Techscaler is to partner with distance learning pioneer The Open University on startup education – boosting learning opportunities for digital founders.
The Scottish Government’s flagship £42 million tech startup education and mentoring programme will work with one of the UK’s largest universities on supporting entrepreneurs.
CodeBase – which runs the scheme on behalf of government – will work closely with the university to ‘accelerate co-learning opportunities, including co-creation of educational content and drive startup and entrepreneurial activity’.
Through the use of open learning, the partnership will make content and learning accessible at any time, while there will also be a focus on diversity and inclusion.
Jane Grant, depute director, external engagement and partnerships at The Open University in Scotland, said: “ We are absolutely delighted to join forces with CodeBase – this partnership demonstrates our strong commitment to fostering innovation and entrepreneurship in Scotland by adding unique expertise and collaboration to our existing offer of courses and programmes such as Open Business Creator Fund.
“Having access to the Techscaler initiative will open up exciting opportunities for our learners and the wider community and notably support our nation’s next generation of entrepreneurs.”
Yasmin Sulaiman, SVP Ecosystems at CodeBase, said: “We are excited to team up with The Open University around world-class learning and innovation, and ultimately to drive entrepreneurial and startup activity. Importantly, we also share the OU’s ethos around opportunities for all irrespective of background or geography.”
Graeme Dey, higher and further education minister, said: “Entrepreneurship is at the heart of a healthy, vibrant and growing economy. In order to help deliver this, we want everyone, from every walk of life, to have the right support and skills to be inspired and equipped to be the business founder of tomorrow.”
“Our education system has a pivotal role to play in delivering this vision. Last year we published a blueprint to build on existing entrepreneurship in universities and colleges, and this hugely exciting partnership between CodeBase and The Open University opens up further opportunities to develop an even stronger entrepreneurial education offer to engage and inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs.”
The Open University is the world’s first education distance learning institution, with a mission to be, “open to people, places, methods, and ideas’, and was founded in 1969 to give those who had missed out on attending traditional universities the opportunity to experience high quality degree-level learning.
With almost 200,000 registered students and a network of more than 5,000 tutors who employ the latest communications technology to deliver teaching and assessment, the OU has welcomed over 2.2 million students since its inception.
Tech ecosystem builder CodeBase runs multiple programmes nationwide, including the UK Government-funded LawtechUK, EnergyTech Bridge with Opportunity North East, and Industry Bridge with Barclays Eagle Labs.
The Scottish Government-funded Techscaler programme run by CodeBase was launched in 2022, and in 2023 it numbered over 2,500 members and companies who raised over £50 million in investment, according to its annual report.
