LSBU graduate entrepreneur welcomes Enterprise for All
LSBU graduate and entrepreneur Stephen Addison welcomes 'Enterprise for All', a report by Enterprise Advisor to the Prime Minister, Lord Young, which makes a series of recommendations to support the next generation of entrepreneursThis week, the Enterprise Advisor to the Prime Minister, Lord Young, published his report 'Enterprise for All' which made a series of recommendations to support entrepreneurs in educational settings.
As a Higher Education leader in providing enterprise skills provision and direct support for entrepreneurial students, LSBU has acknowledged the importance of the report and is already showing its commitment in delivering a strong ethos of enterprise among its students.
Speaking about the report, LSBU Business Studies graduate and Founder of BoxUp Crime, Stephen Addison, said:
"As the Founder of BoxUp Crime, I know how important it is for young people to have positive role models. When I was at school, I didn't have much opportunity to take part in enterprise activities or to meet people from the business world. The volunteer Enterprise Advisers that Lord Young recommends would be a great way of encouraging young people to think about working for themselves and starting a business.
"I set up BoxUp Crime to inspire and support young people – I will put enterprise activities into my programmes to give young people a positive, early experience of enterprise. The support I've received from LSBU has helped me to get my business off to a good start. Having access to a hotdesk in the Clarence Centre has given me a dedicated space to run my business from and I've been part of a community of other people starting and running small businesses.
"I've had great support from my lecturers and other staff in developing my business plan for BoxUp Crime. My business plan became a core part of my studies, as it was my dissertation which I got a 1st in! I now have the confidence, networks and skills I need to take BoxUp Crime to the next stage and make my business dream a reality."
The 'Enterprise for All' report calls for every university to provide credit-bearing enterprise courses available to all students, an enterprise society, a student business start-up programme, support for social enterprises and initiatives to measure the quality of the activities.
LSBU is already showing its pro-enterprise expertise, having recently opened the Clarence Centre for Enterprise and Innovation, home to LSBU's student and graduate entrepreneurs and a thriving community of businesses. LSBU also offers a programme of enterprise support to students and alumni, both within and outside of the curriculum including workshops, competitions and start-up schemes.
Linsey Cole, Head of Student Enterprise, welcomed the report's emphasis on supporting all students to develop their enterprise skills, regardless of their subject of study.
She said: "Student Enterprise is not just about starting a business, it's about recognising opportunities and seizing them. Whether students want to be self-employed, run a company or work for someone else, developing enterprise skills will give them the best start possible. We encourage all of our students to develop enterprise and entrepreneurship skills. We're proud to provide a high-level platform for our entrepreneurial talent, and the schemes and initiatives we already have in place reflect Lord Young's recommendations."
"We are committed to providing the best facilities and support to those students who are on their enterprise journey and we will continue to seek new ways in which we can provide it."
Read more about Stephen's story here
Find out more about the Clarence Centre for Enterprise and Innovation here