Northumbria University,
Newcastle, is developing a purpose-built incubator hub to support its flourishing
community of student and graduate start-ups – and is urging business partners
to offer mentoring and financial backing.
Innovation Northumbria:
Incubator will open in October as a pre-accelerator for aspiring entrepreneurs.
Located next to the University’s main campus, the state-of the-art facility has
already received financial support from Santander Universities UK, Sir James
Knott Trust, North East Times Magazine, Space Group and the North East Local
Enterprise Partnership. A sponsorship agreement for a series and profile and
fund-raising events has also been secured with Newcastle-based creative agency
Gardiner Richardson.
Northumbria is now
looking for additional support to set up an Enterprise Club, where members can
offer pro-bono advice and expertise, and an Enterprise Fund through which they
can pledge financial support to help fledgling start-ups develop
proof-of-concept and feasibility business plans.
The initiative reinforces
Northumbria’s reputation as a university that champions enterprise and
innovation through its teaching, and the support it offers start-ups through
the Student and Graduate Enterprise Service. Pioneering courses such as Entrepreneurial Business Management, where
students run their own businesses, and the student-led consultancy service
delivered on the Business Clinic programme, have also established Northumbria
as a leader in entrepreneurial education.
The initiative also comes
as Northumbria once again tops the UK university rankings for graduate
start-ups based on turnover. In the Higher Education Business and Communities
Interaction survey for 2017/18, turnover for Northumbria graduate start-ups
exceeded £81.4 million – exceeding the second placed institution by more than
£34 million. Since 2009 Northumbria has supported the development of over 370
graduate companies that now employ almost 1,100 people.
NU-incubator - use from Northumbria University on Vimeo.
Lucy Winskell OBE,
Pro Vice-Chancellor for Employability and Partnerships at Northumbria, said: “We are
extremely proud of our entrepreneurial students and graduates and the
significant contribution their businesses are making to economic growth, social
prosperity and indeed jobs. Their success is down to remarkable creativity,
drive and innovation, but it also reflects the focus we have as a university on
entrepreneurship both in education and research and the support we offer our
start-ups.
“Our new
Incubator will take this to the next level as a purpose-built workspace with
access to a range of support and mentoring services and a central location in
Newcastle close to all transport links. The aim is to offer the perfect
environment to grow the next generation of student and graduate entrepreneurs.
“Looking ahead, our ambitions include
creating a shared vision and facility for accelerator and scale-ups in
partnership with key stakeholders across the North East, and I would encourage
business organisations to support our Enterprise Club and Enterprise Fund.”
Darren Richardson, Co-Founder &
Creative Director, Gardiner Richardson, added: “As an established creative
business founded by Northumbria University, Newcastle alumni and based in the
North East, we understand what it takes to develop and grow a successful
company. From our beginnings in a small start-up space we have grown a national
and international client base. Today nearly 60% of our clients trade outside
the North East, many of them internationally.
“Our company is living proof that
with the right environment, support and collaboration – plus plenty of great
people and innovative ideas – the North East can lead from the front. That’s
why we are supporting Innovation Northumbria: Incubator, to help entrepreneurs
grow, scale and succeed.”
To find out more about the Innovation Northumbria: Incubator and how
to offer your support please visit: www.northumbria.ac.uk/incubatorlaunch
