Entrepreneu rial Education inScotland · 2018-06-07 · Contents Foreword page3 ExecutiveSummary page4 1 Introduction page6 1.1 Aboutthisreport page6 1.2 Backgroundandcontext page6

EntrepreneurialEducationin Scotland

ARoyal Society of Edinburghdiscussion paperAdvicePaper15-09 June2015

ContentsForeword page 3

Executive Summary page 4

1 Introduction page 6

1.1 About this report page 6

1.2 Background and context page 6

1.3 A focus on the role of universities page 7

1.4 The roles of the Scottish Funding Council and Research Councils page 8

1.5 The roles of enterprise agencies and business support bodies page 9

2 Enterprise education, entrepreneurship education and skills for growth page 11

2.1 Definitions and explanations page 11

2.2 Why entrepreneurial education is important page 13

3 Entrepreneurial education: current provision, challenges and opportunities page 15

3.1 Enterprise education page 15

3.2 Entrepreneurship education page 22

3.3 Skills for growth page 25

4 Emerging recommendations page 32

4.1 For the Scottish Funding Council and Research Councils page 32

4.2 For universities page 32

4.3 For enterprise agencies and business support bodies page 34

Appendix A: Organisations represented at roundtables page 35

Appendix B:References and literature review page 36

Additional Information page 37

Foreword

The Scottish Government has set out an ambitious vision for Scotland to become a ‘world-leadingentrepreneurial and innovative nation’. Such ambition is to be welcomed; indeed, it is necessary asScotland – likemany of its global neighbours – continues to steer its way out of turbulent times.Scotland’s economymust be driven by a skilled, ambitious and creative workforce if it is to achievetruly sustainable growth and be able to rise to societal challenges on the horizon.

Butmuchmust be done to close the current gap between Scotland’s ambition and its realityThe rate of new business creation in Scotland has increased in recent years, but it continues tolag behind that of the UK, and even further behind the entrepreneurial front-runners it seeks toemulate. Levels of commercialisation of the world-class research carried out within ouruniversities equally remain stubbornly low.We face a sizeable task.

An entrepreneurial culture requires a number of building blocks: strong support networks; aready supply of creation and growth finance; simple start-up procedures. But first and foremostit needs people with the ambition, vision, creativity, commitment and leadership ability to driveventure creation and growth on a scale that will contribute to sustainable economic growth.

Scotland’s universities have a central role to play in supporting today’s young people to developnot only the skills but also themind-set needed to fuel, and to realise, entrepreneurial ambitions.For this reason, the Business Innovation Forum of the Royal Society of Edinburgh set up aWorkingGroup to consider entrepreneurial education in Scotland, with an emphasis on the role ofuniversities. Ably led by Dr Olga Kozlova, who hasmany years of experience of entrepreneurshipdevelopment,most recently as Director of the prestigious Converge Challenge, the groupmet witha number of key stakeholders from the Scottish education and entrepreneurial ecosystems tostart a discussion on the challenges and opportunities of the current system.

This paper sets out the picture that has emerged from those discussions. It finds that progresshas beenmade in embedding enterprise and entrepreneurship into higher education, but thatpowerful opportunities remain for universities, working closely with enterprise support agenciesand others in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, to step up support for both potential and existingbusiness leaders.

We hope that this paper acts as a stimulus for further discussion and action by all stakeholdersthat will support a fundamental culture shift in Scotland: one that prepares our young peoplenot just for life as an employee, but for a vibrant and fast-moving business landscape in whichopportunities are to be grasped and ambitions realised.

Finally, I would like to thank Olga and themembers of theWorking Group – Donna Chisholm,Elizabeth Fairley and Fiona Godsman – for contributing their considerable expertise, experienceand time to this project.

IanRitchie CBEFREngFRSERSEVice-President forBusiness andChair, RSEBusiness Innovation Forum

Entrepreneurial Education in Scotland PAGE 3

Executive SummaryThe Scottish Government’s ambition isfor Scotland to become aworld-leadingentrepreneurial nation. Scottish universitieshave a pivotal role to play in achieving thisambition, alongwith public and privatebusiness support agencies, industry anda range of other actors.

The Business Innovation Forum of the RoyalSociety of Edinburgh (RSE) has produced thisdiscussion paper to provide an overview ofentrepreneurial education: the skills andexperiences that will support Scotland’s studentsof today to become an innovative and dynamicworkforce of the future; and how these arecurrently delivered. Focusing on the role ofuniversities, but with consideration also of thewider entrepreneurial ecosystem, this paper setsout emerging recommendations and points to beconsidered to ensure Scotland-wide access to allthree levels of entrepreneurial skills training:

> Enterprise education (basic businessawareness and soft employability skills);

> Entrepreneurship education (applying theseskills to the creation of a new venture); and

> Skills for growth (scaling up an existingventure).

It became clear from our discussions that acomprehensive, joined-up approach to the deliveryof entrepreneurship education is key to ensuringconsistency and quality. We therefore recommendthe creation of anEntrepreneurship EducationForumwhichwould bring together high-levelrepresentatives of academic institutions, privateand public business support organisations andindustry practitioners, to oversee a comprehensiveprogramme for the delivery of entrepreneurialeducation in Scotland. This Forummaymostappropriately be led and coordinated by a nationalbody such as Entrepreneurial Scotland, but itwould require strong endorsement from theScottish Government and the support of theScottish Funding Council to be effective.

There has been improvement in the delivery ofenterprise educationwithin Scottish HigherEducation Institutions over recent years, withgood practice developed across a wide range ofuniversities. However, provision is still patchy, bothwithin and between institutions, and there areinsufficient links between academic departments,business schools and professional services suchas careers advisors, technology transfer offices,alumni networks and student unions. An additionalchallenge is the limited exposure of studentswithin Scottish universities to rolemodels fromoutwith academia.

In order to enhance the delivery of enterpriseeducation across Scottish universities, a concertedeffort should bemade to support all academic staffto understand its relevance and importance, and todevelop their capacity to introduce enterprise skillsinto the curriculum. Thismay require:

> Strong and consistent endorsement fromseniormanagement within universities;

> The development of a dedicatedEntrepreneurial Strategy by each institution;

> The allocation of funding available throughKnowledge Transfer Grants towards theemployment of Enterprise Champions;

> The use ofmetrics within Scottish FundingCouncil Outcome Agreements to encourageinstitutions to embed enterprise educationacross all departments.

> Improved use of rolemodels through theengagement of non-academic lecturers and/orthe university’s professional services andalumni networks.

The provision of entrepreneurship education inScotland, supporting thosewhowant to create anew venture, is broadly satisfactory. There are bothinternal university-based supportmechanismssuch as Launch.Ed and Enterprise Gym, as well aswell-established pan-Scotland initiatives such asthe Converge Challenge, RSE EnterpriseFellowships, the Scottish Institute for Enterpriseand the newly launched Enterprise Campusinitiative. However, given the wide range ofproviders, there is a need for coordination andawareness-raising of the support available.


Executive Summary

Thismay be achieved through:

> Improved coordination of activities between keystakeholders and support agencies, by anational umbrella organisation but with activeinvolvement of universities.

> A review by universities of the entrepreneurialecosystems that exist across their departmentsto ensure that best practice is identified andshared and that students with entrepreneurialinclinations are supported to progress theirideas.

The scaling up of established ventures isimperative to sustainable economic growth inScotland. However, at present some 94% ofbusinesses in Scotland have fewer than tenemployees. There is a gap in Scotland forsupporting existing business leaders to developgrowth ambitions by ensuring that they have anexcellent grounding in the fundamentals ofentrepreneurship fromwhich their business cangrow.While this overlaps with entrepreneurshipeducation, skills for growth, including world-classleadership capacity, must be embedded at theearliest stage of learning, and universities havea powerful potential to step into this role.Enterprise agencies will be central to supportingthe development of programmes suitable forScottish businesses and in ensuring thatbusinesses can access support. Private sectortraining providers will continue to be an importantpart of the ecosystem by adding value throughtheir expertise on specific skills for growthand the flexibility they can offer in the designof training.

There is a varied and vibrant support landscapein Scotland, with a wide range of agencies,incubators and initiatives working to promotebusiness growth. However, there is clearlysignificant potential to spur growth among alarger proportion of SMEs and to addressparticular gaps around the provision of key growthskills such as sales and international trade.

Universities, enterprise agencies and otheractors in the skills and support ecosystemshould continue to rise to this challenge,by giving consideration to:

> the development of courses and executiveeducation programmes (such as those run byMIT and Babson College in the US) suited toScottish SMEs, which can be delivered in abusiness setting andmade relevant to specificbusinesses.

> how skills for growth training canmosteffectively be delivered by business schools,drawing on specific expertise available fromother public and private providers.

> national coordination and development ofnetworks between SMEs so that they cansupport one another in a non-competitiveenvironment.


1 IntroductionThe ‘Scotland Can Do’ agenda1, launched bythe Scottish Government in late 2013, setsout an ambition for Scotland to become aworld-leading entrepreneurial nation. Realisingsuch an ambition, however, will largely dependon equipping Scotland’s young people with themind-set and skills that will enable them totake an entrepreneurial approach to theirfuture careers.

The Business Innovation Forum of the RoyalSociety of Edinburgh has therefore taken atimely look at whether and how entrepreneurialeducation is currently embedded across Scotland.A key focus of this review has been the role ofScottish Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) inproducing graduates with these skills andmind-set. The emerging recommendationsset out in this paper are primarily directedat the HE sector. However, the conversion ofentrepreneurial potential into real economic andsocial benefit for Scotland inevitably demandseffective partnership across the business supportecosystem. This paper, therefore, alsomakessome comment on the roles of other actors inthis ecosystem and highlights a number ofpotential actions that would support Scotlandto achieve its entrepreneurial ambition.

1.1 About this reportThis report is based on a number of roundtablesand interviewswith key stakeholders fromthe Scottish education and entrepreneurialecosystems (Appendix A), complemented by areview of existing relevant literature (AppendixB).It considers three ‘levels’ of entrepreneurialeducation – basic enterprise skills, entrepreneurshipeducation and skills for growth – and commentson the current provision, gaps and opportunitiesfor each. Looking to the future, it considers:

1 How provisions for enterprise education couldbe expandedmuchmorewidely across thespectrum of undergraduate courses.

2 How different stakeholders within theentrepreneurial ecosystem can improveentrepreneurship education for interestedundergraduate and postgraduate students.

