
mounted but our fee income did not. If I had known the level of professional fees in general we
could have started at almost double our initial hourly rate. Whilst low fees helped to build the
client base that is certainly an area where time for more research at the outset would have
been beneficial.
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Terraqueous Ltd. – Environmental Consultancy.
Terraqueous Ltd. is a small environmental consultancy firm that was founded in January 1997
by my brother and I. The company specialises in wetland issues and providing services to the
‘growing media’ industry. The primary component of growing media remains peat and
Terraqueous deal with applications for planning permissions, reviews of existing permissions,
environmental assessments, conservation designation issues and preparation of
working/restoration/drainage schemes in order to discharge planning conditions. Terraqueous
also oversees and organises the implementation of various permissions and schemes, in
particular site restoration works. I have also given evidence on behalf of clients at Public
Inquiry.
Recently we have also been involved in a number of projects related to seeking planning
permission and Waste Management Licences for, and the management of, green waste
composting facilities. This is a developing part of the business. Terraqueous is also involved in
more general planning issues such as housing, leisure and industrial developments and
mapping work. Whilst our client base is primarily in the private sector we have carried out
some work for English Nature and RSPB. One of our recent projects has been to prepare a
Restoration Plan for a Historic Park and to secure substantial grant aid in order to assist our
client with the restoration. We are currently project managing the restoration works.
Our client base varies from multinational growing media manufacturers, Plcs and trade
organisations to individuals seeking environmental and planning advice. Terraqueous Ltd. is a
DEFRA approved consultant for the ‘Countryside Stewardship Scheme Avalon Marshes
Special Project’. My brother and I remain the only employees and where specialist skills or
inputs are required we employ appropriately qualified sub-contractors.http://www.terraqueousltd.co.uk/
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4(c) Nick Russill: TerraDat Geophysics
Graduated from the University of Cardiff in 1992, BSc
Exploration and Mining Geology
Stage 1: Pre-project
Childhood experiences/ambitions: background influences and traits
As a child I always wanted to do a job outdoors, but did not really know what. I was always very
independent and resourceful and never a follower of the crowd. I think this was driven in part
that I went to 6 different schools so being resourceful was a survival mechanism! At the age of 15
I converted some outbuildings on my parents land and ran a licensed dog boarding kennel before
and after school.
Perceptions of self-employment / motivations
When I graduated I worked in Australia on a remote exploration camp for a large mining
company. I realised during this experience that I did not want to be employed by ‘distant bosses’
and had a view to be a freelance. It was the frustration at bearing the consequences of other
people’s bad decisions and the inflexibility that made me think this.
Skills gathering: part time jobs / school / university
The nature of my first job and training as a geologist I believe gave me a lot of skills such as
logistical planning, spatial awareness, multi-dimensional perception that are important elements of
running your own business. I worked as an outdoor instructor during the holidays at university
which developed other relevant skills. Before starting work I also went on an expedition to NE
Greenland which again made me aware of interpersonal skills, leadership abilities and ones own
physical and mental limitations.
Idea generation
With my business partner, we spotted an opportunity of the change in environmental legislation
regarding contaminated land, and also a revolution in geophysical instrumentation making it more
portable and higher resolution – better suited to shallow high resolution applications.
We are also keen surfers and another focus was undertaking seismic surveys on beaches for a
living. This was our focus, but ironically we have never had such a job!
Stage 2: Early development
Information gathering. Problems/positives/actions
We never set out to actually set up a company. I am an instinctive networker and used some
contacts in the waste management industry that I had to do some geophysical trials. This
necessitated us having a company structure in place in order to get insurance, bank to receive
money etc. We had no problems and grew organically.
Ideas stage to the beginning of the project
We were based from our student house originally and later formed a mutually agreeable
arrangement with Cardiff University whereby we were accommodated in return for our time as
lecturers/supervisors. We had a loan and start up grant from the Princes Trust and were the first
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graduates to get funding (as opposed to their former policy of only funding deprived or more
needy people). Getting the expensive equipment needed to carry out geophysical surveys was not
a problem as we formed good relationships with a company who rented kit.
Running with the project / early stages
The first few weeks were fairly intuitive designing some brochure material, writing marketing
letters and going to meet prospective clients. We also got a few small jobs by phoning around. I
don’t recall it being particularly stressful.
Expectations versus reality
Yes, completely. I had the flexibility of being my own boss, the satisfaction of completing projects
well and having satisfied customers. We also had time to contribute academically to various events
of interest.
Stage 3: Present day
What I wish I’d known / top tips
1. Don’t get bogged down in detail outside your core business. The value of your time is
greater if spent developing the business compared to spending a lesser amount
outsourcing tasks such as VAT, book keeping.
