Embedding Enterprise in Biosciences

Enterprise education at Newcastle University, UK, is embedded in the fabric of the curriculum via the Newcastle University Graduate Skills Framework. An example of this is the ‘Business for the Bioscientist’ module. The authors discuss this module with regard to good practice, enterprise development and the wider arena of graduate careers and employer expectations. The paper illustrates how a combination of academics, curriculum developers, enterprise educators and guest speakers can result in an innovative and interactive enterprise module. Feedback from employers has reinforced the importance of embedding enterprise skills in the curriculum: the authors examine the methodology used at Newcastle to achieve this, the approach adopted and responses from learners. They assess how such an initiative can establish enterprise as a norm in the skills sets of graduates. The paper proposes and highlights various factors that universities need to address if they are to realize fully the concept of entrepreneurial learning.