3 HowSMEswith high growth potential couldbe providedwith the necessary executiveeducation and training to develop key skillsfor growth.

This report will be of interest to Scottishuniversities, the Scottish Funding Council,Research Councils, the Scottish Government,Scottish enterprise agencies and business supportorganisations, and to profit and not-for-profitorganisations within the entrepreneurialecosystem in Scotland.

1.2 BackgroundandcontextA recent REAP (Regional EntrepreneurshipAcceleration Programme) Scotland report2

examined the environment inwhich entrepreneursin Scotland operate. It identified sevenweaknesses and bottlenecks in Scotland’sentrepreneurial ecosystem:

> opportunity perception;

> start-up skills;

> networking;

> product and process innovation;

> high-growth aspirations;

> internationalisation; and

> risk capital.

It further identified areas where Scotland has anopportunity to strengthen its entrepreneurial base.These include skills for growth, an enhanced rolefor universities andmore extensive use of rolemodels, as well as effective connections andimproved financing for growth.


1 ‘Scotland CANDO: Becoming aWorld-leading Entrepreneurial and Innovative Nation’, Scottish Government, November 2013

2 ‘‘Increasing Innovation-Driven Entrepreneurship in Scotland’, The Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Programme (REAP) report,REAP Scotland Team, 2014

Introduction

1.3 A focuson the roleof universitiesThe REAP report identified the university sector ascrucial to the development andmaintenance of astrong entrepreneurial ecosystem. CitingMIT inBoston as an exemplar, it suggests that “theuniversity sector has the opportunity to play a pivotalrole in the further development of Scotland’sentrepreneurial ecosystem and an entrepreneurialculture that is open to the world” 3. A key questionthat this report will seek to address, therefore, iswhat the role of universities can and should be indelivering entrepreneurial education.

A Universities Scotland report quotes the Instituteof Directors Scotland, highlighting that in today’sworld “There is no job security. Six to ten differentcareers is the norm”4. This emphasises the needfor universities to equip their students withemployability skills (i.e., self-management,problem solving, teamworking, businessawareness, communication, information literacy,the use of technology) as a central part of theirlearning journey. Such skills, also referred to asgraduate attributes, are defined and embeddedacross all of Scotland’s HEIs.

There is, however, less consistency across thesector onwhat the role of universities can andshould be in going beyond employability skills,in order to produce graduates with a trulyentrepreneurial mind-set. It is not expected that amajority of undergraduates will start a businessstraight after finishing their degree, but whetherthey do set out to create their own venture,to pursue a career in academia or to findemployment within industry, their ability to beflexible, to identify opportunities and to persuadeothers of the value of their ideas, will be a keypillar of an entrepreneurial culture and aflourishing Scottish economy. Therefore, the roleof universities in equipping graduates with theseskills is increasingly relevant.

Further, universities have unique resources,in terms of knowledge and networks, to takea powerful role in supporting both potentialentrepreneurs and existing business leaders inScotland to understand the importance of creatinga strong venture identity, purpose and offeringfrom the outset. This will be crucial to facilitatingsuccessful growth in the future; an area in which,to date, Scottish businesses have beenweak.

There are, of course, challenges for universities indelivering entrepreneurial education. The pacewith which science and technologymove forwardmakes it difficult, for STEM5 subjects in particular,to find spacewithin the curriculum to introducethe teaching of practical/vocational skills. Arts andhumanities or theoretical subjects often faceanother challenge, where the relevance ofenterprise skills is less obvious. Additionally,course leaders and lecturers predominantly comefrom academic backgrounds, limiting their abilityto bring experience and insight into the realities ofenterprise and entrepreneurship to the classroom.

Nevertheless, experience elsewhere suggeststhat such challengesmust be overcome ifScotland is to realise its entrepreneurialambitions. Research by the Kaufmann Foundation,for example, has found that MIT graduates haveset up somany companies that together theycreate an economic output equivalent to that ofone of the top 20 countries in the world6. Theeducation that students receive at MIT, theirexposure to entrepreneurial rolemodels and asurrounding strong entrepreneurial ecosystem,allows them to translate their academicknowledge into commercial value. The lack ofsuch focus or entrepreneurial culture in Scotlandis likely to be one of the reasons why Scotlandlags significantly behind the rest of the UK forR&D expenditure in business, despite being aninternational leader in R&D expenditure in highereducation7.


3 ‘‘Increasing Innovation-Driven Entrepreneurship in Scotland’, The Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Programme (REAP) report,REAP Scotland Team, 2014, p33

4 ‘Taking Pride in the Job’, Universities Scotland, 2013 p7

5 Science, Technology, Engineering andMathematics

6 ‘Entrepreneurial Impact: the role of MIT’, Edward BRoberts and Charles Eesley, MIT Sloan School of Management, 2009

7 ‘Increasing Innovation-Driven Entrepreneurship in Scotland’, The Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Programme (REAP) report,REAP Scotland Team, 2014, p19

Introduction

1.4 Therolesof theScottishFundingCouncil andResearchCouncils

The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) is one of thekey stakeholders within the entrepreneurialecosystem in Scotland, working closely with theScottish Government, Universities Scotland andothers. Outcome Agreements signed between SFCand each Higher Education Institution set out whatuniversities plan to deliver in return for the publicfunding received fromSFC. These outcomes areexpected to contribute towards improving lifechances, supporting world-class research andcreating sustainable economic growth, each ofwhich ties strongly with the need for a flourishingentrepreneurial culture in Scotland.

SFC has a central role in facilitating knowledgeexchange: ensuring that the research it supportswithin universities can be accessed and used bybusiness and industry to create real economic andsocial impact for Scotland. Much of this workinvolves fostering partnership and interactionbetween academia, the research community andindustry; an important factor in supportingresearchers to raise their awareness of businessneeds and business opportunities. But further,it involves encouraging researchers to considercommercialising their own ideas and supportingthese entrepreneurs to create, and to grow, theirown ventures.


Case Study: SFCsupporting innovationandentrepreneurship inScotland

Innovation ScotlandInnovation Scotland is the strategy of partners – SFC, Universities Scotland, ScottishEnterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise – to increase the efficiency, effectiveness,clarity, simplicity and sustainability of support for innovation and entrepreneurshipprovided at the interface between universities and businesses in Scotland.The Innovation Scotland Forum, consisting of senior representatives of universities andindustry, meets three or four times a year to provide advice to the boards of the partnerson the on-going implementation of the strategy.

InnovationCentresSFC launched the Innovation Centre programme in 2012 to support transformationalcollaboration between universities and businesses, working in partnership with ScottishEnterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.Supported by core SFC funding of £120million over the period 2013–2018, InnovationCentres have been established across a number of key economic sectors, including digitalhealth, aquaculture, oil and gas and construction, to facilitate secondments, industrialstudentships, collaborative working, access to equipment and skills and training forresearchers and knowledge exchange practitioners.

EnterpriseCampusA joint initiative between the universities of Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Strathclyde, eachacting as a hub, Enterprise Campus supports postgraduate students from any Scottishuniversity whowant to set up their own business.Funded by SFC, the initial focus of Enterprise Campus is on potential high-growthbusinesses, providing business planning support, mentors, financial, legal and IP advice,information on funding opportunities andmore, tailored to the needs of the business.

Introduction

Similarly, the seven UKResearch Councils areanother important source of funding for HEIs andresearch institutes, through the award of fundingto researchers based on the strength of theirproposals. They are taskedwith core objectives tocontribute to the economic competitiveness of theUK and to enhance the quality of life and creativeoutput of the nation. Research Councils, therefore,have a distinctive role to play in the innovationlandscape, supporting exploitation of the researchthey fund. This involves working closely withindustry, either directly or through Innovate UK, tocouple research to industry needs, to undertakeintensive knowledge transfer activities, to provideindustry access to cutting-edge facilities and tosupport the creation and growth of innovativeventures.

Both the Scottish Funding Council and theResearch Councils are therefore well-placed touse availablemechanisms to encourage everyuniversity to develop entrepreneurial educationand an entrepreneurial culture. They are furtherideally placed to provide a link between realisingthe potential of the research and innovationecosystem and supporting a vibrantentrepreneurial ecosystem.

SFC, together with the Funding Councils of each ofthe UK nations, also jointly conducts the ResearchExcellence Framework exercise which aims toassess the quality of research undertaken in HEIsand to produce evidence of its impact. While this isa valuable exercise that ensures accountability forpublic investment in research, it also acts as adriver for HEIs to prioritise the employmentof academic, research-active staff, and as adisincentive to employ lecturers from enterpriseand industry backgrounds.

1.5 Therolesof enterpriseagenciesandbusiness support bodies

Scotland has a vibrant landscape of businesssupport, with:

> two over-arching national enterprise agencies,Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and IslandsEnterprise;

> industry-specific public bodies such asVisitScotland and Creative Scotland;

> specific support for SMEs through BusinessGateway;

> specific support for different aspects ofbusiness; e.g., Skills Development Scotland,Talent Scotland and Scottish DevelopmentInternational;

> awide range ofmembership bodies, such asEntrepreneurial Scotland, the Scottish Councilfor Development and Industry, ScottishChambers of Commerce, the Federation ofSmall Businesses Scotland, ScottishEngineering and Scotland Food and Drink;

> business incubation centres and acceleratorsfocused on specific industries and/orgeographic locations, such as EntrepreneurialSpark, Creative Clyde and Codebase;

> strategic infrastructure projects such as theEdinburgh BioQuarter and Energetica in thenortheast of Scotland.

All of these bodies do andwill have animportant role in the development of the strongentrepreneurial culture envisaged in the ScottishGovernment’s Scotland Can Do agenda. Theyhave a complementary role to play, alongsideuniversities and other educational institutions, insupporting people with innovative ideas to accessthe skills and resources required to put their ideasinto action and create their own venture.

Further, they have a principal role in supportingthose who have already established a viableventure to grow their operations, increasing theeconomic and social benefits for Scotland.


