School of Entrepreneurship & Business
The Crystal Room Students’ Enterprise Club
The Launch and Setting of Objectives
The Students’ Enterprise Club (SEC) was formed in 2006 with the involvement of the SEB’s first cohort of postgraduate students (the 2005-6 class). Designed to allow students to organise activities relating to their own interests and value, SEB staff have encouraged students to set the following objectives for their extracurricular venture:
- help develop a platform for networking activities with fellow students interested in generating their own entrepreneurial futures;
- explore developmental opportunities for starting their own new enterprises;
- provide a hub for the free exchange of ideas, materials and learning resources linked to their research and studies;
- attract key figures in industry and public circles with whom to foster stakeholding relationships, mentoring support, informal work-related placements, and opportunities for experiential learning; and
- help contribute to the creation of an entrepreneurial learning community within the University, in the wider region, and in conjunction with international student partners.
Initial Activities and Developments
The first event, a workshop on Intellectual Property, was organised in March 2006. The informal workshop was delivered by the Patent Office from Wales, complementing the students’ learning on new product development and innovation, with practical insights into the methods, processes and value of patenting and general intellectual property management.
A second event took place in May 2006 with Jeremy Bennett, a former founding partner and non-executive director of 3BM TV, giving a lively talk about his experiences in the media industry. These two events have opened up a range of possibilities for students to use this Crystal Room platform to enhance their academic learning with ventures of their own. The international mix of students from a variety of backgrounds provides a rich impetus for the establishment of an entrepreneurial community of learners and ‘do-ers’.
A new batch of students (the 2006-07 class) now has the opportunity to take the club to its next, exciting stage. Various events initiated by the students have brought them together with practitioners and policy-makers to cover issues such as intellectual property management and working in the media industry. Students also travelled to Monaco to participate in an international forum for the next generation of entrepreneurs.
