The University of Sussex has won the ‘Entrepreneurship Catalyst’ trophy at this year’s National Enterprise Educators Awards for the Sussex Student Entrepreneurship Programme, in recognition of its delivery of exceptional entrepreneurship education. The focus of the award is on enabling pre-starts, start-ups and growing ventures, and the judges look for exceptional initiatives that support individuals to develop the capabilities they need for an entrepreneurial future.

The judges praised the scale, impact, inclusiveness and social impact focus of the Sussex programme, which provides end-to-end support for student entrepreneurs at all stages – from the entrepreneurially curious to graduates growing existing businesses. Engagement has been rising since the programme was introduced in 2020, funded through the University’s Higher Education Innovation Funding. More than 800 Sussex students and graduates took part last year, supported by multiple external stakeholders.

Students from all years and all academic schools take part, and inclusiveness is designed in – with startup stories, Entrepreneurs-in-Residence, speakers and mentors carefully chosen to represent a wide variety of entrepreneurial starting points, backgrounds, drivers and achievements. One of the chief programme aims is to help change the face of entrepreneurship, and this was recognised at the awards with the Sussex programme receiving a ‘highly commended’ under the NEEA’s ‘Inclusive Enterprise Education’ category.

In line with Sussex 2035 Drivers for Change, social impact and environmental sustainability are also front and centre in programme design. Training, inspirational speakers and incentives help enable students to consider how they can maximise the positive and limit the negative impacts of their business.

“A lot of careful thought has gone into our programme, which was co-created with students,” said Emily Huns, Head of Careers and Entrepreneurship. “It is fantastic to receive this sector recognition! Students generate and test ideas, collaborate on new projects and take action to solve problems. You don’t have to identify as an entrepreneur to take part: absolutely everyone is welcome. Developing entrepreneurial mindset and skills is part of becoming world ready and students are essentially creating their own work experience. Whether they end up founding or joining a business, the process of exploring what is possible helps students become more confident, connected and employable.”

After participating in the University’s early-stage enterprise support programmes, more established entrepreneurs are selected to transition onto a 12-month incubator, run by Sussex Innovation. The first session of the 2024/25 incubator took place on 1st October, welcoming 20 new founders who will gain a year’s membership and regular mentoring with members of the Sussex Innovation team.

If you’re interested in getting involved with supporting student and graduate entrepreneurship at Sussex, get in touch with our University Services team to find out more about mentoring and advisory opportunities.