University scoops national social entrepreneurship award
24 Jul 2013
A team made up of our Innovation Group (UMI3 Ltd) and the Manchester Enterprise Centre (MEC), has won the ‘Outstanding HEI Supporting Social Entrepreneurship Award’.
The awards are run by UnLtd, which works with HEFCE to help higher education institutions find, fund and support staff, students and alumni to develop entrepreneurial solutions to society’s problems.
Over the past 12 months, UnLtd and HEFCE have been working with the University to develop our social enterprise strategy and create a Social Enterprise Competition. Social enterprise has also been incorporated as a specific theme into the Venture Competitions run by MEC.
Professor Luke Georghiou, Vice-President for Research and Innovation, comments: “The University is committed to maximising the impact of our research and to a strong emphasis upon social responsibility. The excellent achievements of our staff and students fulfil both of these agendas. Particular credit goes to colleagues from UMI3 Ltd and the Manchester Enterprise Centre who provided the encouragement and expertise needed to support the emerging successful social entrepreneurs.”
On hand to offer advice have been established University of Manchester social entrepreneurs, including Dr Gill Green of STORM CIC, a company providing self-harm, suicide and self-injury mitigation training for frontline staff and Joanne Tippett of Ketso Ltd, which produces a ‘hands-on kit’ that provides table-top tools to record and display ideas in meetings and workshops.
In addition, The Social Enterprise Brief Case, a workshop and workbook designed by specialist innovation company Novomodo Ltd, to inspire social enterprise thinking in higher education was launched at the Innovation Centre.
Pictured left-right: Rick Watson, Novomodo; Laura Etchells, UMIP; Martin Henery, MEC; Tony Walker, UMIP; Jim Ineson, Enactus.