“Wewill supportScotland’sentrepreneurialecosystem, supporting entrepreneurs,spin-outs and start-upswith ambition,significant growth potential and thecapability and confidence to trade on aglobal platform.

Wewill engagewith partners such asuniversities, BusinessGateway, ScottishEDGE, Entrepreneurial Scotland,Informatics Ventures, EdinburghBioQuarterand a growing range of emerging privatesector ‘accelerators’, to improve supportfor companies started by entrepreneurs.”

Scottish Enterprise,2015–2018 Business Plan, p7

Introduction

The support available from these bodies topotential entrepreneurs, and to business founderslooking to grow their company, ranges from onlineresources providing an introduction to aspectsof businessmanagement, to intensive accountmanagement for potential high-growthcompanies. Free advice on business planning;identifying and sourcing necessary skills; legal,financial and IP issues; fundraising opportunities;mentoring services; and assistancewith customerand supplier contacts are among the serviceson offer.

However, it is important that these services areeffectively designed, delivered and coordinated inorder to ensure that they generatemaximumimpact and return on investment in support.


Case Study: SkillsDevelopmentScotland–Skills forGrowth

In January 2015, Skills DevelopmentScotland (SDS), working in partnership withInvestors in People Scotland, launched aninnovative product to support companieswith ambitions for growth.

Through this initiative, SDS and Investors inPeople Scotland can help businesses identifytheir priorities and objectives, link theseto the people and skills needs of theirorganisation and create a tailored actionplan.

The plan is then passed to an SDS EmployerEngagement Advisor, who can identifyappropriate training providers and advisethe employer on how they can apply for anypublic sector funding thatmay be availableto them.


2 Enterprise education, entrepreneurshipeducation and skills for growth

2.1 Definitionsandexplanations

8 ‘Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Education: guidance for UKHigher Education providers’, QAA, 2012, p2

9 ‘Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Education: guidance for UKHigher Education providers’, QAA, 2012, p2

> Generate an idea andmake it happen

> e.g., idea formulation,teamwork

> Mainly undergraduatestudents

EnterpriseEducation

> Focus on setting upa new venture

> e.g., business development,fundraising

> Both undergraduate &postgraduate students

EntrepreneurshipEducation

> Provision of skillsfor growth

> e.g., leadership, internationaltrade, growing a team

> Founders of existing companies

Skills forGrowth

2.1.1 EnterpriseeducationEnterprise education is described by the QualityAssurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) as“the process of equipping students (or graduates)with an enhanced capacity to generate ideas and theskills to make them happen”8. This involves skillssuch as creativity, a can-do attitude, networkingand awillingness to take risks without the fearof failure. It aims to provide students with themind-set necessary to be enterprising, whatevertheir future career.

It is important for Scotland’s economy thatcompanies of all sizes are able to recruit from astrong, local talent base. Enterprise educationseeks to supplement and strengthen generalemployability skills. It is not about studyingbusiness, but rather about engagement with theentrepreneurial ecosystem, exposure to role

models and building the skills to be flexible andadaptable. Enterprise education will, therefore, bevaluable and appropriate formost undergraduatesand is something that can take place at amoregeneric level, embedded across the spectrum ofundergraduate degree courses.

2.1.2 EntrepreneurshipeducationEntrepreneurship education is defined by the QAAas equipping students with “the additionalknowledge, attributes and capabilities required toapply these abilities in the context of setting up anew venture or business”9. Thismay involveenhancement of the skills covered underenterprise education, as well as leadership skills,business planning, fundraising, innovation andbusiness development.

Figure 1Different types of entrepreneurial education.

Enterprise education, entrepreneurship education and skills for growth

This type of education targets a smaller audience,as students are rarely ready to set up a businessimmediately upon graduation. Instead, thosewith entrepreneurial inclinations will be lookingto bank foundational skills that they can use later.Entrepreneurship education should lay thefoundations of strong leadership, providingstudents with an understanding of the role ofleader in creating and communicating their vision,mobilising others to commit to and achieve thatvision, creating new opportunities and nurturinggrowth. It should support students to develop anenhanced self-awareness of their own leadershipstrengths and areas for development.

But courses in entrepreneurshipmust also providestudents withmore specific knowledge and skills,including the tools andmethodologies that willenable potential entrepreneurs to establish the‘first principles’ of their venture. Such firstprinciples will involve defining the core offering,developing a product plan, quantifying the valueproposition, identifying the customer base andconsidering howmarkets can be reached, as wellas testing assumptions and undertaking primarymarket research10.

More generally, entrepreneurship educationwill also include practical aspects such as anunderstanding of the economic and businesslandscape in which businesses operate, the abilityto analyse relevant data and extract usefulinformation and the ability to understandmarkettrends. It will also provide students with anunderstanding of the financial aspects ofmanagement; including, for example, anunderstanding of intellectual propertymanagement, reading a balance sheet andhow to use Companies House andHMRC.

Again, these are theminimal necessary skills foranyonewishing to run their own business, andwilllikely be particularly relevant to any student,undergraduate or postgraduate, who is activelyconsidering the commercialisation of an idea orproduct. However,many of these skills will also beuseful for graduates whowant to have control oftheir careers and to understand the businesscontext in which they are working.

2.1.3 Skills for growthSkills for growth training is aimed at building theskills, understanding and support networks ofexisting SMEs and business leaders so that theycan expand and reach biggermarkets. There is acontinuum in the entrepreneurial education system,as the successful scale-up of a businesswill in partdepend on the strength of leadership abilities anddecisionsmade at the point of creation, and inparticular on the solidity of the ‘first principles’that lie at the heart of the business. Formanybusinesses operating in Scotland today, includingthosewhich have been established by ownerswithout any formal entrepreneurship education,such an approachwill not have been taken at theoutset. Therefore ‘skills for growth’ trainingwill,in fact, start at an earlier step, ensuring that thebusiness leader has access to high-qualityentrepreneurship education that places thesefundamentals at the heart of the process,establishing a solid base fromwhich to grow.

Once this base has been established, skills forgrowth training will include the delivery of in-depthknowledge of a wide range of specific aspects ofbusiness. These skillsmight include, for example,broadening leadership abilities, understandinginternationalmarkets, increasing sales, growinga team or navigatingmerger or acquisitionopportunities.

There are a lot of ‘lifestyle businesses’ in Scotland,which never growbeyond aminimal size. In 2014,the Federation of Small Businesses estimated that94%of Scottish companies are classified asmicro-enterpriseswith fewer than 10 employees11.

In order for Scotland’s economy to grow, thereis a need for new and established businesses tocontinue expanding, providing jobs and training fornew graduates and established professionals.There is also a need to encourage overseasbusinesses to open UK offices in Scotland, whichrequires Scotland to have the skills and talent baseto support these businesses.


10 For an example of suchmethodologies, see www.disciplinedentrepreneurship.com

11 ‘Voice of Small BusinessMember Survey – Scotland’, The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), 2014, p4


Skills for growth training will be delivered througha range of partners, at a range of levels, includinguniversities (particularly through their businessschools), enterprise agencies, other businesssupport bodies and networks, and private trainingproviders. Given the range of bodies involved in thedelivery of skills for growth training, coordinationis key and such trainingmay be delivered underthe banner of a dedicated body, bringing togetherexpertise from private, public and academicsources.

2.2 Whyentrepreneurial educationis important

Without an entrepreneurial heart in Scotland,there can be no growth or wealth creation.Wealth creation is not just down to individualentrepreneurs; we need to acknowledge that thereis a broad range of people, in organisations of all

sizes, whomust also be ‘intrapreneurial’ in ordertomake the companies they work for successful.Enterprise skills, including the flexibility toovercome unanticipated challenges and tomovesuccessfully between jobs, or indeed careers, arevital to the success and resilience of the localworkforce. They should be embedded in universitycurricula and in wider Scottish society.

Venture creationmay always remain of interest toa smaller subset of students, but universities cancreate the ecosystemswithin which those who dohave entrepreneurial inclinations can find theirown pathways. A fully developed ecosystem(Figure 2) can provide the full pathway of supportfor entrepreneurship in Scotland, from thecreation of an entrepreneurialmind-set inundergraduate students, right through to thegrowth and expansion of Scottish businessesinto globalmarkets.


Figure 2Scotland’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.Figure provided byConvergeChallenge.



Whatdo current students think?

Do you think Enterprise Educationis important, and if so, why?‘I thinkEnterprise Education is particularly important for thosewhohave not decidedwhat their ideal career looks like, although I think that basic entrepreneurship shouldbe taught to everyone to ensure that everyone is aware of this potential career option’Third-year Business &Management student

‘Yes, the economy is changing fast and it ismuchharder to get a job, regardlessof amazing qualifications! I think it is very important students learn anddomoreto dowith enterprise; learning important skills such as promoting andmarketing,networking, learning to speak in front of people, and of course comingupwithnew ideas to help in the future.’Second-year Business HND student

‘Yes – because a lot of business skills (finance, planning, tax) I feel are the biggestreason for computing science students not to consider enterprise as an option.’Fourth-year Computer Science student

‘This depends…if youmean an “academicised” version of entrepreneurshipeducation, then I don’t think itwill be that successful in attracting and creatingmore entrepreneurs. If enterprise educationmeans using a range ofmethods andmeans to attract and support budding entrepreneurs then itwould be important.Because enterprise gives you skills and options.’Second-year International Relations student


3 Entrepreneurial education: currentprovision, challenges and opportunities

12 ‘Helping entrepreneurs flourish: rethinking the drivers of entrepreneurship’, Economist Intelligence Unit, 2014, p12

13 ‘Taking Pride in the Job’, Universities Scotland, 2013 p86

3.1 EnterpriseeducationFor the reasons set out in Sections 1 and 2, webelieve that the soft skills comprising enterpriseeducation should be embeddedwithin theundergraduate curriculum, where they can reachthemajority of the future workforce, andwherethey can lay the foundations for thosewhowantto pursue future entrepreneurial careers.

3.1.1 DemandandprovisionThe Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2014 reportHelping Entrepreneurs Flourish conducted twoglobal surveys of young people and entrepreneursthat demonstrated the importance of enterpriseeducation and the role of universities to provide it(seeFigure 312). The data shows that only a fifth ofyoung people consider that the existing provisionof enterprise education is sufficient within theuniversities and nearly 80% agree thatmoreneeds to be done.

There is clear evidence that enterprise educationis relevant to the undergraduate community inScottish HEIs from across the disciplines. Some18% of graduates were self-employed afterfinishing at Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC). Forgraduates from the Edinburgh College of Art andGlasgow School of Art, the number is even higherat 25%, reaching 45% for graduates of the RoyalConservatoire of Scotland13.

However, at present in Scotland there is patchyintegration of enterprise education into theundergraduate curriculum.

“While therearehot-spotsofentrepreneurial activity [inScottishUniversities], thesector isgenerallycharacterisedasprovidingadisciplinedintensiveeducation, rather thanastronglyentrepreneurial experience.”

REAP Scotland report

49%

19%

78%

Figure 3Provision of enterprise educationwithin higher education

Academic degreeimportance for future

entrepreneurs

Goodprovision ofenterprise skills by

universities

Universities need togivemore support forfuture entrepreneurs

“Wedon’t haveanything likeenough[provision inHEIs]…universities tendtobemuchsiloed.”Roundtable with university representativesand entrepreneurs, 7 October 2014

“It’sdifficult to identify anyuniversitiesthatarebeaconsofgoodpracticeacrosstheboard.Bitsandpiecesofdifferentuniversitiesaregood…but theyarenotembracing thisacrossall faculties”.Roundtable with governmental bodies,29 October 2014

Entrepreneurial education: current provision, challenges and opportunities


Whatdo current students think?

Is there sufficient provision of EnterpriseEducation in Scottish universities? Could youname some examples?What ismissing?“Within StrathclydeUniversity, yes; however, speaking to individuals at otheruniversities highlights a lack of entrepreneurshipwith some. Strathclyde hasmanybudding entrepreneurswhooften present as guest speakers aswell as havingfacilities to promote enterprise education, such as theHunter Centre andEnterpriseHub. The ease of access to the help available ismissing, asmany students are notaware of the services available to themwithin the university.”Third-year Entrepreneurship andMarketing student

“I think that business students do have sufficient exposure to enterprise classes;however, I think that entrepreneurship needs to be emphasisedmore tonon-business students.”Third-year Business andManagement student

“In St Andrews, there is anEnterprise and creativitymodulewhich gives youhands-on experience of starting up a business.What ismissing is a broaderintervention onwhy entrepreneurship is a viable, if notmore of a path to futuresuccess. Beforewe can provide opportunities for peoplewho are already interestedin entrepreneurship to pursue it, there needs to bemore effort to attract peopleto the idea.”Second-year International Relations student

“I think it needs to be shared across different course areas. There are businesssocieties and organisations, butweneedmore examples of people fromdifferentbackgrounds in business.”First-year Philosophy student



It largely depends upon the course director toweave the teaching of these skills into the course,and there is a challenge for course organisersas to whether, and how, they can fit this type ofeducation into the curriculum. For some courses,enterprise education is farmore naturallyincorporated than for others. For example, coursessuch as theoretical physics andmathematics arefar less likely to incorporate soft skills related toprojectmanagement, team-working and productor systemdesign, than subjects like engineering,which have strong practical elements. Fromthe Arts andHumanities, the creative artsand journalism are good examples of subjectareas inwhich enterprise education ismorereadily incorporated into the curriculum.

At postgraduate level, there aremoreopportunities emerging for students to gainenterprise education as part of their courses.Themajority of Centres for Doctoral Training(CDT) in Scotland embed aspects of enterpriseeducation into their programs. The CDT inIntegrativeMedicine has a stated theme of‘enterprise’ running throughout its work, so thatany students coming through the Centre willdevelop an awareness of enterprise culture.However, the inclusion of enterprise educationis not a stated requirement for the establishmentof a CDT’14.

The Scottish Institute for Enterprise (SIE) providesworkshops focused on equipping students with thesoft skills described under enterprise education,and has seen significant growth in demand forthese classes. SIE are scaling up their programstomeet this demand through providing advice,training and resources to allow teaching staff todeliver enterprise education sessions themselves.

Strathclyde’s Hunter Centre is activelyestablishing links with other departments,identifying enterprise champions from amongthe lecturers and educating colleagues abouthow enterprise education can add value tostudents. This, and similar provision of enterpriseeducation, should be tracked over time, so thatits impacts can bemeasured and its added valuedemonstrated.

“ThebiggestuptakeofenterpriseeducationwehaveseencamefromSTEMsubjects; engineerscould reallysee thedirectbenefit to their careers.There is increasing interest fromjournalismstudents, since theyarelikely tobecome freelancersaftertheygraduate.”

Professor Eleanor Shaw, Head of the HunterCentre for Entrepreneurship

“Therearepocketsofgoodpractice,forexampleatEdinburgh,StrathclydeandHeriot-Watt, but this isnotacrosstheboard…Inengineering, accreditationrequires that thesesoft skills arebeingtaught, so theyarealreadypartof thecourse.This isnot so inall subjects.Experiences thatexposestudents to riskand failureandwhichbuild confidencearemissing.Roundtable with university representatives,27 October 2014

14 For example, see EPSRCCentre Requirementshttp://www.epsrc.ac.uk/files/funding/calls/2013/epsrc-centres-for-doctoral-training-invitation-to-submit-a-full-proposal/

Case Study: Encouraginganenterprising student ecosystem

The Scottish Institute for Enterprise, funded by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) andScottish Enterprise (SE), works across every HEI in Scotland, supporting staff by deliveringenterprise workshops and engaging students via co-curricular events, competitions andbusiness advisors.

In 2013/14, nearly 1000 students (undergraduate and postgraduate) entered SIE’snational Enterprise Competitions, with over 250 winning students participating incompetition-related workshops to help them develop their ideas. They also won prizesranging from £20 to £10,000 (totalling over £110k). The students are able to progressfrom early-stage ideas to advanced business plans and start-ups. Many continue on tobenefit from the support of Converge Challenge, EDGE (Encouraging Dynamic GrowthEntrepreneurs) funding, RSE Enterprise Fellowships and access to incubators.

SIE’s 20 student interns runmany local events in every HEI, working with the universities’enterprise hubs and student societies. SIE staff delivered 120workshops to over 4000students and provided one-to-one business advice to around 300 students.

In order to extend the availability of enterprise and entrepreneurial education to allstudents in Scotland, SIE are launching an e-learning platform, which will be a practicalinteractive resource based on sound online learning principles.


3.1.2 Barriers and limitationsThe challenge facing Scotland’s HEIs is in ensuringthat exposure to enterprise education can beembedded into undergraduate education, insteadof being seen as an optional bolt-on.

If enterprise education is presented to students asan abstract ‘business skills’ module, then thereis likely to be limited uptake. Universitiesmustensure that the soft skills pertaining to enterpriseeducation are taught in a way that will haverelevance to the subject area of the student. Thefocus of enterprise education should be onmakingeach studentmore employable in their chosenfield of study. The common consensus is thatintroduction of a separate enterprisemoduleinto every course is unlikely to yield the desiredoutcome.

A further challenge for the Scottish HE sector isthat the largemajority of teaching staff in Scottish

universities are academics; while only a handfulof undergraduate students will go on to pursueacademic careers. Thismeans that there issignificant variation in the appreciation of the needfor enterprise skills and industry awarenessamongst teaching staff, and in their ability toprovide these skills to students.

Further, it means that undergraduate students donot have access to rolemodels in their field whoare employed in a business or entrepreneurialenvironment, andwho can share their experiencesof entrepreneurship and industry. The EconomistIntelligence Unit identifies access to rolemodelsandmentors as themost useful source ofinspiration and advice for those consideringstarting up a business15. However, the ResearchExcellence Framework (REF) currently acts as adisincentive to Scottish, and UK, universitiesemploying teaching staff from outside academia.


15 ‘Helping entrepreneurs flourish: rethinking the drivers of entrepreneurship’, Economist Intelligence Unit, 2014, p10


Compounding this ‘closed environment’ arethe limited links between some academicdepartments and universities’ professionalservices such as technology transfer offices,careers services and development and alumni.Such links have the potential to provide studentswith exposure to people with a wide range ofexperience and expertise of the business andentrepreneurial worlds. However, there is littleconsistency in engagement with such services,both across andwithin Scottish HEIs.

Finally, a further challenge identified in ourdiscussions has been that it is still uncommonfor undergraduate students to collaborate on aninterdisciplinary basis. Rather, the vastmajorityof their work is donewithin their specific schoolsand departments, with limited interdisciplinaryworking. A key aspect of developing anentrepreneurialmind-set is the ability to identifyweaknesses in one’s own skill set, and to build ateam that complements, rather thanmirrors,individual strengths andweaknesses. Currentundergraduate curriculums do not readilyencourage this, although the co-curriculumdoes provide opportunity for interdisciplinarycollaborations.

3.1.3 OpportunitiesUniversities are uniquely placed to overcomethe barriers discussed above, to deliverundergraduate courses that support thedevelopment of soft enterprise skills, to tapinto their own vast networks of alumni andprofessionals and to promote interdisciplinarylinks.

If teaching staff are supported and encouragedto develop their own enterprise awareness andskills, the delivery of the core undergraduatecurriculum offers significant scope to provideopportunities for students to develop theirenterprise awareness through the applicationof subject-relevant skills. Setting tasks basedon the core subject content, but that challengestudents to be adaptable, to develop creativesolutions to problems, to pitch their ideas and toconsider the practicalities of implementation, willcontribute to a solid foundation in enterpriseeducation. Modes of course-work and assessmentbased on ‘live’ projects with public, private or thirdsector organisations and various challenge-basedtasks could be supported by a variety ofworkshops on intellectual property, creativityor communications, delivered by potential rolemodels.

The final-year project or dissertation undertakenby the vastmajority of undergraduates providesan opportunity to build on this foundation: achance for students to apply the knowledgegained during their course to the design of asystem, process or product that could be usedin the ‘real world’. It would be beneficial forsuch tasks to involve a panel consisting of bothacademic staff and practitioners, whowould beable to ask pertinent questions about theapplication of the project to a real-life scenario.


