The University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) has been named as the new home of an international institute that informs best practice in enterprise, entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial teaching, learning and evaluation.
The International Institute for Creative Entrepreneurial Development (IICED) will now be based at UWTSD in Swansea and act as a focal point for international experts in entrepreneurial education to discuss global perspectives that can impact, or have impacted, on policy-making.
“The University is really on the global map,” said Professor Andy Penaluna, director of IICED.
“What has driven us is that we care about our students and their futures. They, in turn, have helped us to understand the challenges they face after graduation. The fact that the United Nations and the European Commission recognise UWTSD as world leading is down to the simple fact that we listen to our past students.”
Earlier this year the UWTSD contributed to a major UK Government report on behalf of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Micro Businesses, which recognised the key role entrepreneurs play in the drive for growth, and looked at the effectiveness of our education system in supporting our entrepreneurs – from the age of 4 to 44 and beyond.
The University was also chosen to support the United Nations’ Empretec programme by the chief of entrepreneurship, Fiorina Mugione. The programme inspires entrepreneurs in developing countries and countries with economies in transition.
The UN’s chief of entrepreneurship, Fiorina Mugione, said: “UWTSD in Swansea has developed exciting initiatives and brought to light new kinds of thinking that advance both entrepreneurship policies and economic development strategies worldwide.
“The creation of the new International Institute for Creative Entrepreneurial Development is therefore a logical Step for UWTSD – to enhance knowledge sharing, collaboration and benchmarking of standards with international networks. The engaged and committed leadership of the University, together with the new Institute, will have a powerful multiplier effect across the world.”
UWTSD also developed the first University-accredited enterprise and entrepreneurship-focused teacher training provision for school teachers, in collaboration with Welsh Government and other educational partners in 2011. The new approaches they devised were subsequently adopted by the European Commission’s Acknowledging and Developing Entrepreneurial Teacher Training (ADEPTT) project.
Colin Jones of the University of Tasmania, one of the new Visiting Professors at UWTSD, said: “The emergence of the International Institute for Creative Entrepreneurial Development is a logical extension to the extraordinary leadership and vision shown by Professor Andy Penaluna in Swansea.
“Entrepreneurship education increasingly matters in a world where innovation and creativity are desired qualities that our graduates must demonstrate. The entrepreneurship education world stands ready to ensure the success of this timely initiative.”
The first IICED event will be a global summit in Swansea on 25 and 26 June, entitled ‘Practice into Policy: A Global Summit of Entrepreneurial Educators’.
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