ID268 Keele as an Entrepreneurial University

The Idea

An entrepreneurial university is one that embeds innovation, enterprise, and commercialisation into its core mission. Keele should implement the following: 

Strategic Vision 

• A clear institutional commitment to entrepreneurship and innovation, led from the top. 
• Senior leadership actively championing enterprise as part of the university’s identity and long term strategy. 

Entrepreneurial Culture 

• Encourage creativity, risk taking, and problem solving across all levels — staff, students, and researchers. 
• Recognise and reward entrepreneurial behaviour, including collaboration with industry and community partners. 

Research and Knowledge Exchange 

• Strong focus on knowledge transfer and commercialisation of research outputs. 
• Support structures for spin-outs, licensing, and partnerships with SMEs and larger organisations. 

Education and Skills Development 

• Embed enterprise education across disciplines (not just the Business School) and as an alternative option to placements. 
• Provide opportunities for experiential learning, such as start up incubators, innovation challenges, and placements.

External Engagement 

• Deep connections with local, regional, and global ecosystems — including businesses, investors, and public bodies. 
• Act as a catalyst for regional economic development and social innovation. 

Infrastructure and Support 

• Dedicated hubs for innovation and enterprise (commercialisation offices, accelerators). 
• Access to mentoring, funding, and networks that help ideas move from concept to market. 
• Track outcomes such as start ups created, patents filed, partnerships formed, and community impact. 
• Use these insights to refine strategy and demonstrate value to stakeholders. 

Why This Idea Should Be Considered

Keele should become an Entrepreneurial University because it aligns directly with UK policy priorities around research commercialisation, innovation, skills and regional growth. The UK Industrial Strategy and UKRI both emphasise the importance of spin-outs, entrepreneurship and university-business collaboration

• https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/the-uks-modern-industrial-strategy-2025  
• https://www.discover.ukri.org/commercialising-your-research-with-ukri/  

For Keele, this addresses a regional gap in entrepreneurial support across North Staffordshire, improves graduate employability and business creation outcomes, and creates new income streams through commercialisation, KEF, HEIF and REF performance.

• https://democracy.highpeak.gov.uk/documents/s50203/NEW staffs-moorlands-locality-profile-2025.pdf 
• https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00343404.2025.2532585 
• https://www.ukri.org/what-we-do/browse-our-areas-of-investment-and-support/higher-education-innovation-fund/ 

HESA data also suggests significant growth potential, with peer universities generating dozens of student start-ups annually while Keele currently reports very low levels of start-up activity.

• https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/providers/business-community/table-4e 

How We Would Implement This Idea

• Establishing a centre of entrepreneurial excellence at the heart of our Innovation District, taking best practice from existing centres at Forging Ahead partner universities and nationally. 
• Centre of Excellence to provide: student enterprise support, local business/entrepreneurship support, research commercialisation (spin-outs and licensing) 
• Bring internal and external stakeholders together to initiate progress (including NHS partners) 
• Integrate into the University Placements Strategy to create engaging, scalable opportunities which enhance student futures. 
• Align research commercialisation strategy with, and deliver through, the Research Institutes 
• Collaborate with key external organisations (NCEE, EEUK, Forging Ahead, Midlands Mindforge, ASET – linking to and learning from models of excellence elsewhere).

What Success Would Look Like

• A thriving and prominent Incubation space bringing together student start-ups, staff spin-outs and local entrepreneurs as an integral part of the Innovation District 
• To rival other benchmark institutions’ ratio of start-ups to student population (e.g. Aston) with around 30 student start-ups per year. 
• An integrated curriculum pathway which is fostering entrepreneurial skills of students across the University. 
• A culture shift towards one where all staff have a developed understanding of entrepreneurship which cascades through all teaching, researcher development and knowledge exchange.