“UK universities have always embraced working with business and supported their students to develop entrepreneurial skills. Social enterprises give us a fantastic opportunity to work with existing businesses for economic and social benefit whilst also developing students’ enterprise skills. Social enterprise experience can give students a taste of an alternative career path in a growing sector, a chance to develop the skills that all businesses look for, and even inspire them to start their own business. This is a valuable, developing relationship that benefits social enterprise businesses, students and communities.”
Prof. Dame Julia King, Chair of Universities UK Employability, Business and Industry Policy Network and Vice-Chancellor, Aston University
Recent research on the educational practices for social entrepreneurship int he in the UK highlights the importance to explore issues such as: What role do universities have in supporting social enterprise?; Is the social enterprise sector aware of the support universities may be able to offer?; What are the benefits and opportunities for engagement between universities and social enterprises?; How can universities and social enterprises work together in the context of government policies on social innovation? As well as What challenges do universities and social enterprises face in building relationships?
Higher education is at the forefront of innovation, so it is no surprise the profile of social enterprises is raising. In 2016, Social Enterprise Mark CIC worked in collaboration with the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), on a project to encourage the Higher Education sector to support and promote social enterprise in their institutions. The aim of the project was to raise awareness of how Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) can operate as social enterprises, putting sustainable and ethical business practices at the heart of their strategic direction.
To achieve this, a short film (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJeh_2zL3Bw&feature=youtu.be) was created to promote the Social Enterprise Mark and Social Enterprise Gold Mark to HEIs, featuring the four pioneering universities that had been awarded the accreditation at that time, talking about the benefits of being recognised as a guaranteed social enterprise, driven by social objectives.
With the recent publication of a major international study by the British Council (https://www.britishcouncil.org/society/social-enterprise/news-events/news-social-enterprise-and-higher-education) , which examined how HEIs around the world can contribute to positive social and economic change, this project is launched at an appropriate time to support HEIs in understanding how they can achieve this.
The study offers the HEIs to take engagement under many forms, including:
· providing placements for students in social enterprises;
· creating opportunities for students and faculty to develop their own social enterprises;
· offering accredited courses in social entrepreneurship;
· providing incubation spaces, dedicated support services, or research expertise to social enterprises; and,
· inviting social entrepreneurs to serve as student mentors.
The study found that such engagement allows HEIs to provide students with experiential learning opportunities and entrepreneurship skills that enhance their employability. Furthermore, it can support academic staff to develop enterprise solutions arising from their academic research and translate the latter into tangible assets. This study was launched at Going Global, the world’s biggest open conference for leaders of international education, run annually by the British Council.
In 2013 for a Guardian article (https://www.theguardian.com/social-enterprise-network/2013/jul/26/higher-education-social-enterprise-innovation), Karl Belizaire points out that British Universities begin to unlock the potential of social enterprise.
Since 2009, UnLtd (unltd.org.uk), the Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs, has been working with the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) to support higher education institutions (HEIs) to find, support and develop the next generation of social entrepreneurs. So far, UnLtd has partnered with 56 HEIs across the UK and we're working with them to ensure that every staff member, every student and every recent graduate understands what social enterprise is, what the social benefits are and how social entrepreneurship can be developed. Indeed, our aim is to "embed" a culture of social entrepreneurship in 40% of the HEIs in England. Central to this approach is to invest in and support the individual entrepreneur – and to help HEIs create a supportive, encouraging environment where social enterprise talent is nurtured and opportunities spotted. So far, our support program has made about 500 funding awards, with over 50% to students, 25% to staff and 10% to graduates. Some of our awards are designed to help people try an idea – give them confidence to continue – while others have been designed to help social ventures get going and scale.
Oxford Brookes for example, has identified an academic member of staff in each faculty who acts as "faculty champion" and in order in order to make the program accessible to as wide an audience as possible, place emphasis on "passion" as the basis for student participation, developing a campus-wide campaign "From Passion to Action".
University of the Arts London (UAL) joined the program with a highly developed culture and practice of social innovation already in place. UAL has used the program to open up additional funding and support opportunities for students from across each of its six distinct colleges. UAL has also been able to leverage support from its Design for Social Innovation and Sustainability (DESIS) network to provide award winners with personalized support, advice and one-to-one mentoring.
The University of Northampton has taken a strategic approach to innovating, inspiring and investing in social entrepreneurship, with the initiative being driven by the vice chancellor along with support from the university's senior management team, resulting in the institution being recognized as playing a leading role in developing social enterprise in the HE sector while boosting the social economy itself. Through the "£1 Billion Challenge" Northampton University is encouraging the UK's Higher Education sector to spend with social enterprises at least £1bn of its £7bn per annum expenditure on procuring goods and services from external suppliers.
Over three quarters of HEIs reported making changes to the way they backed social entrepreneurs, introducing and developing specific social enterprise support, strengthening their institutional offer with increased knowledge and contacts, with some even incorporating into curriculum development and delivery.
Ensuring that social entrepreneurship meets the core objectives of the institution, particularly with regards to graduate career paths and the student experience, seems to be an essential part of enabling future support programs to be sustainable.