Luke Mitchell, Helena Joyce, Louise Harman, Jess Banks and Dora Rivers

Luke Mitchell speaking to students at an accelerator demo day

The University of Sussex has won the ‘Entrepreneurship Catalyst’ trophy in this year’s National Enterprise Educators Awards for the Sussex Student Entrepreneurship Programme. The winner was announced at the annual Enterprise Educators UK Conference in Belfast on 5 September.

This award is given to those working in Higher or Further Education to deliver exceptional entrepreneurship education. The focus of the award is on enabling pre-starts, start-ups and growing ventures, and the judges look for exceptional initiatives that support individuals to develop the capabilities they need for an entrepreneurial future. Sussex faced strong competition from a range of other universities.

The judges praised the scale, impact, inclusiveness and social impact focus of the programme, which provides end-to-end support for student entrepreneurs at all stages – from the entrepreneurially curious to graduates growing existing businesses. (More established entrepreneurs transition to a 12-month incubator, run by programme partner, Sussex Innovation.) Engagement has been rising since the programme was introduced in 2020, funded through the University’s Higher Education Innovation Funding. Eight hundred Sussex students and graduates took part in 2023/24, supported by multiple external stakeholders.

Students from all years and all academic schools take part, and inclusiveness is designed in – with startup stories, Entrepreneurs-in-Residence, speakers and mentors carefully chosen to represent a wide variety of entrepreneurial starting points, backgrounds, drivers and achievements. One of the chief programme aims is to help change the face of entrepreneurship, and this was recognised at the awards with the Sussex programme receiving a ‘highly commended’ under the NEEA’s ‘Inclusive Enterprise Education’ category.

In line with Sussex 2035 Drivers for Change, social impact and environmental sustainability are also front and centre in programme design. Training, inspirational speakers and incentives help enable students to consider how they can maximise the positive and limit the negative impacts of their business.

Emily Huns, Head of Careers and Entrepreneurship, said:

“A lot of careful thought has gone into our programme (which was co-created with students) and it is fantastic to receive this sector recognition! Students generate and test ideas, collaborate on new projects and take action to solve problems. You don’t have to identify as an entrepreneur to take part: absolutely everyone is welcome. Developing entrepreneurial mindset and skills is part of becoming world ready and students are essentially creating their own work experience. Whether they end up founding or joining a business, the process of exploring what is possible helps students become more confident, connected and employable.”

Read more about the Sussex Student Entrepreneurship Programme.