These days, everyone wants to be an entrepreneur. But, as any successful entrepreneur will tell you, starting your own thing is no easy route to riches. Many of the most successful startups of the digital age – Uber, Pinterest, Twitter – are born from failure, rapid pivots and sheer hard work. Plenty more have fallen by the wayside. But one thing is for sure in this rapidly changing landscape: you need more than just a degree in business studies to make it.
“For a long time, the traditional route of degree, master’s, PhD was how you got credibility in the business world,” says Samantha Lee, senior lecturer in business and management, and faculty lead on student experience at Regent’s University London. “But now, the vocational aspect of education is very vibrant, and that works very well for people who have practical aspirations. They’re not here for the thesis. They want to bring their passion to life and fulfil their dreams in a way that’s more tangible, and more accessible. It brings a whole new dimension to the business world.”
And in the 21st century, that business world has changed beyond recognition. Today’s students need more than traditional academic learning to make it in a landscape that rewards innovation and creativity. Universities need to provide a more holistic and career-focused education, placing entrepreneurship and internationalism at the core of all their programmes.
Foundation year students at Regent’s, for example, take the entrepreneurial simulation module. They set up their own companies, with real bank accounts at HSBC, and work with business advisers from blue-chip companies including Accenture and Sage. They choose a product or service to sell, and take on roles such as director or marketing director. Past enterprises have included a nightclub tour, reusable water bottles and environmentallyfriendly non-plastic bags made from cassava. “We take them through the whole process, from generating a business model to routes to market and selling,” says Lee. “We’ve had some fun days in Portobello Road market, for example, where students have to hold their own against experienced market traders.”
Emilie Carr, in her final year of a BA (hons) in interior design, has experienced the pressure of entrepreneurialism first hand. Your designs need to be useful as well as beautiful, she’s learned. “Assignments have made us think beyond interior design, and more from a business point of view,” she says. “In my final year project, I had to design a space at Holborn Studios on Regent’s Canal, a fantastic industrial space. But I also had to think about how that space would be used, who would use it, the potential, and what is needed to make it work.
“I created a material archive – a place where designers can come, socialise and learn. My business model was based on what I would do in real life, if I had my own interior design practice. I learned about setting up the company, different types of companies and how I might finance the company. I can take all these transferable skills into the working world.”
Today’s designers, she believes, need to be flexible – a philosophy she intends to embrace. “In design, especially, you have to become very adaptable and changeable. I think our generation really understands how to be flexible and embrace change. So I think design needs to have this ability to evolve and stay current. For me, it’s not about being disposable, but about building more sustainably. That’s the focus now, and that’s what I’m going to take through my career.”
This kind of experiential learning is vital, says Lee. “It’s about bringing theory to life and getting it off the page. Students have to engage with it in real life and fulfil those aspirations that they will have when leaving university.”
Third-year BA interior design student Mia Tsujimura Hjaere has been able to explore her own passions and develop an entrepreneurial mindset, too. “I grew up in Japan and I have a Danish father, so my design was always influenced by the contrast between two different countries and cultures,” she says. “I was particularly drawn to sustainability in my final-year project, and designed a sustainability laboratory and research centre. But I had to think about every aspect – choosing a client, thinking about their needs, the cost, how my proposal could work in reality, and who might use it if it was built. It was a real hands-on project.”
The design world is competitive, she says – and having those entrepreneurial skills helps you stand out from the crowd. “I’ve gained the confidence to become a designer and I’m constantly inspired by the people who teach me but are also working in the design world,” she says. “My ambition is to open my own practice, and I can now see how that will be possible in the future.”
Regent’s emphasis on entrepreneurship develops the skills which every student will need, no matter what they choose to do in the future, says Lee. “The decision making processes and the consequential successes and failures are great points of reflection for them. Then there are the interpersonal skills such as developing their confidence and their ‘brand me’, playing to their strengths and learning about the selling process. Students should be encouraged to find their own pathways and think outside the box.”
