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bdaily speaks to Roger Candy from Northumbria University about enterprise and start-up support

“Encouraging enterprise skills and enterprise start-up at Northumbria University is a big corporate priority for us. We are a professional university, and most of our degree programmes have vocational and enterprise elements,” said Roger Candy from Enterprise Campus at Research and Business Support.

Since 2003, Enterprise Campus has worked with thousands of students and graduates at the university to help them build up their entrepreneurial skills or even start up their own business.

“We have supported hundreds of new companies, providing a flexible and bespoke process to support each one through to full trading,” says Roger “For those who are wanting to set up on their own, Northumbria University can provide them with effective business models, business plans, self-evaluation skills and advice on how to get and manage customers.

“Due to the practical nature of many of the degree programmes, enterprise skills can be directly integrated into the learning programme. Depending on the academic discipline, we provide different enterprise curricula , activities, outside speakers and other learning experiences.

“A lot of students, especially those on media, IT and design courses recognise that they have committed themselves to self-employment or working in a portfolio context and we can support that.”

While Roger does recognise that not everyone wants to be their own boss, he sees the enterprise skills they learn as valuable, whatever career path they choose.

“Even if students aren’t looking to set up their own business, a lot of the skills we teach are essentially about employability – how to deal with other people in uncertain situations.”

In a wider sense, the start up scheme contributes heavily to the local economy and encourages students to stay in the region.

“A lot of people who come here to study aren’t local, so we are keen to work with them to help them set their businesses up in the region and, more importantly, to ensure they survive here too.

“For a lot of them it is in their interests to stay here – it is far easier to run a business here than in London or Leeds and, as well as profiting from their idea, they can enjoy the relaxed lifestyle which comes with living in the North East.”

Roger has considered hundreds of potential businesses over the past few years and cites a “clear and straightforward idea” as the main thing students need to focus on.

“An idea doesn’t have to be advanced – most successful entrepreneurs began their businesses with a really simple plan.

“What potential businesspeople need to focus on instead is rather, ‘can I meet the needs of the customer’ and ‘could I make money out of it now’, as these are the factors which are going to determine the success of their business.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .