The launch of the Student Placements for Entrepreneurs in Education programme, (SPEED), caused much curiosity amongst university students, but even more so students were keen to get there hands on the £4500 worth of funding available to pursue their business ideas. 

SPEED was a government initiative to encourage more student entrepreneurs to ‘have a go’ at starting a business whilst at university. Those students that started a business experienced the ‘real world of work’ and for students at university this is not always possible unless you take a year out, a sandwich placement or work around your studies. The skills and knowledge the students picked up are a true testament to the approach of the SPEED programme and convinced me and many others that students need to be prepared more for life beyond university. Particularly, in my experience, as business owner within academia, experiences of simply participating in a degree programme itself are not sufficient preparation for being entrepreneurial or self-employed. 

I have been asked on numerous occasions what makes the SPEED programme unique. Put simply, it’s the ongoing and targeted interventions made that encourage and support would-be entrepreneurs. Not only does the programme allow students to learn as they go along by making mistakes, there are no lectures, exams, assignments, assessments or academics cracking the whip. There is however, ongoing mentoring support, business advice from academics, start-up workshops, entrepreneur.

All 13 universities delivering SPEED have different resources and ideas, which have resulted in many taking a different approach to supporting their would-be student entrepreneurs. The essence of the programme is to support and encourage students and help them set business learning goals. The £4500 funding is spent on setting up the foundations of their business. The responsibility of managing a budget, researching their market, customers, pricing products and services, winning contracts and dealing with difficult customers and suppliers are just a few of the examples that students were faced with. Of course these experiences are time consuming and many of the students found ‘juggling’ all their commitments hard work.  

Some 770 students have starting a business whilst on the programme. A small minority of students choose not to start a business after taking part, and in my opinion these should not be branded ‘failures’. Surely having a go at pursuing a potential career option and then changing your mind, is just as valuable.

Probably more importantly students that tool part gained more skills than the conventional graduate finishing university. SPEED gives students a leg up upon graduation and a chance of standing out from the crowd which is becoming increasingly more difficult as the graduate employment market becomes fiercely competitive. 

Naomi Woodier is a PhD Researcher at the University of Derby and business owner of Airheads.biz . To hear more about the SPEED programme visit www.derby.ac.uk/cem