2. If you have a partner or work colleagues, learn to delegate key tasks early on otherwise
you end up as being an irreplaceable hub at the centre of an operation.
3. When you are successful (or very busy) don’t lose sight of where you came from (or how
you got there).
4. Have a long term strategy – is the business what you want to do forever? If not,
remember there are other options and you will be optimally skilled to take them!
5. Remember why you are working for yourself and what it is you enjoy doing. Have fun and
don’t become a slave to your staff or clients.
Going straight into business on your own may not be the best way since there is a lot of valuable
experience to be gained as an employee working in industry. It helps you understand how things
appear from the other side of the fence (for the day you will be a boss), and if nothing else
reinforce your reasons for wanting to be self employed!
Form strong partnerships with suppliers – they know the industry and can be a good source of
referral work if the relationship is good.
Make your name known – the local media / online newsgroups are always keen for
information. Go to networking events or local industrial societies.
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TerraDat UK Ltd: leading UK geophysical survey specialising in non-invasive surveys of
contaminated land, brownfield sites, mineral and water exploration and geotechnical problems.
The company employs 13 geophysicists and is fully equipped for all the main methods including
microgravity, radar, resistivity, seismics, magnetics and EM conductivity. TerraDat has offices in
Cardiff, Melbourne and Dublin.
Out of TerraDat have spun two sister companies:
• Terralogic Ltd: supplier of ruggedised computing solutions for military, public service and
private users who need ultimate in IT reliability in extreme environments. Terralogic was
number 4 in the Wales Fastrack 100 in the fastest growing companies in 2004
• Snow-forecast.com: driven by our passion for snowboarding and abilities as earth scientists,
this is an online resource for snow sports enthusiasts providing weather and snow
condition reports for over 800 resorts worldwide. It is one of the busiest websites of its
kind and will soon be accompanied by a sister site for surfers – www.surf-forecast.com
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4(d) Emma Smith: Fairfield Materials Management
Graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University in 2002,
MSc Environmental Management and Sustainable Development
Stage 1: Pre-project
Childhood experiences / ambitions: background influences and traits
I’ve always had an interest in broad environmental issues from a young age. I tried various jobs
after my first degree (Human Geography) and quickly realised what I didn’t want to do but
couldn’t quite decide what I did want to do. My Masters gave me a focus, my dissertation on
plastic recycling introduced me to the recycling industry and I became a volunteer for EMERGE
Recycling (not-for-profit household and commercial recycling business). Fairfield Composting
(which at this time was a project of EMERGE Recycling) promoted home composting in
Manchester through the work of its full-time unpaid worker (Val Rawlinson). Val wanted to tackle
the waste problem on New Smithfield Market and recruited me to undertake a waste audit, my
role as a waste auditor moved on to a researcher / fundraiser / developer / project development
manager and director.
Perceptions of self-employment/motivations
I suppose the big names were Branson and Roddick when I was young; they almost became
synonymous with the word entrepreneur. Now that I work in this environment I have a huge
amount of respect for people who have decided to ‘go it alone’ because whatever happens/goes
wrong the buck ultimately stops with them. I suppose I almost fell into this role or rather the role
progressed with my own development. Working for yourself is so different to any other role I’ve
ever undertaken, it is never just a job.
Skills gathering: part time jobs / school / university
Every job that I’ve ever had has developed my skills for my current role, selling fork lift trucks
developed my telephone skills and sales ability, working as a carer for a wheelchair user brought
out a more selfless side to my character, working for a Council developed my working knowledge
of the internal structures of local government and living in India for 1.5 years showed me what
‘real work’ was and the true meaning of being an entrepreneur.
Idea generation
Val Rawlinson was committed to improving the waste management system on New Smithfield
Market; the audit showed that the markets’ annual waste level was 5,500 tonnes and that 81% of
this was fruit and vegetables. I would say that it was Val’s dream that I turned into a reality.
Stage 2: Early development
Information gathering. Problems/positives/actions
The waste audit provided the information to support the development of an in-situ waste
management facility on New Smithfield Market. We presented the results to Manchester Markets
(Manchester City Council) along with our recommendations, establishing this support from the
beginning really helped the development of the Fairfield system. I went through a fast track
business-planning course in East Manchester that highlighted the lack of local compost on the
market, supporting the development of a local composting system. Problems were mainly financial,
actually raising the money to pay my salary to enable me to develop the project.
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Ideas stage to the beginning of the project
Fund raising was a major element of this project as the capital equipment we needed was
expensive, I started fund raising before I even undertook the waste audit and it was a steep
learning curve. Fund raising was incredibly difficult and demoralising, but once we had the first
funder on board it was much easier to bring others on board. We knew that we wanted the
project to be located on the market to reduce the environmental impact of transporting waste,
initially we thought we’d locate it in the existing waste area but actually ended up locating in a
corner of the market away from most of the traders.
