Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
Leeds Business School Start Up Competition 2019
Learning about enterprise and entrepreneurship while at university introduces students to alternative perspectives on career options.
It can give students the confidence and skills required to pursue a career setting up their own business or social enterprise or being self-employed in the gig economy. Leeds Business School courses and modules are populated with the opportunity to learn about enterprise. It is one of the core attributes guiding curriculum at Leeds Beckett University and a key element in helping students to become an employable graduate.
This is why we are delighted to introduce the Leeds Business School Business Start Up Competition. The Competition provides an opportunity for students in all our university schools to develop their ideas into a real business proposition.
It involves the use of a Business Model Canvas – a tool that is used extensively by academics and practitioners to help entrepreneurs clearly articulate their business aspirations and to develop and refine their business models for start-up, innovation and growth. It is a welcome alternative to the traditional business plan as it allows easy visualisation, flexibility in development and helps identify how the different elements of a business relate to one another.
Professor George Lodorfos, Dean of Leeds Business School noted:
‘I am strong advocate of entrepreneurship and one of Leeds Business School’s objectives is to give our students the knowledge, skills, and network to start up a business successfully or to become successful intrapreneurs.’
The Start-up competition will provide access to multi-media on-line resources - developed specifically to help students shape their business ideas into a real business proposition.
Briefings at the end of February and early March by skilled enterprise educators will provide further information about the challenge and the use of the Canvas.
Regular drop in sessions with academic colleagues and our Entrepreneurs in Residence will provide opportunities for participants to test out and hone their ideas in preparation for submission of their short and succinct propositions using the Business Canvas at the end of May.
No matter how outlandish or practical your idea may be - use the business model canvas to test it out - you never know where it might lead.
Professor David Devins
David Devins is formerly a professor at the Leeds Business School.
