Thanks for the prompt reply to Susan.

As there is often some interest in these courses would you like to send me, or have someone send me a guest post about the BSc Business Enterprise programme at the University of Buckingham?

Regards, John

If you are interested in the BSc Business Enterprise programme at the University of Buckingham, the next intake is in mid January 2010. Please see http://is.gd/22eEh or e-mail: nigel.adams(at)buckingham.ac.uk for more information.

Thanks for the information, it’s great to hear that there are several courses available to support the future of entrepreneurship in the UK.

As Programme Director of the BSc Business Enterprise at the University of Buckingham, I wish to comment on your post “Theo Paphitis Backs Entrepreneur Degree” and also let you know that there are several similar degree courses already operating.

Professor Thompson’s planned programme at Huddersfield will not be unique. Our first cohort of students started to study for their BSc in Business Enterprise honours degrees at the University of Buckingham in January 2006 and graduated at the end of 2007.

Our second and third cohorts are studying for their honours degrees and running their businesses. For details about our programme and our students’ businesses, please see http://www.buckingham.ac.uk/business/bbe.

Huddersfield is also not unique in launching a 3-year ‘entrepreneur degree’ with the opportunity of starting a business, Coventry and Staffordshire Universities both offer similar degrees, though they do not offer their students the seed-corn capital to run their businesses, as we do. At Buckingham our students can achieve an honours degree and have a business with an 18 month track-record in just 2 years.

One other point about Professor Thompson’s new programme, from our experience, it will be very difficult to persuade really entrepreneurial students to study and wait two years before starting their businesses. Many of our students are not happy waiting two terms!

I would, however, like to congratulate Professor Thompson on joining a small, exclusive, but growing club and wish him all the best for his new programme.

I agree it’s a good idea and I’d like to see more of these courses.

With regards to the MBA however I think it depends what sort of business you want to create. If you want to build a innovative high growth company I think you’re probably better off doing another first degree which is related to the area in which you wish to create the business, then gaining some work experience and then doing an MBA. On the other hand if you’re aiming to build a small business there’s no need for the MBA.

I’m guessing it will be challenging for the students to study and run their business at the same time though.