Student Enterprise Hub received £1 million funding boost

A pioneering new project, designed to nurture students’ innovative product development and marketing skills with industry partners, has received a £1 million funding boost.

Image shows students take part in the SETsquared 3-Day Start-Up event

The new project, called the SETsquared Student Enterprise Hub and led by the University of Exeter, has received the significant funding boost from the Office for Students (OfS) and Research England.

The two-year project will build on the SETsquared Partnership’s Student Enterprise Programme, as well as existing undergraduate and postgraduate placement activities, to create a new ‘Intrapreneurial’ pathway.

The scheme is designed to support students to engage with industry as business advisors, developing business model solutions and market awareness, while also enhancing their skills as intrapreneurs and future employees.

The project is one of 20 nationwide to receive funding through the Knowledge Exchange Funding Scheme, worth a total of £10 million.

The projects will seek to understand the benefits to students of getting involved in partnerships with businesses, engagement with communities and third sector organisations, and professional training – collectively known as ‘knowledge exchange’ activities.

Simon Bond, Innovation Director, SETsquared said: “Building on SETsquared’s track record for supporting entrepreneurial students, this new programme will help the partnership to expand the value it can offer to both graduates and small businesses – providing students with hands-on experience and commercial awareness gained working in SMEs and allowing them to demonstrate the skills and knowledge they can bring to such organisations.”

SETsquared is an enterprise partnership between the universities of Bath, Bristol, Exeter, Southampton and Surrey which supports technology-based businesses throughout their lifecycle, from idea through to investment and scale-up and develops entrepreneurial thinking for students, academics and businesses.

It is currently ranked as the world’s leading business incubator for its outstanding contribution to developing the next generation of UK tech entrepreneurs.

The partnership between SETsquared Exeter, the University of Exeter and Exeter Science Park plays a pivotal role in helping to develop the next generation of technology businesses in the region.

Its tailored support packages are delivered by a team of experienced tech entrepreneurs, professional advisors, mentors and investors, ensuring that founders have access to a wide range of high-level expertise as they progress through the programme.

With bespoke entrepreneur training programmes and unrivalled access to a network of mentors, alumni, investors, corporate partners and the knowledge base of the five research intensive universities, SETsquared has supported over 4,000 UK high-tech start-ups since its inception, helping them raise more than £1.8bn of investment and creating £8.6 billion of economic impact to date – a figure which is set to rise to nearly £27 billion by 2030.

In the last year alone, more than 50 students, academics and entrepreneurs in Exeter have participated in SETsquared programmes, with member companies raising £33.2 million in investment between them.