Northumbria University, Newcastle, is developing a purpose-built incubator hub to support its flourishing community of student and graduate start-ups – and is urging business partners to offer mentoring and financial backing.
Innovation Northumbria: Incubator will open in October as a pre-accelerator for aspiring entrepreneurs. Located next to the University’s main campus, the state-of the-art facility has already received financial support from Santander Universities UK, Sir James Knott Trust, North East Times Magazine, Space Group and the North East Local Enterprise Partnership. A sponsorship agreement for a series and profile and fund-raising events has also been secured with Newcastle-based creative agency Gardiner Richardson.
Northumbria is now looking for additional support to set up an Enterprise Club, where members can offer pro-bono advice and expertise, and an Enterprise Fund through which they can pledge financial support to help fledgling start-ups develop proof-of-concept and feasibility business plans.
The initiative reinforces Northumbria’s reputation as a university that champions enterprise and innovation through its teaching, and the support it offers start-ups through the Student and Graduate Enterprise Service. Pioneering courses such as Entrepreneurial Business Management, where students run their own businesses, and the student-led consultancy service delivered on the Business Clinic programme, have also established Northumbria as a leader in entrepreneurial education.
The initiative also coms as Northumbria once again tops the UK university rankings for graduate start-ups based on turnover. In the Higher Education Business and Communities Interaction survey for 2017/18, turnover for Northumbria graduate start-ups exceeded £81.4 million – exceeding the second placed institution by more than £34 million. Since 2009 Northumbria has supported the development of over 370 graduate companies that now employ almost 1,100 people.
To find out more about the Innovation Northumbria: Incubator and how to offer your support please visit: www.northumbria.ac.uk/incubatorlaunch
Northumbria is a research-rich, business-focused, professional university with a global reputation for academic excellence. To find out more about our courses go to www.northumbria.ac.uk