“There isdifficulty inpulling togethercross-disciplinary teams,especiallyat theundergraduate level… It is aboutencouragingstudents to thinkoutwiththeir classmates.Thecurriculumdoesn’tcurrentlyencourage thatbutextracurricularactivities locatedwithinuniversitiesdo.”

Roundtable with university representativesand entrepreneurs, 7 October 2014

Case Study: EngineeringDesignProjects,Heriot-WattUniversity

For the last five years, Heriot-Watt University has beenworking with companies onMechanical Engineering Design Projects. Taking part in this initiative bears no cost tothe business and enables 4th-year students within the School of Engineering andPhysical Sciences tomake a real difference to Scottish companies.

Through the links of Research and Enterprise Services, a number of companies areselected each year with a real-life project for students to work on. It could be anythingfrom developing a completely novel prototype for a start-up to a process optimisationproject for amedium-sized established business.

Students work in teams of 4–5 not only to solve the technical challenges, but also lookat the costs and supply chainmanagement. They develop skills including: working in ateam; timemanagement; liaisonwith a client; presenting a business case for adoptionof the innovation by the company.

There are significant benefits for both sides:

> Benefits from energetic and enthusiastic engineering students who provide freshperspectives, new ideas and viewpoints.

> Academic expert supervisors and technicians to assist companies in their R&D activity.

> Bridging the gap between academics and industry through input into the educationprocess of future professionals and innovators.

> Companies gain an extra set of hands for special projects with clear remitsand defined outcomes.

> Evaluation of engineering students for the possibility of employment after graduation.

> Students gain practical real-world experience and learn new skills.


Indeed, in the US it is common practice forstudents to be taught some of their classesby current practitioners in the field, who teachas part of their professional portfolio but whoare not academics. In light of the significantbenefits of exposure to rolemodels, such asenhanced business awareness and aspiration,this is amodel that Scotland should seek to

emulate, even in an informal way. However,acknowledging the barriers in the current UKmodel thatmake it difficult for this type ofindustry/HEI interaction, universities anddepartments should at leastmake themostof the opportunities offered by their networksof professional services and alumni to provideaccessible rolemodels for their students.


Case Study: Engaginguniversity alumni –Strathclyde100

Strathclyde 100 is a network of entrepreneurial alumni and business people who,through a series of events, support emerging University of Strathclyde entrepreneurs.Entrepreneurs and businesses pitch their ideas to the audience with a view to securinghelp with specific asks. Chaired by the University Principal, Professor Sir JimMcDonald,Strathclyde 100 events have been running in Glasgow since 2003with impressive results:

> Introductions to CEODesignates, Directors and Boardmembers.

> Mentoring relationships and advice from industry experts.

> Substantial grant funding and financial investment secured.

> Introductions to a global network of contacts.

Case Study: SaltireScholarships

The Saltire Scholars Undergraduate Internship Programme gives undergraduate students– with huge potential and ambition – the chance to experience the working environment ofhighly successful firms or high-growth entrepreneurial companies at home and abroad.The programme enables talented students to realise their potential through:

> Challenging work experience – increasing skill sets and commercial knowledge.

> Global perspective – 70% of placements are outside Scotland and those in Scotlandare with globally-minded companies.

> Increased leadership capacity – a Leadership Development Day and other eventsduring and beyond Scholars’ internships to increase their leadership capabilities.

> Superb networking opportunities – before, during and beyond the internship andas a lifetimemember of the Alumni Programme.

> Greater independence –working in a commercial environment and typically livingaway fromhome.

> Increased ambition and confidence – fuelled by their experience, network and peers.

> Giving back – Scholars give back their time and resource to their host communities,Scotland and the Saltire Foundation


Outwith the delivery of the core curriculum,student societies and elective courses providean arenawithin which students canwork ininterdisciplinary teams,manage projects and takerisks. Universities have a role to play in enablingstudents to recognise how the things they aredoing outwith the curriculum are relevant tothe development of an entrepreneurialmind-set,

and to support continued opportunities forstudents to get involved.Gaining experience outwith Scotlandwould alsobe a strength for undergraduate students, andopportunities for this type of global exposurecould bewidened by building upon the work ofcurrent initiatives such as the Saltire Scholarshipprogramme.


Case Study: FormulaStudent

Formula Student (FS) is Europe'smost established educationalmotorsport competition, runby the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Backed by industry and high-profile engineerssuch as Patron Ross BrawnOBE, the competition aims to inspire and develop enterprisingand innovative young engineers. Universities from across the globe are challenged to designand build a single-seat racing car in order to compete in static and dynamic events, whichdemonstrate their understanding and test the performance of the vehicle.

FS is:

> A high-performance engineering project that is extremely valued by universitiesand usually forms part of a degree-level project.

> Viewed by themotorsport industry as the standard for engineering graduates tomeet,transitioning them fromuniversity to the workplace.

> The kite-mark for real-world engineering experience.

The format of the event provides an ideal opportunity for the students to demonstrate andimprove their capabilities to deliver a complex and integrated product in the demandingenvironment of amotorsport competition.

In Scotland, the Universities of Aberdeen, Edinburgh, EdinburghNapier, Glasgow,Heriot-Watt, Strathclyde and others participate in the programme.


3.2 EntrepreneurshipeducationAs indicated previously, entrepreneurshipeducation will be relevant primarily to thoseundergraduate and postgraduate students whohave themselves identified an interest in pursuingan independent career (whether in academia orindustry) or in pursuing entrepreneurial interests,either in the immediate or long term.

Universities have a clear role in creating a strongentrepreneurial ecosystem that will both stimulatestudents to consider an entrepreneurial approachto their future careers (for example throughexposure to rolemodels and by delivering corecourses in such away that they relate to therealities of their respective industries); and provideclear and accessible support for thosewhowish totake up entrepreneurship education on an electivebasis.

However, the demand for entrepreneurshipeducation stemming from this ecosystemwill bemet not only by universities, which will supportinitial stages, but also by national intermediarieswhich go further in supporting students to developtheir ideas, entrepreneurial skills and networks.

3.2.1 DemandandprovisionDemand for entrepreneurship education is broadlycurrently well-served in Scotland, with a widerange of programmes supporting businesscreation across Scottish universities and a goodecosystem for entrepreneurs at the national level.There is an identifiable but flexible pathway forstudents whowish to pursue entrepreneurialcareers, beginning with training andmentoringopportunities within universities, and progressingto competitions and fellowships with nationalintermediary organisations (see Figure 4).



The pathway that currently exists providesopportunities for students with differentbackgrounds and experience to becomeentrepreneurial. The Launch.ed initiativewithin the University of Edinburgh, for example,is available to any Edinburgh student, regardlessof their course. SIE supports and complementsindividual university initiatives such as Launch.ed,providing a national platform for students.Informatics Ventures, formed by ScottishEnterprise and the Scottish Funding Council,supports Scottish technology entrepreneurs from

any university and the business community.The Converge Challenge provides a step onthe pathway for entrepreneuriallymindedresearchers, who have the same end-goal asother entrepreneurs, but whosemechanismsand clientele are often different. It is particularlyimportant that those frommore academic,research-intensive backgrounds are providedwith the skills and the opportunities to becomeentrepreneurial, because this is one of the surestways to translate Scotland’s strong academicresearch into social and economic value.


Internal training:Including:

SIEworkshops,elective courses,careers services,mentorship,

Saltire scholars,Interface,

Equate Scotland

Developmentopportunities:Including:ConvergeChallenge,EnterpriseFellowships,

SaltireFellowships,

SIE competitions,Centres for

Doctoral Training

Further support:Including:

EntrepreneurialScotland,Scottish

EnterpriseHighlands&

Islands Enterprise

Figure 4Entrepreneurship education providers in Scotland

Case Study: LAUNCH.ed

LAUNCH.ed provides free startup advice and business support to students at the Universityof Edinburgh interested in starting a business. The key services it provides are:

> One-to-one appointments with a business advisor.

> Workshops, bootcamps and competitions.

> Mentoring.

> Access to University of Edinburgh labs and facilities.

> Patent support and funding.

> Free legal and accountancy advice.

These services are free, confidential and available to any Edinburgh student for the durationof their studies, as well as alumni up to two years after graduation. To datel LAUNCH.ed hassupportedmore that 50 students to launch new companies, including Pufferfish,whichhas developed innovative spherical projection and display systems, and Peekabu Studios,which creates cutting-edge recognition software. LAUNCH.ed’s services contribute to thedevelopment of an entrepreneurial ecosystem around the University of Edinburgh campus.

Case Study:RSEEnterpriseFellowships

RSE Enterprise Fellows receive training in entrepreneurial skills, as well asmentoringand one year’s salary to support the growth of their business.

The initial phase of the application is a form outlining the business idea and the applicant’sentrepreneurial potential. The next phase involves presenting to a panel of RSE Fellows,including entrepreneurs, industrialists, scientists andmarketers.

Case Study: ConvergeChallenge

Converge Challenge is a business competition for academics, researchers and practitioners.The competition occurs in three phases:

Phase 1: Submit an idea

Phase 2: Pitch the idea

Phase 3: Submit a Business Plan

The first prize is £60,000 for the development of the business.

Winners also receivementoring, networking opportunities and business support.


3.2.2 Barriers and limitationsThe ability of students to take advantage of,and be successful in, pursuing the existingopportunities for entrepreneurship educationis still largely dependent upon howwell theiruniversity is able tomake them aware of, andprepare them for, these next steps.Whilemanyuniversities in Scotland have developed strongentrepreneurial cultures, this is not uniformacross all university departments, or across alluniversities. Even those universities which havea strong culture of creating and supportingspin-outs, such as Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Dundee,Strathclyde and Heriot-Watt, are not doingthis across all subject areas. The University ofEdinburgh has created a strong entrepreneurialculture around its Informatics department,for example, but this culture does not existacross all the other STEM subject areas.


“There is lotsofgoodsupport foreachstageof thebusiness.Forexample,LAUNCH.edpushesyou towards therightpeople, therightgrantsetc. and then,whenyougrowbeyond that support, theRSEEnterpriseFellowshipandConvergeChallengekickinandyougetmore links to industry.Thesearemore focusedonactuallyrunningabusiness.”

