National Award for University Entrepreneurship
Leeds wins The Duke of York Award for University Entrepreneurship.

Announced at the 2015 Lloyds Bank National Business Awards on 10 November, the award recognises the Universitys role in encouraging and enabling student entrepreneurship and supporting high growth small businesses in the region.
The ceremony highlighted the Universitys efforts in delivering support for entrepreneurial students across all subject areas, as well as the significant impact of support and advice for student start-ups and alumni entrepreneurs.
Professor Nigel Lockett, Director of Enterprise Learning, said: "This recognises our focus on helping our students and graduates gain the funding and skills needed to start their own business, boost their employability or become entrepreneurial leaders of the future.
Winning the Duke of York Award is testament to years of hard work providing Leeds students and graduates with exceptional enterprise education, support and opportunities.
The Universitys dedicated Centre of Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Studies has encouraged every subject to integrate enterprise, with over 1,200 students across all Faculties undertaking enterprise electives this year.
The student start-up service, Spark, also provides a dedicated team to support students and graduates up to seven years after graduation with support in setting up and running a business.
Professor Lockett added: We really want to get the message through that enterprise at Leeds isnt just for business students. With our Spark being homed within the Universitys Careers Service, this creates a clear message to all our students that enterprise is for all.
The extensive network of alumni and other supporters also fuels cross-campus provision, offering support to the next generation of entrepreneurial Leeds students with funding, mentoring and work experiences.
This has included securing donor support for student and graduate entrepreneurship for the next five years, as well as a new InTechnology Enterprise Incubator which is already home for 37 early-stage start‐up businesses.
The Prime Minister, David Cameron, opened proceedings at the ceremony with a message for this years finalists.
He told the audience: I want to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you on behalf of the whole country, for all that youre doing to create jobs and growth in Britain.
Tonight we celebrate all that youre doing, from your leadership in digital and innovation, to the Duke of Yorks new award for University Entrepreneurship, these awards are rightly the Oscars of great British business.
The awards recognise people who have the guts to strike out on their own, who have the tenacity to work hard for every deal and who have the innovation and vision that lets you grow your business and take new people on.
Its people like you who are making this the most entrepreneurial and dynamic period in our countrys recent history. So thank you again for all youre doing.
The Universitys sector‐leading approach was also praised last year by Lord Young, an adviser to the Prime Minister on small business and enterprise.
Lord Young said: I welcome the leadership of the University of Leeds in this area and the approach they have adopted to market and embed enterprise in the name and content of subject specific courses from Biotechnology to Fashion Design.
The University has also been shortlisted for Entrepreneurial University of the Year at the 2015 Times Higher Education awards at the end of November.
Earlier this year, in September, Kairen Skelley, head of Spark, was also named as the Higher Education Enterprise Champion at the National Enterprise Educator Awards.
In addition, Kairen was one of four individuals to be nominated as an Enterprise Support Champion at a House of Lords event in November, organised by the Institute of Enterprise and Entrepreneurs and the Small Firms Enterprise Development Initiative.
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