A landmark memorandum of understanding has been signed between The University of Manchester Students’ Union (UMSU) and the Masood Entrepreneurship Centre (MEC) at Alliance Manchester Business School.
This document encapsulates the desires of both organisations to take forward a proactive and positive agenda for promoting entrepreneurship education, co-curricular activities, mentorship and the support needed to launch a start-up business, especially for increasing start-ups among international and female students. This area of collaboration has been specifically defined as ‘Developing Entrepreneurship for All – to empower the next generation of student entrepreneurs to take control of their futures’.
Led by Students’ Union General Secretary Kwame Kwarteng and Women’s Officer Chenze Ma and supported by colleagues in the SU and MEC, it will see both parties work towards the establishment of a long-term, mutually beneficial and enduring annual programme of entrepreneurial support activity for students and their societies that becomes a recognised ‘beacon’ amongst its peers.
Lynn Sheppard, Director of MEC said: “Our Vision at MEC is to build an entrepreneurial ecosystem that nurtures the next generation of outstanding innovators to achieve economic and societal benefit worldwide. This agreement underpins the joint desires of Kwame, Chenze and colleagues at the Students’ Union, combined with the MEC team, to support a dynamic culture within our excellent facilities ensuring everyone has the opportunity to succeed and ensure we empower the next generation of student entrepreneurs to take control of their futures.”
Kwame Kwarteng, General Secretary of UMSU added: “For so many of our students, innovating and starting their own business is at the heart of their ambition. The recovery of economies across the world is going to require new solutions to problems and we want to play a role in helping them create and achieve those ambitions. The opportunity to work with one of the leading enterprise centres through the team at MEC will add huge value to our work, and support our student leaders, societies and groups to create new results.”
