Entrepreneurship and Family Business Research Centre

Promoting the launch of the Entrepreneurship and Family Business Research Centre

The opportunities and challenges for employability-related support in STEM degrees

This research explores the opportunities and challenges for incorporating employability related support into STEM (Sciences; Technology; Engineering; Mathematics) degree programmes, based in part on recent research (O’Leary, 2016a) outlining that significant variations in employability-related support exist across the STEM disciplines. These issues were highlighted at a recent conference on STEM pedagogy (O’Leary, 2016b) and this paper explores them in more depth. While O’Leary (2016a) finds that Engineering and Sciences are performing relatively well on employability-support matters, in comparison with Social Sciences and Humanities, there is still room for improvement across STEM programmes. The research suggest that students’ employability can be enhanced through a combination of the content of the curriculum and the development of key student capabilities and characteristics. To achieve this, it is necessary to address several issues: the development of academic staff, the use of external speakers, the provision of business and management expertise, cross-disciplinary approaches and the integration of professional services into the curriculum. In addition, the most effective gains from a cross-Faculty viewpoint may exist in what may seem unlikely liaisons; for effective employability-related support, the Sciences and Humanities think along the same lines, while Social Sciences & Engineering think along another line. Therefore, improvements to the provision of such support may be better achieved by such non-traditional cross-Faculty partnerships. An approach based on the “3E’s” is suggested: Enhanced Learning & Teaching; Employer-engagement; and Embedding into the Curriculum

Collaborations in higher education with employers and their influence on graduate employability; an institutional project

Well-managed collaborations with employers, in the form of consultancy projects, appear to have a positive influence on the employability of social-science graduates, based on students from a business and management faculty. Employer collaborations with higher education come in many forms including guest speakers, work placements and projects of various types and are already part of many degree programmes. This article concentrates on the use of consultancy projects as a means of enhancing the employability of students as they graduate, and the indications are that such collaborations can have a positive influence and impact on employability by enhancing the capability and character of the graduates, which then potentially allows them to apply the content of their degree programme as appropriate for the employer. An employability equation (e = 3c.i) and model (Employability Strategy Matrix) are proposed to support the strategic decision-making process of identifying suitable employment opportunities and highlight individual graduate strengths and developmental needs

Economic governance and enterprise-related activities in higher education

Economic governance across Central and Eastern Europe, in the light of transitions to market economies and deepening European Union governance and regulation, is a complex issue of multiple variables, including economic reforms, currencies, fiscal discipline and investments. Within that complexity also lie the perceived capabilities of upcoming generations of students graduating from universities in the region, or graduating elsewhere to return to the region, and starting their working careers. The aim of this study is to focus on university graduates, and to address aspects of the potential role of enterprise and entrepreneurship-related activities within higher education in helping to shape future economic governance across Central and Eastern Europe. The study also draws in part upon the impact of the European Union’s Erasmus programme (European Community Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students) that has now been in place for over a quarter of a century, as well as its 2014 successor Erasmus+ which combines all the EU's current schemes for education, training, youth and sport. Such investments in the continued evolution of higher education may in time help to establish some of the foundations for effective economic governance across the whole region

Disciplinary and gender variations in employability-related support across higher education

Graduates across higher education have indicated a strong desire to see employability-related support incorporated into undergraduate degree programmes (O’Leary, 2016) and this research explores in further depth whether the support provided across disciplinary areas matches that desire. It is shown here that it is those disciplines that are predominantly populated by female students that are less well provided for in terms of employability-related support. The Higher Education Statistics Agency (2016) highlights significant disciplinary gender imbalances across the higher education sector. At Faculty levels, Humanities (63%) and Social Sciences (63%) tend to be female-dominated while Sciences (55%) and Engineering (80%) have predominantly male students, with even more pronounced splits in specific disciplines and subjects. This research provides proposals on how to enhance the provision of employability-related support, such as developing academic staff, using external speakers, utilising business and management expertise, cross-disciplinary liaisons and incorporating professional services into the curriculum

An economic impetus for enhancing employability support across higher education in Russia

