Buckingham Enterprise & Innovation Unit

At BEIU our mission is to deliver leading enterprise education combining academic theory with real world experience, expand our entrepreneurial reach beyond the university environment and encourage entrepreneurs of all ages and backgrounds.

From mid January each year you could be studying for an honours degree in Business Enterprise and starting a business on the innovative BSc Business Enterprise (BBE) honours degree programme at the University of Buckingham Business School in England.

The BBE honours degree programme at Buckingham Business School is a two year (8 terms) undergraduate programme, during which you have the opportunity to establish and run your own business, as an integral part of your honours degree.

The first cohort of students started in January 2006 and as the University of Buckingham works for 4 terms each year, they completed their studies in December 2007. Many more cohorts have successfully studied on the programme.

Details of the programme
In the first two terms you would study a range of business subjects, including Marketing, Accounting and Business Planning, plus Entrepreneurship and Innovation. You would then prepare and submit your business plan by mid May and must "pitch" your business idea in front of the "Buckingham Angels" venture capital panel at the end of May each year.

If your business plan and "pitch" is successful and you also pass your first examinations, held at the end of the second term, your company is provided with "seed-corn" capital of up to £5000 to enable you to establish and operate your business.

In the following 18 months you run your business, whilst also continuing to study a wide range of business enterprise subjects. You are supported by academic staff and are mentored throughout by experienced entrepreneurs.

At the end of the programme, graduates whose businesses are becoming successful have the opportunity to buy them from the university, at a reasonable cost and continue their development. For examples of the types of businesses being developed by BBE students, see http://bit. ly /bbe_graduates