Week of events aims to spread the spirit of enterprise at Plymouth University
Budding entrepreneurs will be inspired to let their imagination run wild as Plymouth Enterprise Week gets underway on Monday 18 November.
The event, coordinated by Plymouth University and partners across the city as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week, will see a series of events taking place across the city campus, including the launch of the new Futures Entrepreneurship Centre and workshops for local schools and businesses.
Running from November 18-24, the week is aimed at furthering Plymouth’s stance as the enterprise University and enhancing its partnership work with the local community.
It will also see the University and its Plymouth Dental Social Enterprise officially presented with their Social Enterprise Marks in recognition of their efforts to promote the practice.
Professor Wendy Purcell, Vice-Chancellor of Plymouth University and an expert adviser to the Government’s recent Witty Review, said: “Our enterprise mission is about drawing on our reaching and research and the work of our creative staff and students to make a difference here in the South West and beyond. Working with our partners and the communities we serve, it's clear what we do here matters. Universities can be the drivers of economic and social change, and Plymouth University is at the forefront of that agenda.”
This year, Plymouth Enterprise Week includes the Plymouth Social Enterprise Festival, in the wake of the city recently becoming the first in the country to be awarded Social Enterprise City status.
Gareth Hart, the University’s Social Entrepreneur in Residence and Chair of Plymouth Social Enterprise Network, said: “Plymouth is a global leader for social enterprise, and this festival showcases the work of some of the amazing social enterprise businesses we have in the city. We need to get the message out there that social enterprise is the business model of the future – for those starting companies as well as those shopping in the high street – so we can grow the economy in a more balanced, ethical and responsible way that puts people and planet alongside profits.”
Plymouth Enterprise Week will include the Plymouth Business School Enterprise Challenge, aimed at Year 12 students from across the region, and a number of events designed to inform and inspire people about social enterprise.
The week also includes a city-wide trade fair and conference, a student enterprise showcase, and the annual Postgraduate and Professional Open Evening to demonstrate how students can continue their studies at the University.
More information about Plymouth Enterprise Week is available at www.plymouth.ac.uk/enterprise/pew