RSE Enterprise Fellow


At the level of entrepreneurship education, thereare lots of opportunities available for students andacademic researchers who are pro-activelyseeking them. However, it is important that thepathway is well sign-posted, so that students knowwhich stepping stone ismost appropriate to theirskill set, client base and development needs.

As opportunities are currently offered bymanydifferent providers, it may be the case thatuniversities are not aware of all of them, andmay only promote one or two to their students.As a result, candidatesmaymiss the access routesbest suited to them. The current provision wouldserve demand better, therefore, if it wasmorejoined up and clearly signposted.

3.2.3 OpportunitiesThere is an opportunity for Scottish universitiesto look at the cultures which exist around their

different departments, and to examine the degreeto which these support the development of anentrepreneurial ecosystem. There aremanyexcellent examples of best practice acrossScottish HEIs, a rich source of learning andguidance for those seeking to strengthen theirown entrepreneurial ecosystems. In all cases,enterprise education and entrepreneurialmind-sets in studentsmust be key pillars fromundergraduate to postgraduate levels.

There is also an opportunity for an umbrellaorganisation, such as Entrepreneurial Scotland, towork with current players within the ecosystem tostimulate entrepreneurship education and trainingin Scotland, and to provide clear signposting ofpathways and opportunities, to ensure these arenotmissed by promising candidates. A significantfirst step in this direction has been the creation ofA Guide to Networking for Entrepreneurs by YoungCompany Finance Scotland16.

3.3 Skills for growthThe delivery of skills for growth has relevance formost business owners who have already set uptheir own ventures andwho are now looking togrow these to reach largermarkets. But, asdiscussed in Section 2, the foundations forsuccessful growthmust be laid at the earliestpossible stage of venture creation. In reality,therefore, there is a strong link betweenentrepreneurship education and skills for growthtraining. In order to produce entrepreneurs withgrowth ambitions, strong leadership ability andskills for growthmust be embedded in theireducation from the outset. Much of this coreeducationmay take place in universities, and inparticular within business schools.

At the next step, for existing business leaders whorequire access to very specific skills for growthtraining, the delivery of such training needs to takeplace in a different setting from enterprise andentrepreneurship education. The delivery of theseskills needs to be about supporting business inScotland, not only businesses that have comeout of the universities.


“Ifwecouldfindaway inwhicheveryuniversity couldexamine theirentrepreneurialecosystems, theywouldallfindgaps.”Roundtable with university representatives,27 October 2014

“There isahugeculturalelement… it isveryhard togeneraliseacross institutions;eachhas itsownecosystem.Universitiesshould lookat their culturesanddevelopentrepreneurial ecosystemswhichsupportenterprisingbehaviours”Roundtable with university representativesand entrepreneurs, 7 October 2014

“There isa lot of supportout there forstudentswhowant tostart theirownbusinesses, buta lot of studentsaren’treallyawareof thesupport.”Roundtable with university representativesand entrepreneurs, 7 October 2014

16 AGuide to Networking for Entrepreneurs, Young Company Finance Scotland, November 2014,http://www.ycfscotland.co.uk/tabid/107/default.aspx?article=Guide+to+Networking+for+Entrepreneurs%201844


3.3.1 DemandandprovisionOur discussions with academics andpractitioners from the fields of enterprise andentrepreneurship, combinedwith existing dataand literature, (seeAppendicesA andB), raisethe provision of skills for growth as an areain which there is potential for significantdevelopment in Scotland.

The growth of Scotland’s innovative venturesis crucial to realising the economic and socialbenefits of an entrepreneurial culture and hasbeen a key priority for support agencies formany years. Yet, as previously noted, some94% of Scottish businesses have fewer thanten employees, and indeed, some 68% are soleproprietors/partnerships consisting of only theowner/manager(s)17. Between 2002 and 2013,high-aspiration entrepreneurs (i.e., thosewith significant growth ambitions) comprised,on average, only 10% of new businessowner-managers and 3% of establishedowner-managers in Scotland18. In 2011/12,44% of SME owner-managers in Scotlandweresatisfiedwith the current size of their organisation,significantly higher than the UK figure of 33%19.

These figures suggest that there is a significantopportunity in Scotland to address low levels ofambition in business owners and a culture ofentrepreneurship, combinedwith the availability ofhigh-quality training in key entrepreneurial skills,will help address this.

The GEMScotland 2013 report demonstratesthat there is “a link between being innovative,international and engaged in the entrepreneurialcommunity and being ambitious for one’sbusiness”20.

The private sector is relatively underdeveloped inthis area, withmany providers delivering specificskills training on certain aspects of growth, ratherthan fostering the ambition,mind-set, confidenceand leadership abilities that will stimulateentrepreneurs to consider scaling up their venture.Entrepreneurial Scotland has a strong role inadvocating skills for growth and fosteringnetworks of contacts, but it does not itself providetraining. Scotland’s universities are powerfulcentres of knowledge and expertise forentrepreneurship, but primarily serve peoplewho have come through the university system:a small proportion of Scotland’s business leaders.


EnterpriseEducation

UNIVERSITY

UNIVERSITY + Private

UNIVERSITY + PRIVATEEntrepreneurshipEducation Skills forGrowth

Figure 5Delivery of different type of entrepreneurial education

17 http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Business/Corporate/KeyFacts

18 ‘Global EntrepreneurshipMonitor (GEM), Scotland 2013’, J Levie, University of Strathclyde Business School, 2014, p23

19 ‘Business Growth Ambitions Amongst SMEs’, TBR and Qa Research for BIS, Invest NI, Scottish Enterprise and theWelsh Government, 2012

20 ‘Global EntrepreneurshipMonitor (GEM), Scotland 2013’, J Levie, University of Strathclyde Business School, 2014, p30

“In thebeginning, I spoke toeveryone I could;butasyourprojectgrowsyoufind that supportagenciesetc. donothave theskills tohelpyouto thenext level. Theycan’t focusonyourbusiness.”RSE Enterprise Fellow


A newly-launched initiative, developed byHighlands and Islands Enterprise, ScottishEnterprise and the Scottish Funding Council,drawing in expertise fromMIT and HarvardBusiness School, is a welcome step forward infilling this gap. The SCALE programme is afive-year international development programmethat will offer high impact, internationally-focusedtraining for both potential entrepreneurs and thoselooking to scale up. The programme intends todraw on the experience of Scottish entrepreneursandworld-leading academics to support thedevelopment of global skills and networks21.We look forward to following the progressof this initiative as it develop.

Two specific issues were highlighted to usregarding the provision of skills for growth;these were the need for sales skills amongstentrepreneurs, and the need for training intackling internationalmarkets.

Entrepreneurs need to understand sales and todevelop sales skills in order to grow and increasetheirmarkets. However, there is no professionalladder for the learning of sales skills in the UK,although there is for almost every other type ofprofessional training, including accounting andfinance. There is demand in Scotland for tailoredsales training, which represents an efficient useof small business owners’ time. The US has amuchmore developed sector for providing theseskills and conducting research into consumerpsychology to feed into the teaching of sales skills.

Business growth is also heavily dependent uponthe ability of businesses to reach internationalmarkets. Internationalisation is identified as a keypillar of economic growth in both the ScottishGovernment’sMarch 2015 Economic Strategy22,and Scottish Enterprise’s 2015–2018 BusinessPlan23.

Scottish Development International (SDI), theinternational arm of Scotland’s enterpriseagencies, offers support to Scottish SMEswishingto export, including the assistance of expert

advisers, support withmarket research, trademissions and access to networks. The type andextent of support available vary across businessesof different sizes, in different sectors andwithdifferent growth potential. Nevertheless, ScottishSMEs are not exporting at the rates thatmight beexpected. According to a 2010 report by Bank ofScotland Commercial, two-thirds of Scottish SMEsare not exporting to internationalmarkets24.A recent survey of SMEs in the UK, conductedby KPMG and YouGov, reported 19% of SMEssurveyed cite poor understanding of the legalrequirements for export as amajor barrier toreaching internationalmarkets. A further 17%report not having a ‘contact organisation’ abroadto advise and introduce them, with 16% reportinga lack of understanding of internationalmarketsas a challenge to accessing these exportopportunities25.

To these issues could be added the skills toexploremerger and acquisition opportunitiesas pathways to growth. A better understandingamongst entrepreneurs of how to navigate andpresent themselves for IP, product or businesspartnership and acquisition opportunitiesmayresult in an increase in the number of companiesof scale for Scotland, particularly in a sector suchas life sciences.


21 Formore information about the initiative, see www.hie.co.uk/scale22 ‘Scotland’s Economic Strategy’, Scottish Government, March 201523 ‘2015 – 2018 Business Plan: Building Scotland’s International Competitiveness’, Scottish Enterprise, 201524 As reported in theCaledonian Mercury, 2 June 2010, http://caledonianmercury.com/2010/06/02/two-thirds-of-scots-smes-miss-out-on-exports/0077625 ‘An agenda for growth’, KPMGEnterprise in association with YouGov, 2014

“Scotland is toosmall togrowacompanywithoutexporting.Theonlyway is toexpandmarketsoutsideScotland. If you lookat theUK’sexportperformance, comparedwith theUS, this is somethingwearepoorat.”Roundtable with enterprise supportorganisations, 25 November 2014


3.3.2 Barriers and limitations

The current ecosystem in Scotland is notstructured to provide the rigorous, highquality entrepreneurial education that isneeded to stimulate growth ambition, thefirst step in creating ventures with scale-uppotential. Scottish universities and businessschools are not routinely engaged in providingfundamental skills for growth training;i.e., that which returns to the fundamentalsof entrepreneurship education, to businessleaders who have not come through theuniversity system. Additionally, most businessschools in Scotland, like other universitydepartments, employmainly academic staffwho do not have a background in industry orpractical entrepreneurship.

At an advanced stage, Scottish Enterpriseand Highlands and Islands Enterprise, taskedwith supporting a small number of potentialhigh-growth companies, currently source

this support from elsewhere (e.g., theMITEntrepreneurship Development Programme),but the costs involved inevitablymean thatopportunities are limited and, of course, suchprogrammes are not tailored to Scottishmarkets. The new SCALE programme buildson the relationships between the enterpriseagencies, MIT and Harvard Business School,attempting to overcome these issues. Itdemonstrates the potential impact of acomprehensive programme of training andsupport which crosses the boundaries betweenfundamental entrepreneurship educationand skills for growth training, andwhich bringstogether practitioners and academic expertise.But Scottish universities do not yet consistentlytake a similar central, high-profile role indelivering such education to entrepreneursoutwith the HE sector.


