Member Article

Social entrepreneur to help University

Teesside University has been awarded £25,000 from social entrepreneurship charity UnLtd, to help support social enterprise.

The funding is part of a new initiative by the Higher Education Funding Council, across 56 higher education institutions. Top social entrepreneur Kate Welch OBE DL has offered her support to Teesside, working with a team to promote awareness of social enterprise and the resources available for those interested in setting one up. Kate runs the Acumen group of social enterprises, which aims to help people into employment. The North East organisation provides a wide range of functions, from employability skills learning in east Durham, to designing and manufacturing furniture in prisons and communities across the region.

Kate explains: “The combination of doing business and doing good makes social enterprise one of the most exciting and fast-growing movements in this country and across the world.Teesside University is leading the way on social enterprise with actually having a social entrepreneur in residence.

“The University already has a reputation of leading the field in working with business, supporting business start-ups and promoting both enterprise and entrepreneurial spirit with an active entrepreneurs group building it into the curriculum and a society dedicated to supporting entrepreneurial students.

“It is now making that transition to addressing social issues using a business model and this is a really exciting venture. I am looking forward to raising awareness of what social enterprise is and providing support and guidance for people who want to make the transition from feeling passionate about an issue to effecting a solution.”

Professor Cliff Hardcastle, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Business Engagement) says: “It is Teesside University’s goal to promote and support the growth of social enterprise by first raising awareness among staff and students. The presence of both Kate’s team and the grant from UnLtd will help enormously. “Having the knowledge and expertise of Kate and her team on board will be an invaluable springboard for the University to embed this activity in all it does to support business.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .