6 th University Business Forum Summary of the parallel workshops Rebecca Allinson Director, Technopolis Group

Eight parallel sessions “from policy to practice” Entrepreneurship: Enhancing entrepreneurial teaching University leadership for entrepreneurship Promoting change and impact HEInnovate and institutional change Educating talents - recruiting talents : Are HEIs in sync? People and innovation Innovative pedagogies and learning experiences The contribution of HE to innovation Spotlight on… Social innovation and social entrepreneurship HE and innovation in regions and cities 2

Workshop 1.1: Enhancing Entrepreneurial Teaching There is not just one approach, or one best approach, many good examples showcased Real case interaction - not just teaching cases but involving students in real decision making processes Implicitly and explicitly communicate an attitude and culture – allow the student to decide how they should take this up and interact with society – creating the right mind set - think big, be fearless, act quick, take risks The approach of practitioner led education for entrepreneurship which is distinct from “about” entrepreneurship but doesn’t necessarily have a shift in mentality What is needed to make it work? The macro, meso and micro level Macro – get the framework conditions right, HR, admin, students not penalised for running businesses or having ideas Meso – Programmes, accelerators, HEIF funding in the UK Micro – the courses and other approaches, enterprise clubs etc 3

4 Workshop 1.2 University leadership for entrepreneurship Establishing stronger foundations for entrepreneurship education Examples of decentralised approaches (outside of university structures) and centralised approaches driven by the institution Decentralised with the benefit of flexibility, centralised with the benefit of access to infrastructure Leadership with a strong vision - especially from the top – although this needs to be a shared vision Also a need for champions – the people who take the initiative to make it happen – these can come from throughout the institution Double learning loop – ensuring that entrepreneurship combines theory and practice and that space is given for both Importance of networks – including universities, companies, people - to have hubs and the circulation of knowledge skills and exchange of ideas

Workshop 2.1 : HEInnovate and Institutional change What is HEInnovate? A self-assessment tool for higher education institutions (HEIs) wishing to explore their entrepreneurial and innovative potential The simple purpose of helping higher education institutions identify their current situation and potential areas for action Seven broad areas, under which are the statements for self- assessment Available at : 5

Workshop 2.1 : HEInnovate and Institutional change The real value of HEInnovate Used in merger processes - structuring a new strategy, aligning cultures Used for steering an institution through a process of change – reacting to challenges A route – from vision through to management to action Helped with engagement with stakeholders - the external partners, community and students It has produced real tangible actions and outputs. It is not just about filling in the survey Not only does it support organisational change but also supports cultural change which remains the biggest challenge 6

Workshop 2.2 Educating talents – recruiting talents Needs of the labour market and the role of HEIs - How to harmonise / balance the expectations of the companies, the universities and the graduates? University business cooperation is crucial in helping to match the skills of graduates to companies They contribute in different ways: HEIs through career services, organising internships etc; companies through providing internships, global talent programmes etc – also the role of intermediary Many companies still prefer traditional recruitment procedures and are rigid in their recruitment frameworks and job descriptions At the same time there is a strong focus on horizontal skills. For companies the best way to understand a person and their skills is through the practical experience Future skills needs should be also considered. Companies have to be prepared to move fast in many industries but few companies know the type of people they will need in five years time. 7

8 Workshop 3.1: Innovative pedagogies and learning experiences Many good examples of innovative pedagogies where teaching and learning are coming together Some learning experiences start outside university (involving industry, and also the public sector and regions) A key thread running through the examples is experiencing entrepreneurship by doing Using societal challenges for example to solve the problems of the city or region, or through connecting talent into teams In general many emerging approaches are still in the pilot phase (although the session provided insight into examples taken up in other countries)– so how do you scale up, what can we learn from examples that have scaled up? Entrepreneurial education is still having to prove itself with constant pressures on measurement We need to develop responsive assessment measures, setting common standards for I&E pedagogies

Workshop 3.2: The contribution of HE to innovation Five key elements how universities can contribute to innovation Common goals with partners Setting up a direction of innovation Culture – be tolerant to failures Common incentives Interdisciplinary thinking of innovation Innovation is still a matter of choice for universities, whereas teaching is obligatory Universities are not ready yet for some of innovative approaches (different drivers, values, processes, goals and need to comply to accreditations, rankings) To support the graduate and their contribution to innovation teachers have to adopt a T-shaped approach (horizontal and vertical) Incentive systems for professors are still not widespread in order to reward academics for their involvement with innovation– often still dependent on goodwill 9

10 Workshop 4.1: Social Innovation and social entrepreneurship Social entrepreneurship as a way to bridge people’s personal values and professional career opportunities / the social enterprise is seen as a channel to leverage strong personal drives into tangible benefits Social innovation and entrepreneurship are not yet mainstream concepts - key to communicate their value and to engage different stakeholders In scaling up the social enterprise concept to effect systemic change, many levels are currently involved: International - setting the macroeconomic playing field for social innovation and entrepreneurship (e.g. social business initiative, social investment package, innovation union) National - initiatives that develop and embed social entrepreneurship frameworks across institutions and stakeholder groups Local level – best practice examples highlighting positive social impact Challenges ahead for the area include measurement of the impact, leadership buy-in, levelling the playing field across MS and developing macroeconomic frameworks to correctly monetise the social benefits

Workshop 4.2: HE and innovation in regions and cities Many interesting partnerships between universities and their cities or regions - model is evolving from short-term to long-term approaches Many new partnerships are based on the development of Regional Innovation agendas, infrastructure development, and tackling economic challenges of the region The economic challenges and this more social, community-based and civic perspective of innovation give rise to new forms of engagement and regional collaboration In regions that are struggling to realign themselves to a knowledge economy, the university acts as a social anchor to help the region get on a new path of growth. The university is sometimes the major employer Joint entrepreneurial initiatives are being developed, sometimes with the university in innovative roles where the state is absent (running schools) Using universities as a boundary spanner is leading to the emergence of stronger regional research agendas - building on strengths, generating growth 11

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