Networkingandtraining:Including:

EntrepreneurialScotland,

Hunter Centre,Saltire Fellowship,EDP, EIE, ECCI,EdinburghBioquarter

Incubators:Including:

Alba, Hillington,CodeBase,

HWU researchpark, BioCity,

DundeeUniversityIncubator, The

Centre for HealthScience, CreativeExchange Leith,

Elevate

InnovationSupport:Including:Interface

InnovateUKScottish

Enterprise, HIE,SDI, UKTI,InnovationCentres

Figure 6Support forHighGrowthCompanies in Scotland. EDP=EntrepreneurshipDevelopment Programme; EIE =Engage Invest Exploit;ECCI = EdinburghCentre for Carbon Innovation; HIE =Highland and IslandEnterprise; SDI = ScottishDevelopment International;UKTI =UKTrade and Investment.


Even once the fundamental foundations forgrowth are in place, time is a serious limitationto SMEs participating in the additional specificskills training required to grow their businesses.Those running businesses are unlikely to have thetime to commit to attending the types of skillsworkshops and seminars that are appropriate atuniversity level, or for new entrepreneurs. Thismeans that the provision of skills training at thislevel needs to be tailored to suit those with limitedtime to spend away from the running of theirbusinesses, andwill need to reach a new levelof relevance and specificity. It alsomeans thatinformation about the support and training thatis availablemust be easy to find.

A further requirement of skills for growthtraining at this level is that it be centred aroundthe entrepreneur, rather than focusing tooheavily on businessmodels. A limitation to thedelivery of skills for growth training occurs whensupport is focused toomuch on the businessmodel of a company, rather than on the individualsrunning it. The success of a business dependsto a large degree upon the individuals involved,and their abilities to adapt, improve and progress.Better support of leadership teams in SMEs isneeded. A well-supported entrepreneur couldcreate several businesses or innovations duringtheir lifetime, so nurturing the individual isessential.


Case Study: EntrepreneurshipDevelopmentProgramme

Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and Scottish Enterprise (SE) support themostambitious businesseswith high growth potential from across Scotland to participate inthe Entrepreneurship Development Program (EDP) course at theMIT Sloan School ofManagement in Boston.

TheMIT Entrepreneurship Development Programme is a week-long, high-level, intensiveexecutive education course teaching skills for high-impact entrepreneurship. It is held onsiteat theMassachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston in January each year.

EDP is a globally-renowned course which blends cutting-edge academic learning withpractical teamwork exercises, live investment pitching, best-practice company visits andinternational networking. The five-day course takes participants through the entire InnovationBased Enterprise (IBE) venture creation, growth, investment and exit process, teaching coreskills of entrepreneurship and the latest thinking in this space. The concepts are taughtthrough lectures, workshops and keynotes from high-profile entrepreneurs, then participantsare encouraged to apply the learnings immediately in simulated exercises which test theirthinking. The course introduces participants toMIT’s vibrant entrepreneurial culture,world-class commercialisation and technology transfer system and connects participantsto a global entrepreneurial network. Participants learn how to break down the elements ofsuccessful business growth into a step-by-step process and how this formula for successcan be applied to their own business or organisation.

“Businesspeopleareshortof time.Theydon’twant togo touniversity-style classes.Theyneed to feel as though theyarealsoworkingon theirbusinesswhilst theyarereceiving thetraining. It has tobevery relevant.”Roundtable with enterprise supportorganisations, 25 November 2014


3.3.3 OpportunitiesScottish Enterprise, in its Business Plan2015–2018, recognises thatmeeting Scotland’sambitions for an innovative economywill requirea transformation shift, with the “need to adapt amore radical and flexible approach to supportingsectors and companies… seeking new deliverymodels alongside others like Business Gateway,to engage more companies and generate muchgreater impact from that support”26.

We have identified a gap in Scotland’sentrepreneurial ecosystem for supportingScotland’s business leaders to develop growthambitions, and ensuring that they have anexcellent grounding in the fundamentals ofentrepreneurship fromwhich their businesscan grow. If universities were to step into thisgap, particularly by diversifying the experienceof their teaching staff and designing flexibleprogrammes suitable for existing business leaders,theywould potentially have the power to createreal transformation across Scotland’sentrepreneurial culture.With their extensiveknowledge bank, far-reaching alumni networksand recognised excellence at international level,universities are in a powerful position to fosterambition and an internationalmind-set amongstScotland’s entrepreneurs, and to support them torealise these ambitions.Where universities havetaken such a role (not only in Boston, but also, forexample, Aalto University in Helsinki), they arealready at the heart of flourishing entrepreneurialcultures.

Of course, universities could not take on this role inisolation. Scotland’s enterprise agencieswill havean important role in liaising between the businesscommunity and universities (and other trainingproviders). They are in a strong position to adviseon the needs of business leaders, ensuring thatthe training offered is rigorous, appropriate andaccessible. Private agencieswill continue to be

key providers of skills for growth training in areaswhere they have developed recognised expertiseand excellence; e.g., sales training, raising equityinvestment, dealingwithmergers and acquisitionsor in governance issues. In addition, they are in astrong position to tailor support to individuals andbusinesses, bringing a degree of flexibility andrelevance that will be vital to potential high-growthventures.

Indeed, the authors of a 2014NestaWorking Paperon support for high growth firms suggested thatsuch firms required “more flexible, responsive andrelational support, where peer to peer support andspecialised advice (e.g., support for managementbuy-outs or acquisition of another company) areprioritised”27.

As SME owners are resource- and time-constrained, the creation of a single source ofinformation about where they can get skills forgrowth training and broader support would beextremely useful. There are numerous coursesrun by private and public organisations aimed atdelivering business skills, but it is not clear thatthey are all appropriate or relevant to SMEswithspecific growth interests. It would be useful fora review of such courses to be carried out and acentral point of information about what isavailable to be created.

A useful way to arrange information on thesupport availablewould be to set out prioritythemes, including sales skills, access tointernationalmarkets andmergers andacquisitions, and to provide links to resourcesand organisations providing information andsupport around those themes.More coursestailored tomeet the needs of specific SMEs,delivered on-site and addressing specific issueswithin the business, are likely to be neededtomeet demand.


26 2015 – 2018 Business Plan, Scottish Enterprise, 2015, p6

27 ‘Increasing the Vital 6 Percent: designing effective public policy to support high growth firms’, R Brown, CMason, SMawson, Nesta, 2014.


There is a further opportunity for a national bodyto develop networks between SMEs in Scotlandso that they can support one another in anon-competitive environment. Thismay, forexample, build on the work of Interface, whichconnects Scottish businesses and researchersin certain industries with the aim of creating aculture of innovation and collaboration28.

Some businesses will have collective ambitions,such as reaching a globalmarket with a localproduct. If trusting relationships can be facilitatedbetween them, they will have a greater opportunityto achieve their ambitions through collectiveenergies than alone.

As the exportmarket represents a significantgrowth opportunity for SMEs, and as the ScottishGovernment has set a target to increase the valueof Scottish exports by 50% by 2017, a globaloutlook could also be supported through thedevelopment of international networks for SMEsand entrepreneurs. This type of network could begrown out of communities such as GlobalScot andEntrepreneurial Scotland.


28 Formore information, see http://www.interface-online.org.uk/

“EntrepreneurialScotlandcouldhelp tobuildandsignpostnetworks…Thereneeds tobeaplacewherebusinesses lookandcan instantlysee theroadmap forwhere theygo foreachstageof support.”Roundtable with enterprise supportorganisations, 25 November 2014

Case Study: ScottishRapeseedOil

Scottish Rapeseed Oil, or Scottish Gold as it now known, is a group of eight independentScottish producers of cold-pressed rapeseed oil. Collectively they have created a visionto grow and expand the Scottish rapeseed oil market.

Interface Food&Drink and Scotland Food&Drink approached the companies to explorethe creation of a common interest group in which the producers could work together withacademia to identify and respond to any industry-wide challenges and opportunities.

Aimsof theGroup

> Developmarket insight into the size of themarket and track the performance of otherbrands (both Scottish and non).

> Joint development of products and/ormarketing to themutual commercial benefitof participants.

> Encourage collaborative research projects with academia to improve competitiveness.

> Improve communication between industry and academia, giving industry the opportunityto steer research.

Having launched at the Royal Highland Show 2014, the groupwill work to continue to growand contribute greater value to the overall Scottish food and drink industry and driveincreased sales for all eight producers involved in Scottish Rapeseed Oil.

4 Emerging recommendationsThe literature review and roundtable discussionsthat have informed this paper have identified anumber of issues in the current delivery ofentrepreneurial education. If Scotland is tobecome a truly world-leading entrepreneurialnation, further significant and co-ordinated effortsmust bemade to embed an entrepreneurialmind-set in our students and graduates of today.A number of opportunities have been presented inthe course of this paper, andwe call on all actorsin the Scottish entrepreneurial ecosystem toconsider the next steps in grasping theseopportunities and strengthening Scotland’sentrepreneurial culture.

4.1 For theScottishFundingCouncilandResearchCouncils

We suggest that:4.1.1SFCuses the levers it holds to encourage theformation of an Entrepreneurship EducationForum, consisting of high-level representativesof academic institutions, private and publicorganisations and industry practitioners, taskedwith developing practical ways of enhancingentrepreneurial education across Scotland.This Forummaymost appropriately be led by anational body such as Entrepreneurial Scotland,but strong endorsement by ScottishMinistersand the support of the SFCwould be essential.

4.1.2SFC encourages allocation of some of the fundingavailable throughKnowledge Transfer Grantsto establishing entrepreneurial networks andfunding an Entrepreneurial Champion (Head ofEnterprise and Entrepreneurial Strategy) foreach institution.

4.1.3SFC andResearch Councils use OutcomeAgreements, criteria and conditions of grant toencourage every university to develop a dedicated,bespoke Entrepreneurial Strategywhich takesinto account the specifics of teaching, researchand knowledge exchange strategies of eachinstitution. These strategieswould embedenterprise education into the core curriculumand encourage stronger linkswith industry.

