UCLB partners with HEFCE and UnLtd to offer more support to social entrepreneurs

UCLB, along with UCL Advances, UCL’s centre for entrepreneurship and the UCLU Volunteering Services Unit, has been chosen to deliver a new partnership with the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and UnLtd, the Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs to encourage social entrepreneurship.

The initiative – funded by HEFCE and delivered by UnLtd – will see the chosen higher education institutions, including UCL, lead a programme to significantly increase the support given to both academics and students looking to set up social enterprises.

At UCL, the initiative will see UCLB, UCL Advances and the Volunteering Services Unit work together with the UCL Knowledge Transfer Champion for Social Enterprise to strengthen the social enterprise culture that is evolving in the institution and provide proof of concept funding and support to both academics and students looking to set up social enterprises.

“UCL is already a leader in the sector, and this initiative provides a unique opportunity to encourage academic staff to develop knowledge-based social ventures, leverage further funding and contribute to establishing London as a global hub for social investment” said Analia Lemmo Charnalia, Social Enterprise Business Manager at UCLB.

Professor Muki Haklay, Knowledge Transfer Champion for Social Enterprise at UCL said “Universities are perfectly placed to enable their local communities and society at large to benefit from the knowledge we create – and there is no better way of doing this than through social enterprise.”

UCL already has a track record in supporting social enterprise – in the recent UCL Awards for Enterprise, Heritage Without Borders was named UCL Social Enterprise Project of the Year for their work in transforming the role of archaeological conservation training in developing countries. Most recently, they have run projects in Bosnia and Turkmenistan; in the latter Heritage Without Borders personnel assisted a field team in conserving ceramics, stone and copper alloy.

For further information , please contact Analia Lemmo Charnalia, Social Enterprise Business Manager. Email: a.charnalia@uclb.com

About this partnership
UCL is one of 56 Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in England to partner with UnLtd on this initiative to embed a culture of social entrepreneurship within their institution and across the Higher Education sector. The final list of all selected HEI partners can be viewed at: www.unltd.org.uk/hesupport

About UCLB
UCLB is a leading technology transfer company that supports and commercialises research and innovations arising from UCL, one of the UK’s top research-led universities. UCLB has a successful track record and a strong reputation for identifying and protecting promising new technologies and innovations from UCL academics. It invests directly in development projects to maximise the potential of the research and manages the commercialisation process of technologies from the laboratory to market. UCLB supports UCL’s Grand Challenges of increasing UCL’s positive impact on and contribution to Global Health, Sustainable Cities, Intercultural Interaction and Human Wellbeing.

For further information, please visit: www.uclb.com

About UCL Advances
The centre for entrepreneurship at UCL, UCL Advances, offers training, networking and business support for staff, students and external entrepreneurs to encourage and enable new enterprises to get off the ground.

Unique in the UK higher education sector, its primary role is to promote a culture of entrepreneurship on campus, and engagement with entrepreneurs and small businesses beyond UCL’s boundaries. The centre currently delivers more than 30 programmes.

For further information, please visit: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/advances/

About UCL’s Volunteering Services Unit
The Volunteering Services Unit is UCLU’s dedicated facility for students who want to get involved with volunteering projects in the local community.

For further information, please visit: http://uclu.org/services/volunteering-at-uclu