University wins Enterprising Educator award

Bucks New University has won the award for ‘Enterprising Educator of the Year 2010’ at the prestigious Buckinghamshire Enterprise Awards.

The University won the award in its very first year of entering the competition, overcoming the challenge of fellow shortlisted organisations.  There were eight categories of awards and the winners were announced by former Formula One World Champion, Damon Hill OBE, at a gala dinner held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Marlow.

Bucks New University’s Vice Chancellor, Prof Ruth Farwell, received the University’s award in the presence of colleagues and guests representing organisations from across the region.

Prof Farwell commented: “As a new generation university, Bucks is making a real difference to entrepreneurship. In these challenging economic times, it is becoming increasingly important that our students leave us with ‘an edge’, one that enables them to stand out of the crowd to potential employers.

“Through our activities and courses, we equip our students with the skills and experience to succeed in business and entrepreneurship, either for themselves or within organisations in which they may go on to work.”

The University won the ‘Enterprising Educator of the Year 2010’ award for its comprehensive programme of business and enterprise-related activities and courses.

Since 2006, the University has staged a range of events for Enterprise Week, a week dedicated to bolstering entrepreneurial skills. The event was so popular that in November 2009, it became a three week long extravaganza of activities known as the Enterprise Festival.

The aim of the Festival was to celebrate entrepreneurship, with talks by high-flying business leaders, practical workshops and enterprise competitions, all designed to inform and inspire would-be entrepreneurs. The Apprentice Challenge involved teams of students competing across three different challenges to make the biggest profit, testing students’ business planning, marketing, time management, pitching, negotiation and selling skills.

Other events and activities included Women in Business day, and Get Connected – how to network more effectively. Students were also able to gain a Certificate of Enterprise through their participation.

The My Great Business Idea competition is an annual two-phase competition to recognise and develop an idea that has commercial potential. It is open to all Bucks students and Bucks students from partner colleges. The prize pool is £5,000 for Stage One and £10,000 for Stage Two, and in both stages students work with leading business entrepreneurs to help grow their idea.

The annual Buckinghamshire Enterprise Awards event is organised by the Bucks Economic & Learning Partnership (BELP), which aims to promote the sustainable economic development of Buckinghamshire. The events are now in their fourth year, with eight categories of awards: Innovative Enterprise; International Trader; Enterprising Educator; Small Enterprise of the Year; Large Enterprise of the Year; Entrepreneur of the Year; CSR; and Young Entrepreneur of the Year.

Bucks New University was the sponsor of the Innovative Enterprise award, which was won by Mediplus.