Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
CEKE
Centre for Entrepreneurship and Knowledge Exchange
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.
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 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!
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.
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.
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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
CEKE Enterprise & Knowledge Exchange board
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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 -
Natalie Allen
Head Of Business Partnerships / Knowledge Exchange -
Dr Julia Morgan
Head of The Leadership Centre / Leeds Business School -
Zoe McClelland
Head of Subject / Leeds Business School -
Dr Nick Halafihi
Head of Subject / Leeds Business School -
Professor Ralph Tench
Director of Research / Leeds Business School -
Jo Griffiths
Head of Post Award and KTP / Knowledge Exchange -
Dr Moade Shubita
Reader & PG Research Student Programme Director (PhD and DBA) / Leeds Business School -
Dr Karen Vollum-Dix
Senior Lecturer / Leeds Business School -
Dr Razaq Raj
Principal Lecturer / Leeds Business School -
Lucile Allen-Paisant
Lecturer / Leeds Business School -
Stephanie Dawson
Lecturer / Leeds Business School -
Rav Panesar
Part-time Lecturer / Leeds Business School -
Dr Catherine Ashworth
Senior Lecturer / Leeds Business School -
Kyran Parker
Lecturer / Leeds Business School -
Dr Sumona Mukhuty
Reader / Leeds Business School -
Pankajni Trivedi
Lecturer / Leeds Business School -
Anderson Da Silveira Lima
Lecturer / Leeds Business School -
Sarah Whittle
Communications and Project Lead / Leeds Business School -
Robert Scheffrin
Finance Director, Atome Plc -
Fiona Bolam
Head of Economic Policy, Leeds City Council -
John Dammone
Entrepreneur In Residence
Quote by Academic Director of the Centre Professor Lebene SogaWhile entrepreneurship may have elements of science or art, what we must pursue is that entrepreneurship is a practice.
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.