Achieving economic development through the development of skills is a policy priority throughout Eastern Europe and Central Asia (International Labour Office, 2016a) and it is with the ILO that the Russian Federation’s tripartite constituency of government, employers’ and workers’ organisations recently signed a new Programme of Cooperation (International Labour Office, 2016b). Continued improvements to general education are essential in the long-term while, for the short-term, higher education has a particularly important role to play as graduates take up managerial roles across the Russian Federation. This research focuses on just one aspect of that much broader initiative with the ILO, by addressing the issue of employability-related support for higher education students. While progress has already been made, with three Russian universities in the global employability rankings list, further international opportunities to collaborate with other universities exist through initiatives such as the Erasmus+ scheme in Europe, the Generation Study Abroad initiative in the USA and via the BRICS consortium of rapidly developing nations. These three options alone accommodate over 80% of the top-ranked universities worldwide for employability and such collaborations could help embed additional seeds of economic growth in Russia

Migrant entrepreneurs’ views on the potential impacts of Brexit on their UK businesses

With numbers close to 250 million globally, migrants account for just 3% of the world’s 8 billion population, and yet issues concerning this relatively small group occupy multiple media and news channels, much of it with negative connotations. However, data compiled by the United Nations shows that the number of migrants worldwide has indeed been growing since the millennium at an average rate of just over two per cent per annum and the proportion of migrants worldwide has risen from 2.8% in 2000 to 3.4% in 2017. As may be expected, migrants move mainly to higher-income countries and these countries now account for around two-thirds of the global migrant population. On average, migrants make up 14% of the population of high-income countries, and the migrant population of close to 9 million in the UK, the fifth largest economy in the world by GDP, is just below this at 13% of the national population. Nevertheless, media coverage of migrant-related issues is widely believed to have strongly influenced the outcome of the EU-Brexit referendum in 2016. Three years later, in 2019, the Brexit negotiations are still ongoing and the aim of this research is to provide a snapshot of how that process is affecting migrant entrepreneurs and their businesses in the UK. The results indicate that, while a minority of migrant entrepreneurs (1 in 5) see some potential upsides from Brexit, the majority (4 in 5) take a much more negative view, with many seriously considering relocating their businesses while, at the same time, being willing and able to share their thoughts and to actively support efforts to strengthen the UK economy

Profiling a niche market and establishing an entrepreneurial strategy for a niche brand; the costume jewellery sector in Switzerland

This study of the exclusive Swiss costume jewellery brand para ti serves as an example of effectively profiling a niche segment and establishing a growth strategy for a niche brand. The history of costume jewellery goes back to ancient Egyptians, who were the first to produce glass, the major component of para ti products. The term ‘costume jewellery’ was though only first used one hundred years ago and there are now many variants of products within its orbit. The research indicates that Swiss costume jewellery consumers are both price sensitive and quality oriented, with women buying mainly for themselves rather than receiving it as a gift, looking for products that they can wear every day and usually purchasing from boutiques or specialist retailers who care about the jewellery’s story. Surveys and interviews were conducted with a sample of Swiss adults and a supplier was interviewed to help better understand the supply chain. Among other observations, primary research found that most of the survey respondents buy one piece of costume jewellery from time to time, with bracelets and rings the most popular. Respondents were willing to pay Swiss Francs CHF50-200 (€45-190; £40-160; $50-205) for handmade costume jewellery. Interviews showed that there is a clear trend towards fine jewellery and new collections, with different styles preferred in summer and winter. The recommendations from the research were that para ti should elaborate its brand identity and emphasize aspects of the brand’s story through media such as Facebook and Instagram. Since para ti imports jewellery from Ibiza, the brand should also take advantage of the ongoing hype around the island. Moreover, para ti should clearly position itself as an exclusive costume jewellery brand that offers handcrafted pieces of exceptional design and quality at a reasonable price. The brand should also broaden its focus from millennials to older groups. Strategically, para ti could seek to partner with a boutique such as Kowä, relaunch its online store, consider opening its own store in Zurich, offer seasonal and men’s collections, explore an expanded supplier base and extend its range to include precious metals