Centre for Entrepreneurship and Knowledge Exchange

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CEKE

The Leeds Business School’s Centre for Entrepreneurship and Knowledge Exchange combines research, business support and engagement, student enterprise, and pedagogy.

The Leeds Business School’s Centre for Entrepreneurship and Knowledge Exchange combines research, business support and engagement, student enterprise, and pedagogy to ensure the fostering of entrepreneurial mindset and entrepreneurship within the university community and the local economy.

Academic Director of the Centre, Professor Lebene Soga argues that while entrepreneurship may have elements of science or art, what we must pursue is that entrepreneurship is a practice.

Whereas it is okay to say that not every student at university desires to be an entrepreneur, our philosophy is that all students must develop an entrepreneurial mindset. This is because entrepreneurial students, compared with their non-entrepreneurial counterparts…

Are more employable
Possess stronger problem-solving skills
Are more innovative
See opportunities in failure
Are more opportunity aware
Are more intrapreneurial within organisations
Deliver change more readily
…inter alia!

The Leeds Centre for Entrepreneurship and Knowledge Exchange supports students and the university community in a number of ways as part of its activities. These include our Business Lab, which is open to all Leeds Beckett University students and graduates! Take advantage of this opportunity to launch your own business ideas.

Entrepreneurship Festival

Business Masterclasses

Business Lab

Competitions and Awards

This competition is open to all LBU students to apply for. A date for the competition will be set and prizes awarded to all teams that have made the final nominations list. Prior to the competition, Eureka workshops will be held across the university to prepare all student applicants.

Students may apply as individuals or as teams for the competition. Eureka celebrates entrepreneurial ideas across the university but also prepares students towards an excellent delivery on the day of the competition.

The workshops are planned to run bi-monthly so student applicants have the opportunity to develop their ideas in-between workshops.

A first Prize of £1000 is awarded to the overall best idea with second and third prizes of £500 and £300 respectively.

This award celebrates our international students who have demonstrated the entrepreneurial spirit in business. They would have deployed the skills learnt at the university and from their engagement with CEKE to formulate viable businesses or business ideas that have passed demonstrable and convincing validation tests. The award includes continuous support from CEKE, a seed fund, and other opportunities to enhance the student’s opportunities of success in the market place. Shortlisting for this Award is done through engagement with course leaders, the Careers team, business lab mentors, and from entries for the Eureka competition. If you are an international student at Leeds Beckett University, you may also contact CEKE to learn more about this opportunity. There is great support available for our international students.

This award celebrates students with businesses ideas that have societal impact. In other words, the aim of the business is not purely to make profit but to bring about positive change in our world. The underpinning value of the business is of importance in winning this award. For instance, are you passionate about solving societal challenges such as homelessness, hunger, fuel poverty, bullying, racism, youth unemployment, drug abuse, etc.? Is your business idea created to solve these needs? You stand a chance of winning this award. Shortlisting for this Award is done through engagement with course leaders, the Careers team, business lab mentors, and from entries for the Eureka competition. All LBU students are eligible for this competition.

Do you have a business idea whose aim is to solve several or some aspect of the mega challenges of our day when it comes to sustainability and our planet? In this age of the Anthropocene, humans must wake up and take responsibility for what we have done and are continuing to do to our planet Earth. The world is desperately seeking talented minds whose passion is to address the complex challenges posed to our collective survival. The Green Enterprise Competition seeks to provide an opportunity for you to unearth your hidden potential when it comes to issues such as sustainability, pollution, climate change, water shortage, and many more! Calls for this competition will be made annually and we invite your business ideas towards making our earth a little greener than what we came to meet. Watch this space!

Aerial photo overlooking there Leeds Town Hall

Leeds City Challenge competition provides an opportunity for you, if you are a student at LBU or a recent graduate to solve one of the many challenges Leeds faces as a city. Have you identified a problem in the city of Leeds? Put on your creative hat and submit your ideas. Entrepreneurs solve big problems! We can’t wait to see what problem you wish to solve for our beautiful city. We will help you shape the idea, develop it and work with you to see it come to fruition. Prizes are there to be won so watch the space for more details or email us.

The workshops are planned to run bi-monthly so student applicants have the opportunity to develop their ideas in-between workshops.

A first Prize of £1000 is awarded to the overall best idea with second and third prizes of £500 and £300 respectively.

CEKE Enterprise & Knowledge Exchange board

A threefold scope is proposed as part of the board’s oversight on Enterprise and Knowledge Exchange activities at Leeds Business School. The focus is enhancing enterprise activities, increasing funding and boosting knowledge exchange through partnerships. The board meets every couple of months.

Professor George Lodorfos

Dean of School / Leeds Business School
Professor Lebene Soga

Professor / Leeds Business School
Olga Munroe

Head of the Retail Institute / Leeds Business School

2 women sitting in an open space, talking

Quote by Academic Director of the Centre Professor Lebene Soga

While entrepreneurship may have elements of science or art, what we must pursue is that entrepreneurship is a practice.

Professor Lebene Soga Professor

Student Entrepreneurship Societies

This is a student society started by budding entrepreneurs in LBU. This student society will provide students with a platform for those who are interested to start a company or have a business idea. We further aim to:

Hold a B-Plan competition for students in university and encourage people to take entrepreneurship as a career.
Partner with Angel Investors and VCs to help students with unique ideas turn into actual businesses which have the potential to change the lives of people.
Conduct training and knowledge-sharing sessions with experienced entrepreneurs and investors to help students with starting up and funding.

E-CELL

Useful links

Start up support for LBU students and graduates

Help get your business off the ground

Business Strategy Operations and Enterprise

Transform an established business, or start a new one

Postgraduate Business Idea Showcase

This showcase is directed towards all those on and about to enter our MSc Entrepreneurship and Business Management programme. We believe our postgraduate students have a statement to make and we are ready to hear them out. The showcase invites all our postgraduate students studying entrepreneurship to present their business ideas in poster presentation formats at the foyer of the Rose Bowl building. Various invited guests, peers, and faculty will be there to hear our postgrad students deliver their inspirational business ideas. Various prizes will be awarded and our guests will have opportunities to share their own stories of entrepreneurship. If you are a postgraduate student on another course that is not entrepreneurship but wish to be part of the showcase, please contact CEKE and we will make room for you. This showcase is held annually every July, and our first is on the 1st of July 2024. Details of registration will follow.

MSc Entrepreneurship and Business Development Course