An association of 16 Scottish universities have teamed up to launch a free online programme that will help entrepreneurs to teach the next generation of Scottish businesses how to ‘scale-up’.
The newly formed Scottish University Scale-up Consortium (SUSC) wants to empower established businesspeople with direct experience in scaling businesses by bridging the gap between theory and practice.
Their new E squared (E²) programme, which the creators say would cost £5,000 on the open market, will be delivered through a ‘state-of-the-art’ online learning platform, meaning participants from different sectors and geographical locations can take part and learn from other peers throughout Scotland.
The course, which will take place between mid-May and the end of June 2021, combines the latest theory with real-world business case studies to help entrepreneurs analyse and evaluate the impact of scale-up strategy.
It will also cover leadership and team development, scale-up finance, scale-up implementation, and marketing and sales on scaling a business.
It is hoped the E² programme will take those who sign up on a structured learning journey to become a more effective ‘entrepreneur in residence’ or ‘professor of practice’ in Scottish universities, or to deliver learning in incubators or accelerators.
The SUSC is a consortium of all 16 of the Scottish University business schools which support scale-up through world-leading evidence-based education.
It is financially supported by the Scottish Funding Council, Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.
The programme will be headed up by Dr Dominic Chalmers of the University of Glasgow, Professor Francis Greene of the University of Edinburgh and Mrs Sandra Stirling of the University of Edinburgh.
E² has been developed in partnership with The Hunter Foundation, a Scotland-based proactive philanthropic organisation focused on entrepreneurship, education and poverty reduction, named after its founder, the businessman Sir Tom Hunter.
To learn more visit their website.