The project was developed by myself (environmental background),Val Rawlinson (the queen of
composting) and Chris Walsh (social enterprise expert) and this range of experience worked well.
Running with the project / early stages
The business was incorporated in December 2002 and started operating on the market in July
2003, getting a good team was an essential element our relatively smooth start-up. I’d say that we
had teething problems and several of our ‘paper’ systems were revised once we started but it was
relatively straightforward. We’ve actually had more problems after a year of operation then we
had at the beginning of the project.
Expectations versus reality
Running your own business is hard, emotionally and physically, you definitely need a good support
system (both at home and at work) it can be demanding but it is also extremely rewarding. Again
I feel that I’ve fallen into the role of running a business, I envisaged a situation where I would
develop this project and get it operational and then move onto the next project, and in reality I’m
running this business. The short-term plans for Fairfield are to bring in a business manager to
manage the day-to-day which will release me to concentrate on improving sales/efficiency and site
functions and then move onto the next project!
Stage 3: Present day
Lessons learned. Challenges met
• Planning, realistic timescales and a robust development budget are essential in the beginning.
I think that we wasted money because we allowed timescales to slip (more rental days on
equipment etc.).
• Barter with anybody and everybody to keep costs down, if you don’t ask then you don’t
know (always start the sentence with ‘can I be a bit cheeky . . .’).
• Recruitment is a gamble and sometimes a good interviewee is not necessarily a
good employee!
• Record and file everything, start your business as you mean to go on.
• Identify people who could become voluntary directors and provide support to business.
• Identify areas of inexperience and look for training/mentor support.
What I wish I’d known / top tips
• Go on a project management course because setting up a business will be the biggest
project you ever take on; I went on a Council-run course the other week and it provides a
very structured approach that I wish I’d had three years ago.
• Get key people (service users/customers etc.) on board from the beginning to provide
support and ensure that your business will meet a specific demand.
• Once you’ve set an aim stick to it, do not diversify or you really risk the chance of spreading
yourself and the business so thin that you do not deliver on anything.
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Fairfield Materials Management
Fairfield Materials Management – social enterprise incorporated in 2002 to deliver a sustainable
waste management system for New Smithfield Market (wholesale market in Manchester).
Fairfield has an in-situ composting facility (Vertical Composting Unit – VCU) for fruit and
vegetable waste generated on the market..
Compost is sold to householders, allotment holders, parks, schools, top soil company and
Manchester City Council.http://www.gmcomposting.co.uk
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GEES Subject Centre
The Subject Centre for Geography, Earth and
Environmental Sciences (GEES) is part of the
national network of the Higher Education
Academy, an independent organisation for the
UK higher education sector. The GEES Subject
Centre aims to improve the learning and
teaching experiences of everyone in these
disciplines in UK and is a national and
international hub in the exchange of knowledge
on learning and teaching across the three
subjects. It provides a voice for these
communities, contributing to government
consultations and policy developments. The
Centre has a UK-wide brief and this is
reflected in the locations of its activities
which include:
Events
The GEES Subject Centre organises a wide
range of events and collaborates with other
organisations to provide: national conferences,
departmental workshops, seminars for new
lecturers, and support events for project
grant holders.
Publications
The GEES Subject Centre produces the bi-
annual publication Planet, containing articles on
learning & teaching, project updates, a diary of
forthcoming events, resource information, and
news of interest to staff and students in the
GEES disciplines in higher education. Other
publications include Learning and Teaching
Guides, and Resource Briefings.
Resources
The GEES Subject Centre Resource Database
brings together high quality resources for
higher education learning and teaching in the
Subject Centre disciplines. It includes
information on case studies of good practice,
tutorials and CDs.
Enquiry Service
The enquiry service is open to all GEES staff in
higher education and deals with a wide range
of queries throughout the year on teaching
and learning.
Research and Development
The GEES Subject Centre has an ongoing
programme of support for pedagogic research
and development projects. Funds have been
awarded for research into topics including
employability, virtual-learning environments,
fieldwork, and postgraduate teaching.
Contact
The Higher Education Academy Subject Centre
for Geography, Earth and Environmental
Sciences
University of Plymouth
Buckland House
Plymouth
Devon PL4 8AA
United Kingdom
Email: [email protected]
Tel: +44 (0) 1752 233530
Fax: +44 (0) 1752 233534
Web: www.gees.ac.uk
136
News and information about GEES Subject
Centre activities can be received through
signing up to the regular announcement list
at:http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/GEES.html
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