4.1.3Funding andResearch Councils recognise thevalue of non-academic staff and industry expertsin delivering aspects of skills training andemployability skills, providing studentswithexposure to awider range of perspectives andexperiences relevant to their subject area.Criteria should enable and encourage universitiesto employ experts fromoutside academia.This could be done by adding to ‘impact’measurements on the diversity of staff.

4.2 ForuniversitiesWe recommend that:

4.2.1Universities support all academic staff tounderstandwhat entrepreneurial education is andits importance, and to develop their capacity tointroduce enterprise skills into the curriculum.Thiswill require amulti-level approach targetedat different parts of complex university structures:

a) High-level endorsement from the Principal’soffice, particularly involving the Deputy orVice Principals for Learning and Teachingand for Research and Knowledge Exchange.

b) The establishment of enterprise championswithin each academic department to enablethe penetration of an entrepreneurialmind-set. Championsmay be identifiedfrom among participants of the ScottishCrucible, members of the Young Academyof Scotland or those who have experienceof business creation or industry. A key roleof enterprise champions would be to supportteaching staff to develop their capacity toincorporate enterprise skills into the corecurriculum.

c) Entrepreneurship education providerswithin each university (business schools,entrepreneurship centres, technologytransfer offices, careers advisers, etc.)provide workshops on the importance ofenterprise education to support champions,participants of programmes such as ScottishCrucible and staff.


Emerging recommendations

d) Business schools within each universityencouraged to consider becoming partof the Small Business Charter29: an awardscheme designed to recognise businessschools with exceptional levels of engagementwith small businesses. This would enable initialevaluation of the business schools’engagement in supporting the growth ofsmall firms, engaging other stakeholdersin the growth agenda and providing theirstudents with relevant start-up support.

4.2.2Universities build enterprise education into theundergraduate curriculum, ensuring that allstudents have sufficient exposure to enterpriseskills and opportunities to practice such skills inthe context of their own subject area.

a) All undergraduate students have increasedopportunities within their respective coursesto access and practise basic employabilityand enterprise skills, including identificationof opportunities, creative problem solving,teamwork and pitch training.

b) Employability and enterprise skills training isdelivered by a wide range of rolemodels fromamong the alumni and business contacts of theuniversities. This would serve the additionalpurpose of bringing together differentprofessional services and academicdepartments of a university.

c) Students are assisted to recognise the valueof the experience and skills they gain throughtheir activities in the co-curriculum, includinginterdisciplinary learning, decisionmaking,team building etc. The university’s careersservice could provide support by producingresources and presentations that highlight theskills sought by employers and examples ofhow these skillsmight be demonstrated withinthe co-curriculum.

d) Final-year projects, where possible, providean opportunity for the application ofsubject-relevant skills, challenging studentsto apply their knowledge and understandingto real-life problems. Demonstrating suchability wouldmake graduates vastlymoreemployable.

4.2.3Universities create opportunities forentrepreneurship and innovation and supportstudents at both under- and postgraduate levelsto develop their innovative ideas.

a) Universities facilitate or run elective coursesand one-off workshops on entrepreneurshipfor interested students from any academicdepartment. Thesemay be delivered byexternal agencies jointly with university staff.

b) Delivery of wider entrepreneurship training tostudents across the university should be donein collaboration between departments,business schools, careers, alumni andtechnology transfer services.

c) Enterprise societies created within eachuniversity would help to engage the studentpopulation. These societies could be linked tothe post of Entrepreneurial Champion, thusproviding continuity through changes of studentmembers.

4.2.4Universities utilise experts from industryto teachmodules and engagewith students,providing access to rolemodelswho candemonstrate routes to success and provideinspiration.

a) Scotland should seek to replicate, even in aninformal way, the best parts of the USmodelthat provides a greater role for non-academicstaff. Practitionersmay be invited to be involvedinmentoring students,marking project work ordelivering workshops and classes.


29 Formore information see http://smallbusinesscharter.org/

Emerging recommendations

4.2.5Universities develop a consistent entrepreneurialecosystemwith links outside the institution,providing routes and pathways into industry thatwill enable students to find support to developtheir ideas and contacts.

a) Universities undertake a review of the culturesthat exist across different departments andexamine the degree to which these support thedevelopment of an entrepreneurial ecosystem.Best practice should be identified and shared.

b) All departments supported to build links withindustry and external agencies, and to signpostopportunities and experiences outside theuniversity to students on their courses.

c) Academic departments build closer workingrelationships with business schools andprofessional services within the university.An entrepreneurial network withrepresentatives from technology transferoffices, incubators, careers and developmentand alumni, as well as representatives fromlearning and teaching boards and studentassociations, could be an example of bestpractice.

4.2.64.2.6 Universities, particularly through theirbusiness schools, consider how they canmosteffectively play a role in providing Scotland’sexisting business leaderswith high-qualityentrepreneurship education that fostersworld-class leadership capacity, growthambitions and creates strong foundationsfor growth.

4.3 Forenterpriseagenciesandbusiness support bodies

We suggest that:

4.3.1Anational body, such as EntrepreneurialScotland, leads the creation and coordinationof an Entrepreneurship Education Forum (asrecommended in Section 4.1) to facilitate acoordinated approach to entrepreneurshipeducation and skills for growth training.

a) That the Entrepreneurship Education Forumconsists of representatives from academicinstitutions as well as enterprise agencies,private business support agencies and industrypractitioners.

b) That this Forum takes on responsibility forcoordinating entrepreneurship education andskills for growth training to avoid confusion forthose seeking support. This will includeensuring that pathways from university intoindustry are well signposted and that agenciesare collaborating to deliver appropriate supportwhile avoiding duplication. Clear signposting tosupport under key priority themes (e.g., salesskills support, international growth) would beuseful.

4.3.2Enterprise agencieswork in partnershipwithuniversities and private providers to delivertargeted ‘skills for growth’ training for Scottishbusinesses, assisting business leaders to developthe skills and networks required for scaling up.

Thismay require that:

a) Enterprise agencies work closely withuniversities to develop courses and executiveeducation programmes (such as those run byMIT, Harvard and Babson College) suited toScottish SMEs, which can be delivered in abusiness setting andmade relevant. Salesskills and accessing internationalmarketsshould be priority areas.

b) Enterprise agencies coordinate skills forgrowth training delivered by universities,drawing on private providers with specificexpertise to supplement and add value totraining programmes.

c) A national body coordinates and developsnetworks between SMEs so that they cansupport one another in a non-competitiveenvironment. Additionally, internationalnetworks of SMEswould ease access toglobalmarkets.



Appendix A:Organisations represented at roundtables

The RSEwould like to convey its thanks to the following organisationsand their representatives who took part in discussions that informed this report.

Entrepreneurial Scotland

Heriot-Watt University

TheHunter Centre for Entrepreneurship, University of Strathclyde

InterfaceKnowledgeConnection

TheRoyal Society of EdinburghEnterprise Fellowship Programme

TheSaltire Foundation

Scottish Enterprise

TheScottish FundingCouncil

TheScottish Institute for Enterprise

TheUniversity of Edinburgh

TheUniversity of EdinburghBusiness School

TheUniversity of Edinburgh Informatics Forum

TheUniversity of EdinburghSchool of Engineering

TheUniversity of Strathclyde

TheRSEwould also like to thank theSaltire Fellows andScholarsand theScottish Institute for Enterprise internswhoprovided their viewsand experiences by completing questionnaires.


Appendix B:Organisations Represented at Roundtables

This paper has drawn upon the findings of existing reports on entrepreneurship in Scotland and the UK,including, but not limited to:

‘Scotland CANDO: Becoming aWorld-leading Entrepreneurial and Innovative Nation’,Scottish Government, November 2013, available at http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2013/11/7675

‘Increasing Innovation-Driven Entrepreneurship in Scotland’, The Regional Entrepreneurship AccelerationProgramme (REAP) report, REAP Scotland Team, 2014, available athttp://www.hie.co.uk/business-support/entrepreneurship/mit-reap/

‘Taking Pride in the Job’, Universities Scotland, 2013, available athttp://www.universities-scotland.ac.uk/uploads/TakingPrideintheJobApril13.pdf

‘Entrepreneurial Impact: the role of MIT’, Edward BRoberts and Charles Eesley,MIT Sloan School of Management, 2009, available athttp://www.kauffman.org/what-we-do/research/2009/08/entrepreneurial-impact-the-role-of-mit

‘Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Education: guidance for UKHigher Education providers’, QAA, 2012,available at http://www.qaa.ac.uk/en/Publications/Documents/enterprise-entrepreneurship-guidance.pdf

‘Voice of Small BusinessMember Survey – Scotland’, The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), 2014,available at http://www.fsb.org.uk/member-survey-2014

‘An Agenda for Growth’, KPMGEnterprise in association with YouGov, 2014, available athttp://kpmg-22971.dev.iasprojects.com/knowledge-centre/report/an-agenda-for-growth/

‘Enterprise for All’, Lord Young for the Department of Business, Skills and Innovation, 2014, available athttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/enterprise-for-all-the-relevance-of-enterprise-in-education

‘2015 – 2018 Business Plan: Building Scotland’s International Competitiveness’, Scottish Enterprise, 2015,available at http://www.scottish-enterprise.com/about-us/what-we-do/business-plan

‘Scotland’s Economic Strategy’, Scottish Government, March 2015, available athttp://www.gov.scot/Publications/2015/03/5984

‘Increasing the Vital 6 Percent: designing effective public policy to support high growth firms’,R Brown, CMason, SMawson, Nesta, 2014, available athttps://www.nesta.org.uk/sites/default/files/working_paper_-_increasing_the_vital_6_percent.pdf

‘Global EntrepreneurshipMonitor (GEM), Scotland 2013’, J Levie, University of Strathclyde Business School, 2014,available at https://www.strath.ac.uk/huntercentre/research/gem/

‘Business Growth Ambitions Amongst SMEs’, TBR and Qa Research for BIS, Invest NI,Scottish Enterprise and theWelsh Government, 2012, available athttps://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/187058/12-1169-business-growth-ambitions-amongst-smes.pdf


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