What is a student enterprise?

A student enterprise can be defined as where students engage with real industry practise while at a higher education institution (HEI), ie student enterprises exist at the crossover of the three areas.

The forms of student enterprises include spin out commercial companies, company-like entities within an HEI and curriculum/industry linked projects. There are examples of each across the IoC, with differing aims and relationships between the students and industry partners.

Based on a literature review, five 'archetypes' of student enterprises can be identified, as shown in the EPIC² model:

• Employment
  Students experience work, and often earn, within a professional environment; grades are rarely earned and internships are often extra curricular and awarded after a recruitment process.

• Prizes
  Either a prize can be won for attainment - or a scholarship can be won to fund the best proposal.

• Innovation
  Innovation processes, such as Lean Startup, are practised that aim to discover sustainable enterprises where none are currently known to exist.

• Curriculum
  All students on a module engage with (typically) domain expert clients to clarify/satisfy their requirement/s. Students 'earn' marks for their module/course based on an assessment of their deliverables, reflection and evidence of quality processes being followed.

• Community
  Students initiate/add to community projects that aim to benefit others, eg through open source projects, or as specific projects to assist individuals or communities.

Case studies

Why should you get involved?