International Institute for Creative Entrepreneurial Development
“UWTSD’s IICED is widely recognised as one of the world’s foremost institutions in creativity-based entrepreneurship education. IICED has not only been active in advising the UK government in the field of entrepreneurship education but its publications have also been leading discussions at an international level.”
Yves Punie EU Joint Research Centre, 2016
We started locally and small, through teaching and learning that helped our students to succeed well beyond graduation. They in turn continued to feedback to us, to keep our UWTSD courses fresh and relevant. From Brazil to Tasmania, people started to take notice and to ask questions, so we started to publish research and get more engaged. We soon contributed to significant Welsh and Westminster Government reports and helped to develop networks and resources across the UK. In 2011, we went international with our first presentation at the United Nations in Geneva, followed swiftly by the European Commission and the OECD.
At HE level our landmarks include conceptualising and leading the World’s first national Quality Assurance Guidance for the University Sector, and contributing to the EU / OECD ‘Epic’ Project on assessing entrepreneurial learning. We also helped to develop curriculum for the world-leading SetSquared and ECure researcher training programmes.
We are also enthusiasts for developing entrepreneurial school teachers, so have developed teacher training modalities in 8 Balkan’s countries as well as leading the World Bank funded Enterprise and Innovation national curriculum in North Macedonia. We have keynoted in the European Parliament in Strasbourg and here at home in Wales, we helped to write the new national curriculum, with a special focus on the four purposes.
Our goal is to improve Global understanding of what it means to be an enterprising educator.
In 2012 the University was at the heart of the two major reports relating to enterprise and entrepreneurship education across the UK. This included The Wilson Review of Business-University Collaboration and the Quality Assurance Agency's (QAA) Guidelines for Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Education. QAA are the standard setting body for all UK university education.
In 2013-14 UWTSD welcomed the United Nation’s Chief of Entrepreneurship to the University. Fiorina Mugione spent 4 months on campus initiating research that will inform the Geneva-based United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD) ‘Empretec’ study programme, which inspires entrepreneurs in developing countries and countries with economies in transition. Since its formation in 1988, the programme has successfully trained over 300,000 people, helping to found or expand businesses and creating thousands of jobs in the process. However, Fiorina and her team have identified a number of improvements that could be made and this research continues to be conducted at IICED.
In 2014 the Centre contributed to a major UK Government report that recognises the key role entrepreneurs play in the drive for growth, and looks at the effectiveness of our education system in supporting our entrepreneurs – from the age of 4 to 44 and beyond. The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Micro Businesses report, entitled ‘An Education System Fit for an Entrepreneur’, was launched in Westminster in February 2014, and the Centre’s Research Director Professor Andy Penaluna presented the study to senior politicians on behalf of the authorial team.
In June 2014 over 25 international experts converged on Swansea for the first ever Global Summit of Entrepreneurial Educators. Themed ‘Practice into Policy’, the event sought out international perspectives that inform, enhance, influence and lead new decision-making and policy development within Governments – based on sound academic experience and practical understanding.
For more information on the Global Summit, please visit:
