Why we should encourage our students to start a business at university

The Year 13s of summer 2010 are long gone (well - most of them). So what were your final words to them as they picked up their A Level results or said farewell at the Sixth Form prom? Perhaps it should have been “enjoy Uni, and make sure you start that business there…”

This is a good article on Smarta which fits in nicely with the start-up elements of the various business specifications. It lists and explains five reasons why a student’s attendance at university is as good a time as any to start a business. I like the list, and I’m sure our students could probably add a few more to the advantages given. Let them have a go!

I can certainly vouch for the suggestion that there is no better way of learning about business than starting and running one. I studied business for years; took an MBA; advised venture capitalists on buy-outs, firms floating on the stock market. I bought and sold travel companies. But I only really started to learn about what it takes when I got to run my own business.

So what better lesson is there than encouraging our students to get involved with a start-up as part of their university experience?

Of course, its not just university students who make good use of their time to begin a business. University departments are increasingly seen as a successful incubators of good start-ups, as this recent article explains.