Projects
HEEG funds a number of small projects based in HEIs in the region, supporting activities in the area of entrepreneurship education. Funded projects must support or train educators and staff within the HEEG member Universities across South East England with the overall aim of educating and up-skilling students for and about entrepreneurship. Projects have to demonstrate regional value, meaning that benefits and learning outcomes must be shared and disseminated amongst Universities in the SEEDA region. All projects must make a contribution to ensuring the sustainability of entrepreneurship education throughout the region.
Application Process
There are four deadlines for applications throughout the year: 31st January, 30th April, 31st July and 31st October. Applications must be made on the application form, and must be approved by the respective Head of Department and the HEEG Representative. Completed applications should be forwarded electronically to heeg@surrey.ac.uk, and a signed, approved copy should also be forwarded by the deadline.
Please see below to download the notes for applicants and an application form.
If you would like to know more about any specific project, please contact the award holder.
Please find below an application form and notes for applicants for the Small Projects Fund
Files: SPF_Notes_for_Applicants.doc, SPF_Application_Form.doc,
The University of Reading hosted one of two sub-regional heats for the National enterprise competition Yomping the Nations 2007, engaging 10 HEIs from across the South East. Whilst Yomp is predominantly a student-based activity, in a novel move a team of academics and University Faculty were invited to participate in the competition, allowing staff to gain exposure to this popular enterprise teaching tool.
The event was a great success with staff and student teams alike gaining much from taking part. Congratulations go to the overall winner from the University of Reading (to be completed) who went forward to the final of the Regional competition.
The Enterprise Boot Camp 2007 brought together 40 enterprising students: 10 from each of the Universities of Portsmouth, Southampton, Winchester and Southampton Solent. It provided an intensive experience of challenges and learning opportunities, giving the students an opportunity to explore their enterprising skills, whilst learning new skills through a mixture of facilitated workshops, group activities, networking and peer learning. The 3-day residential event also included input from external presenters and local entrepreneurs to help provide a tangible insight into everyday life when running a business. It is hoped that this event will provide a useful framework on which other activities might be based.
The project will develop a model to integrate the teaching of entrepreneurship into non-business departments in HEIs using enterprise-related credit-bearing degree modules, creating entrepreneurship-focused minor options within degrees, and raising awareness of students about entrepreneurship and self-employment both as a means to commercialise final-year projects, and as a genuine career option. Part of this process will involve the offering of student enterprise modules for non-business students outside of conventional curriculum timetables to circumvent traditional cross-faculty timetabling problems. The project will complement the NCGE Flying Start programmes currently offered to HEI students.
This project was proposed to strengthen the links between the University of Surrey and University of Creative Arts (Farnham). The day took place at the fabulous venue of Farnham Castle, and saw teams of students from different backgrounds (arts, management, engineering) working in mixed teams to solve problems, in order to promote and stimulate cross-disciplinary innovation.
This project provided a clear focus for staff from two Universities to work together in the planning and implementation of an interactive workshop where strategies will be piloted for collaborative working relating to research and enterprise and learning materials developed. Further avenues for collaboration between the two Institutions are being explored.
Craft Entrepreneurship comprises a one day event bringing together postgraduate students in craft, entrepreneurship, marketing and branding with industry experts to develop innovative branding and marketing proposals for the region's next generation of craft entrepreneurs.
This project will demonstrate the importance and relevance of enterprise education and the development of enterprise skills to the staff and students at CCCU. It will bring together students from across the range of disciplines to share expertise and skills, and provide an opportunity for the CCCU staff/educators to share best practice through networking with the local business community, and with educators from HEIs within the region and France.
The Small Projects Fund award will be used to support the research and development of an innovative visual toolkit to be used as a teaching/learning material for entrepreneurship educators when they are providing training on the early stage business planning process to students and graduates.
The project offers mentoring support to the creative industry start-ups. It has been identified that this group often struggle to find mentors who have business acumen, the creative networks and experience. Therefore, a pilot programme for developing mentors for the creative sector has been designed. The programme will include training, developing a database resource, and developing a mentoring service package which can be easily understood by mentors and mentees.
The project aims to produce and pilot an automated, internet based, self-assessment diagnostic and information/educational portal for university students and staff who have new ideas for innovative enterprises. The objective of the diagnostic is to assess the commercial readiness of a new business idea and to inform and educate those users who need to do more development of their idea. Those students or staff who have completed the diagnostic will be directed to specific academic and business support personnel within their own universities who will further investigate the opportunity in more detail giving specific advice on commercialising and/or progressing their business idea.
An educational documentary following six students as they progress through an intensive ans fun three day entrepreneurship programme 'Bright Futures'. This collaborative project features the seven universities which together make up West Focus, and its partnership with community groups and SMEs. The exciting short film will have an interactive dimension (in the style of the BBC 'Learning Zone' programmes), and will be designed as an educational tool to assist teaching entrepreneurship by introducing educators within local, national and international institutions to an inspiring and new pedagogy of entrepreneurship.
Distributed via the web and DVD, this background breaking project will help address the strong need for professional development, and learning in entrepreneurship education.
This project is going to show how an HEI embeds enterprise within the culture of the institution. The project aims to work with the Students Union to produce a range of support materials and a good practice guide for HEIs where there is little or no student directed enterprise activity. The proposal has arisen from the recognition that in HEIs where the enterprise culture is less well developed, there is a need but not necessarily the time or the expertise to create a bridge between centrally initiated enterprise programmes and the establishment of robust, autonomous, student-led enterprise activities. The proposal suggests that by working with the Students' Union, enterprise can be embedded in the culture of the HEI.