Member Article

Tees Valley training provider is first UK fellow of prestigious USA college

The chief executive of a Tees Valley based training provider is hoping to grow his business after becoming the first person in the UK to be appointed as a fellow of a prestigious entrepreneurship college in the United States.

Phil Teasdale, of Enterprise Made Simple, based in Middlesbrough, has been awarded fellowship of Babson College, an internationally recognised facility to study entrepreneurship and the world’s number one rated entrepreneurial University.

The forward-thinking businessman was one of 18 people appointed internationally as part of the inaugural Babson Fellowship Programme. This means he is now qualified to teach Babson College’s unique patented method of Entrepreneurial Thought and Action, along with Design Thinking and Business Growth development, outside of the Massachusetts-based college itself.

This means the company is the only one in the UK which is accredited to offer these market-leading programmes and the firm is linked to 17 other international fellows from countries such as USA, Australia and Canada, who all share best practice, as well as new ideas to develop businesses and entrepreneurs.

Phil said: “This is a real honour. I have been awarded one of 18 fellowships in the world, selected from over 50 international and national applicants and it feels amazing to say that a business from the Tees Valley will be the first place in the UK to be awarded this prestigious fellowship.

“It will have a huge impact on Enterprise Made Simple and the way we work. We will now be able to bring enterprise educators from around the world to the Tees Valley, which is fantastic. We are then looking to increase our reach across the country and will be undertaking more international delivery and ongoing training for potential business growth.

“We are also looking to attract businesses from across the UK and beyond to look to the Tees Valley as the most innovative, entrepreneurial education area. Furthermore, we are looking to develop our internal capacity in 2019 and will be bringing forwards lots of new ideas, outcomes and developments.”

The fellowship awarded by the independent, not-for-profit institution, is also a recognised mark of quality, since fellows have undergone a rigorous selection process and been chosen to represent the Babson Entrepreneurial ideals across the world.

Professor Heidi Neck, academic director of the Babson Academy for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurial Learning, award-winning educator and author said: “This is the Inaugural Babson Fellows Program for Entrepreneurship Educators, where we selected 19 educators from around the world to immerse themselves in Babson’s entrepreneurship education ecosystem. I wanted to provide access to what we do at Babson, but also wanted to build a community of like-minded educators that are inspired to challenge the status quo.”

In addition to this landmark achievement, Phil was recently nominated in the Entrepreneurs’ Champion of the Year category at the Great British Entrepreneur Awards.

He said: “This was a real honour, and testament to all that we have achieved at Enterprise Made Simple over the last 10 years.

“I am passionate about enterprise, growing and sustaining businesses and the difference this can make to individuals, families and communities, and I am a passionate advocate of using enterprise for change.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Harvey & Hugo .