Young Entrepreneurs: Role Models for the New World of Work

We can all name a few successful entrepreneurs.   They’re often charismatic, perhaps outspoken and generally associated with one or two household names.   That makes them pretty unusual: I won’t  say odd, but certainly something of a spectacle.

But that caricature is quite inappropriate for the 21st century in a world where many of us will in a few years time be doing jobs which haven’t yet been invented.   Rather than thinking of entrepreneurs as the odd ones out, we need instead to understand which entrepreneurial skills we all need to develop, whether we work in a small business or a global giant.    

That’s why we at Tata are so glad to be supporting NACUE (National Association of College and University Entrepreneurs) and its Varsity Pitch competition.   By working with and supporting young entrepreneurs developing their first businesses, we too can develop those essential 21st century skills.   

I’ve certainly found my experiences with NACUE a great way to identify the skills we all need, in our present job, the next one and for the whole of our careers.   To me, being entrepreneurial has three elements at its core:

Ideas 

Not so much the (unpredictable) ability to have “Eureka” moments, but being open to new ideas, open to new ways of doing things and open to what the customer really needs and wants;

Risk

Developing, at any age, a mature judgement which manages risk, accepts uncertainty and is not dragged back by an excess of caution;

Perseverance

The “nine parts perspiration” can’t be ignored.   Achieving anything in this ultra-competitive age can’t be done without effort.

  

Put like that, it’s hard to deny that we all need all three, whether we choose to call ourselves entrepreneurs or not.

What our Varsity Pitch winners also demonstrate clearly is that business has the power to do huge amounts of good: making new products or providing services that people want – and doing so quicker, cheaper and more sustainably.   And we can do even better when large established businesses with small firms and with the next generation of entrepreneurs.

Written by David Landsman, Executive Director of Tata Limited.

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  1. Our Impact
  2. Our Mission
  3. Our model

We've achieved a great deal in a short number of years, though there's much more too do in supporting our mission of 'Powering the Enterprise Generation'.

32,000

Students

19,926

Event attendees

20,505

Followers

42,000

Reach

16,512

Businesses

43,439

Jobs

Powering the Enterprising Generation

Our mission is to support the development of education and student engagement throughout college and universities by championing student enterprise societies and peer-to-peer learning. NACUE started from an extraordinary movement in student entrepreneurship, providing young individuals with a platform to be experimental, creative and inspiring in their approach to enterprise and entrepreneurship, encouraging a bottom-up approach to inspiring the next generation.


Today, we see over 200 enterprise societies, powered by peer-to-peer groups, who are championing the success of young people throughout their interactive programmes by forging collaborative relationships with their institutions to provide greater experience and development opportunities for their peers. Establishing regional links with locals SME’s who are keen to open their doors to emerging talented, proactive and enthusiastic graduates perpetuates this.


Our work is dedicated to supporting the development and encouragement of entrepreneurship amongst young individuals and forms the sole purpose of NACUE. To learn more about NACUE and the services we produce, click here.

As a not-for-profit, we raise charitable donations that allow us to widen the opportunities available to young people in relation to enterprise and entrepreneurship, strengthening student engagement, the quality of education and connecting and representing student enterprise societies and student entrepreneurs worldwide.

NACUE is a charitable organisation that supports 32,000 students and young people every year. As funding becomes harder to obtain, we rely on the generous support of donors to ensure our programs can continue to change the lives and aspirations of the younger generation.


A donation of any size goes a long way to furthering our work and really is greatly appreciated. Every gift matters in aiding our mission of ‘Powering the Enterprising Generation' but we mainly rely upon the generosity of our members and alumni to do this. By making a single or regular donation you can make a big difference. To learn more about how you can donate, please follow the links below.



 

Large national network

NACUE are delighted to have supported a huge number of student-led societies over the years. You can see the number of established student-led societies on an interactive map below

 

College
University
Society

 

 

Who we work with

Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs are at the very core of NACUE, everything we do is to better the startup and self employment ecosystem. We believe that entrepreneurs will shape the future, and we bolster this through our events, our network and our advocacy.

Students

NACUE works with students in Colleges and Universities right across the UK, helping support them in their entrepreneurial goals and connect them with like minded peers.

Educators

NACUE works collaboratively with educators and academics in supporting the development of entrepreneurial mindsets in young people.

Our events

Our events offer the young people we work with the opportunity to connect with our wider network, the experts and seasoned entrepreneurs in our community and the chance to be inspired to take the leap of faith into entrepreneurship. These events are attended by students and graduates from universities and colleges up and down the UK, as well as students from across Europe. Student Societies take centre stage at our events, alongside innovators, game changers and trail blazers of the UK startup ecosystem.

The difference we make

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