Innovation, internationalisation and inclusion – how Entrepreneurship Education can join the dots and have real world impact

The UK Innovation Strategy (Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, July 2021) defines innovation as ‘the creation and application of new knowledge to improve the world’ which also creates huge value for society and the UK’s global contribution to help solve the world’s biggest challenges. Innovation does not flow neatly in one direction from research to application; it is unpredictable and serendipitous. At the same time the research that universities do is also a crucial part of the innovation process. Moreover and more broadly, the innovation process occurs in an ecosystem in which companies, public research institutions, further education providers, financial institutions, charities, government bodies and many other players interact through the exchange of skills, knowledge and ideas, both domestically and internationally.

Internationalisation has been given a fresh boost during COVID-19. As travel restrictions have persisted, digitization has opened the door for emerging economies, Small States, small businesses, and individuals to participate directly in globalization. These include born-digital companies - fountains of innovation that have taken advantage of an unprecedented explosion of technological and analytic capabilities to redefine industry after industry.

Against this backdrop, while women and minority ethnic entrepreneurs combined contribute around £130 billion to the UK economy, founders from these groups still face disproportionate barriers when it comes to starting and growing a business. They experience worse access to finance, are less likely to rely on formal support and struggle to secure government or corporate contracts. Tackling these barriers could add at least £250 billion of additional value to the economy.

While the QAA Guidance on Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Education (2018) makes scant reference to inclusion and diversity, Entrepreneurship Education has a crucial role to play. Universities have long pursued employability and entrepreneurship but there is now a growing recognition of the interdependence and interconnectedness of these areas. At the same time, issues of widening participation and inclusion continue to contain, constrain and curtail their capacity to tap into the range of innovation available including in high-growth, high-innovation sectors.

With the Global Entrepreneurship Week themes for 2021 being Ecosystems, Education, Inclusion and Policy, this panel brings together key individuals to discuss innovation, internationalisation and inclusion - and how Entrepreneurship Education can join the dots and have real world impact. It will also contribute to GEN UK’s emerging agenda and specific initiatives on inclusion over the next few months. This will involve different parts of the UK (and sectors/areas covering commercial and social enterprise); under-represented groups (especially women and ethnic minorities) and interaction with an international innovation ecosystem.

Chair: Arif Zaman, Senior Lecturer and Academic Lead for Enterprise, Bloomsbury Institute, Education Advisor to Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN-UK) and Advisory Group for the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU)

• Jerry Allen, Director for Entrepreneurship, UCL Innovation & Enterprise and former Director, Enterprise Educators UK (EEUK)
• Nathaniel Peat, founder, The Safety Box supporting high risk youth, and Gennex a green business for good making solar cells, training and employing women in Africa; 2016 Listed Financial Times Upstanding 100, 2015 Governor General Award (Jamaica) and BBC's The Last Millionaire Winner
• Dr. Nnamdi Madichie, Research Fellow, Bloomsbury Institute
• Katie Matthews, National Director, Northern Ireland, GEN UK
• Michelle Rose Walker, Editor and Founder, The Orator Press

Event convened by Bloomsbury Institute London and the Global Entrepreneurship Network UK