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The Graduate Entrepreneurship Project brings together the ten Higher Education Institutions from Yorkshire and the Humber to focus specifically on enterprise and entrepreneurship.

The support provided by the partnership complements the existing activity within each individual institution, enabling each of them to provide a greater range and depth of support to students and graduates interested in starting their own businesses.

The GE project is supported financially by the European Union. The project has attracted £1.3million of investment from the European Regional Development Fund as part of Europe’s support for local economic development through the Yorkshire and Humber ERDF Programme 2007-13.

The project was previously supported by the regional development agency Yorkshire Forward.

Scroll over our logo to the right to see the different ways we help graduate entrepreneurs and enjoy looking through the site to discover more about our partners and case studies of businesses we have assisted.

Boot Camp

An introduction to starting your own business, Entrepreneur Boot Camp is an interactive, four day residential course. It provides graduates with a wealth of crucial commercial skills and allows them to develop their business plans with support from specialists in marketing, finance and other key aspects of business.

Many participants have successfully founded national companies.

Funding

Potential business founders may apply for a Proof of Concept fund from their university. With a maximum allocation of £1000, the highly competitive fund is given to determine the commerciality of any potential business.

Also available within some universities are business Start-up Grants. Grants of up to £2,500 enable graduates to give their business a kick start once their business concept has been proven and is viable.

Both grants are accompanied by extensive support and guidance from the higher education institution to ensure that the business or the concept is explored to the fullest potential.

Mentoring and Advice

A full range of support is available to graduate entrepreneurs across the region. Some Higher Education institutions provide full time business advisors, whilst all receive regular visits from subject specific advisors, providing graduates with the opportunity for individual appointments.

Networking

A host of networking opportunities are offered both at individual institutions and at a regional level, and are intended to enhance commercial awareness as well as business start up. Opportunities include 'Ask the Expert' sessions; 'Testing the Market' and speed networking with peer start up businesses.

Enterprise Awards

Institutions have the opportunity to run their own business concept and business planning competitions to enable graduates to qualify for the Regional GE Enterprise Awards, competing for some fantastic prizes and opportunities.

Partners

The Graduate Entrepreneurship Project is a joint venture of ten Higher Education institutions in Yorkshire and Humber, and ensures a high standard of support is made available to graduate entrepreneurs in the region than would otherwise be possible. It also provides students and graduates from the region with the opportunity to collaborate and benefit from each others experiences.