ID065 Enhancing Entrepreneurial Culture at Keele University

The Idea

This proposal recommends launching an annual multi-day Start-Up Fair at Keele University to cultivate a stronger entrepreneurial culture and better equip graduates for an innovation-driven economy. Although Keele has existing enterprise initiatives, there remains untapped potential compared with institutions where entrepreneurship is deeply embedded in university life. The event would inspire participants, develop practical skills, and promote interdisciplinary collaboration.  The event will be organised in collaboration with the Students’ Union to disseminate the announcements across all student cohorts. We will also leverage the expertise and resources of Keele Business School. It could be scheduled as an early shop event during periods of high campus footfall, for example at the start of the semester Over time, there is scope to explore selective integration with relevant programmes where this adds value, building on the outcomes of an initial pilot. Early opportunities may include alignment with Keele Business School provision and tailored formats for postgraduate researchers through the Keele Doctoral Academy, while initially focusing on strong signposting and voluntary participation. 

The first day would feature keynote talks, case studies, and workshops introducing entrepreneurship, exploring idea-generation, and highlighting pathways from concept to company. Themes would include interdisciplinarity, resilience, and practical execution. Subsequent day(s) would focus on forming cross-faculty teams, developing early-stage concepts, and receiving mentoring on market fit, funding, MVP development, risk analysis, and business planning. Networking with Innovate UK, industry partners, and alumni founders would expand opportunities. 

Keele could support promising ventures through a Start-Up Award, access to workspace and equipment, and limited staff assistance or resources (e.g. cloud storage or computing), with an optional equity-sharing model generating long-term benefit. A sustainable legacy would be created through an ideas bank, shared materials, and support for ventures including NGOs and community projects. Keele should aim to attract start-up advisory and business support services, venture capital firms, and accelerator and start-up incubator organisations (e.g., from a thriving ecosystem based in Birmingham and Manchester), as well as potential partnerships with higher education institutions across the Midlands and beyond that run similar initiatives (e.g. HEI contributing to Forging Ahead initiative). The event could also be linked to the Employers’ Fairs organised by Keele staff to connect Keele graduates with employers. 

The Start-Up Fair would strengthen entrepreneurial thinking, enhance Keele’s reputation, and build networks driving innovation and societal impact.  

Why This Idea Should Be Considered

Keele has strong commercialisation potential across business, medicine, engineering, computing and life sciences and other disciplines, yet its entrepreneurial culture remains underdeveloped compared with other UK universities already running successful start-up events. A structured annual Start-Up Fair would unlock this untapped capacity, strengthen industry links, and align Keele with government and UKRI priorities around economic growth and innovation. Crucially, it offers a path toward long-term financial sustainability: by helping create new ventures and taking optional small equity stakes, Keele could build a portfolio of future income-generating companies. My work with industry shows clear unmet demand for such networking and support. Keele has entrepreneurial students, in KBS and beyond, who will be given additional opportunities to develop and enhance (through collaboration) their skills.   

How We Would Implement This Idea

Implementation would begin with a planning meeting between the initiator, senior university leaders, and interested staff identified through an internal call for participation. This group would set objectives, structure, and responsibilities. The preparation phase would develop the programme, secure speakers and partners, and coordinate logistics. The pilot Start-Up Fair would follow the proposed structure: Day 1 focused on inspiration, keynotes and workshops; Days 2+ on team formation, mentoring and networking with industry and alumni. After the event, the team would evaluate outcomes, refine the model, and establish the Start-Up Fair as an annual, scalable component of Keele’s innovation ecosystem. Together with our partners across the Midlands and beyond—including accelerators, incubators, and Keele Business School—we will develop a clear pathway that supports innovators from initial concept through incubation and onward to successful expansion.  

What Success Would Look Like

Implementation would begin with a planning meeting between the initiator, senior university leaders, and interested staff identified through an internal call for participation. This group would set objectives, structure, and responsibilities. The preparation phase would develop the programme, secure speakers and partners, and coordinate logistics. The pilot Start-Up Fair would follow the proposed structure: Day 1 focused on inspiration, keynotes and workshops; Days 2+ on team formation, mentoring and networking with industry and alumni. After the event, the team would evaluate outcomes, refine the model, and establish the Start-Up Fair as an annual, scalable component of Keele’s innovation ecosystem. Together with our partners across the Midlands and beyond—including accelerators, incubators, and Keele Business School—we will develop a clear pathway that supports innovators from initial concept through incubation and onward to successful expansion.