Start Up Summer School

Bangor University Students and local graduates took part in a motivational Start-Up Summer School organised by the B-Enterprising team recently. The event led by Tim Ashcroft, an entrepreneur and experienced business mentor from Innovas, and Chris Walker, International Business Consultant and Start Up Mentor for the HEFCW funded Enterprise Support Programme, was open to all Bangor University and Grŵp Llandrillo Menai students as well as recent graduates living in Wales and the Welsh community as a whole.  Both Tim and Chris are currently supporting many final year students and graduates who are exploring business start-up. 

The Start-Up School programme included sessions on marketing on a budget, using social media to grow a business and a Dragons’ Den style business game. Lots of inspiration was provided by existing graduate entrepreneurs Kala Krishnanmurthi and Catherine Harrison who shared their start up experiences with the group.  Kala, a Bangor University Business graduate set up her Bubble Tea Family shop in Bangor High Street after taking advantage of the support available through the B-Enterprising programme. Cath Harrison opened her business ‘JobVacancyPortal.co.uk Ltd’ in January 2014 providing an online recruitment solution at a fixed price. Her business is already growing successfully and she has already started to expand her team.

Chris Walker said of the event “a very productive two days for everyone involved. Participants explored a holistic view of the ‘nuts and bolts’ of starting a business, and relating best practice to their ideas.”

Sam James, an Engineering postgraduate at the event said “The start-up summer school was very helpful in terms of enabling me to start thinking about my business in order to clarify what I want to do and how to go about it, thus giving me more confidence to speak about it to others in a clearer, more structured manner, and giving me the tools to think about what I need to do next, and how to go about it.”

Participants earn up to 20 BEA XP for attending this event.

The Start-Up Summer School is only one of many activities organised throughout the year by the University’s B-Enterprising Programme at the Careers and Employability Service. The Service provides a wide range of enterprise activities including local and national competitions, one to one business mentoring and other related skills workshops and seminars.

This event forms part of the University’s activities during ‘Universities Week’ which has been running since 2010 and which aims to encourage a national conversation about the role and impact of universities in the UK on our everyday lives.

B-Enterprising receives funding from the Welsh Government to run this and other joint activities through the North West Wales Regional Hub and the Enterprise Support Programme.

Publication date: 25 June 2014