2014 – Newcastle

Our IEEC 2014 gallery is now available to view. Click here to check out the photos.

For our 2014 conference, we are proud to be announcing a thought-provoking and exciting conference title: “Education + Engagement = Impact”.

Designed to challenge our developing thinking across enterprise and entrepreneurship education, we are inviting key speakers and delegates to discuss the full extent of enterprise and entrepreneurship through ideas of education and engagement in order to explore what is making a difference in the class room, across our institutions and in the communities with which we engage.

We recognise engagement as key to effective delivery, both within and outside the core curriculum and will explore this across entrepreneurship and enterprise education in the class room and beyond. This will enable delegates to understand more about the potential of civic engagement and community involvement within our work, as well as issues of awareness, motivation and delivery.

We are seeking to stimulate debate across all those working to create entrepreneurial outcomes in our students, start-ups and partners by exploring a range of conference questions, including:

  • Education: What forms of education are working for our learners? How is our approach to education creating change or addressing needs? Are we providing the learning needed for graduating students?
  • Engagement: What type of engagement do we need from both our students and our institutions to deliver entrepreneurial outcomes? How do we effectively engage businesses or other partners to support enterprise? What involvement works? Is engaging others a force for learning?
  • Impact: What impact are we seeking? And what difference are we making? Is enterprise education having the impact it ought to have? What type of engagement gets results?

Collectively these questions unpick our conference theme and will explore the breadth of enterprise and entrepreneurship education as experienced across FE and HE. Our keynote speakers will address these from different stand points as we draw upon employers, managers, careers and business founders to explore this with us.

We are already delighted to announce that our key note speakers will include:

  • Professor Luke Pittaway, Professor of Entrepreneurship and Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship at Ohio University (Athens, OH). Dr Pittaway leads programmes within the College of Business and across the University and his research focuses on entrepreneurship education and learning.
  • David Price OBE, specialist in creativity, human capital, the impact of digital technologies and education and author of ‘OPEN: How we’ll work, live and learn in the future’
  • Professor Roy Sandbach leads on innovation strategy development at the North East Local Enterprise Partnership where he is their Innovation ‘Champion’. He is a former David Goldman visiting Professor of Innovation & Enterprise at Newcastle University.

IEEC is known for its highly interactive, participant focused parallel sessions. This year as well as parallel sessions there will be syndicate groups where  ‘provocateur’ thought pieces will challenge and support both the delegates and the presenters to explore issues, opportunities, and constraints through a number of themed tracks.

Why Newcastle?

We are delighted to be hosted this year by Newcastle University.  As a civic university, Newcastle is proud to deliver benefits to individuals, organisations and to society as a whole and strives to put academic knowledge, creativity and expertise to work, to come up with innovations and solutions that make a difference.

The Newcastle University ethos challenges our entrepreneurial practice through the themes of civic engagement and responsibility (http://www.ncl.ac.uk/about/values/civic/index.htm) as well as through the application of university practice to some of society’s toughest challenges (http://www.ncl.ac.uk/about/values/societal/); making it an ideal home to our 2014 conference.

The conference will take place within the heart of Newcastle’s city centre campus where we will be invited to understand the Newcastle University approach and vision as we work. Our first evening will provide ample opportunity to network with new and old acquaintances at a networking barbeque at BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, stunningly located on the south bank of the river Tyne. The Gala dinner and National Enterprise Educator Award ceremony will provide an evening of relaxation and celebration on the Thursday evening in the Grade II* listed modern classic, Newcastle Civic Centre which is conveniently located opposite the University.

Delegate rates and discounts available

This year delegate rates are unchanged, remaining at the same level for a third year running. We also have a number of discounts available:

  • Staff from EEUK member institutions – 25%
  • IEEP participants and fellows – 25%
  • Delegates who book by the Early Bird deadline of Friday June 20th – 15%
  • First time attendees – eligible delegates who register by Saturday May 31st will be entered into a draw for one of six £100 discounts generously offered by the Higher Education Academy