The University of Westminster has been named as a finalist for the Outstanding Entrepreneurial University at the Times Higher Education (THE) Awards. These awards recognise and celebrate excellence in Higher Education across the UK and Irish sectors, with this year’s awards focusing primarily on activity during the 2022/23 academic year.
This year is the 20th annual THE Awards, widely known as the Oscars of Higher Education. There are 20 categories, with Westminster competing against six other institutions, two of which are based in London and three across the UK.
Being shortlisted for this Award is recognition of Westminster’s development and delivery of an exceptional approach to embedding entrepreneurship within its culture and programmes.
Westminster has developed an inclusive approach to entrepreneurship, appropriate for a diverse community of 21,000 students where 58% of home undergraduates are the first in their family to attend University and most students lack funding or access to professional networks. The Being Westminster strategy transformed the Creative Enterprise Centre (CEC) into the Westminster Enterprise Network (WeNetwork) in 2021, creating a diverse community of alumni, freelancers and entrapreneurs able to demystify entrepreneurship and make it achievable for students. Some of WeNetwork’s inclusivity strategies include bursaries and prizes for participating in programmes and Elevate, its funded business support programme for diverse alumni founders which launched in April 2023.
Nuria Revuelta showcasing her business The Dyas at Elevate Showcase
WeNetwork has also embedded entrepreneurship within and across the curriculum, beginning with courses with high numbers of disadvantaged students. This has resulted in students developing entrepreneurial mindsets and behaviours by working with entrepreneurs on real-world challenges and tasks. The University’s long-term commitment to promoting entrepreneurship is evidenced by the significant investment in transforming 29 Marylebone Road into a state-of-the art Centre for Employability and Enterprise, incorporating an incubator, makerspace, digital skills lab and podcast/vodcast studio. The Centre, opening in 2025, will help to deliver a step-change in the creation of jobs, businesses and innovations by connecting Westminster’s diverse student talent with the world of business and the local community. This initiative directly contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 10: Reduced Inequalities and 17: Partnerships for Goals. Since 2019, the University of Westminster has used the SDGs holistically to frame strategic decisions to help students and colleagues fulfil their potential and contribute to a more sustainable, equitable and healthier society.
This year’s THE Awards ceremony will take place on 28 November at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham, where the winners will be announced.
Professor Dibyesh Anand, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Global Engagement and Employability, and Co-chair of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Coordination Group, said: “It is heartening to see external recognition for the amazing work done by our colleagues in supporting entrepreneurship amongst our students and alumni. The hard toil, innovation, and creativity that go into making these initiatives possible and generating opportunities for our students is commendable."
Find out more about WeNetwork at the University of Westminster.
WeNetwork programme participants at Mixer event in November 2023
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