Over 150 students and 50 lecturers from the six regional colleges of further and higher education will come together on Thursday 18th March for the annual Embracing Enterprise conference at Belfast Metropolitan College’s Brunswick Street building.

The conference is the result of an inter-College initiative to embed enterprise into the curriculum and encourage further and higher education students to think entrepreneurially and consider setting up their own business in the future. Students will find out first-hand about the challenges and rewards of self employment from local entrepreneurs Barry Lynch (Nifty Nosh) and Michael Hand (Imex Systems) and participate in Advantage NI’s idea generation challenges designed to navigate students through the process of turning ideas into real business operations.
 
Maura Lavery, Deputy Director at BMC, said:
“Building on the success of last year’s event; Belfast Metropolitan College is delighted to welcome staff and students from the five other regional colleges. We hope that Embracing Enterprise will compliment each College’s existing work on enterprise and entrepreneurship and provide students with an opportunity to leave the classroom, come together to share ideas, compete in dynamic enterprise challenges and take a fresh look at their future career options.”

In addition to participating in the Embracing Enterprise conference, the six Colleges have been working together to embed enterprise into their curriculum with staff development training on enterprise support and entrepreneurial education. A research study is underway to evaluate and benchmark current enterprise support and inform future provision in Northern Ireland’s colleges.

The event is funded through the Department for Employment and Learning’s Innovation Fund and delivered in collaboration with Queen’s University, Belfast.