Cranfield Entrepreneurship Association
The Cranfield School of Management has been a breeding ground for entrepreneurs as evidenced by the number of ventures that have been launched by Cranfield alumni. Over the years a rich ecosystem has developed within the school consisting of entrepreneurs, business angels, venture capitalists, advisers, lawyers and technology transfer experts.
To promote this tradition and to encourage entrepreneurship throughout the University, the Bettany Centre for Entrepreneurial Performance and Economics formally established the Student Entrepreneurship Association in 2006. Due to the success it has now been expanded to include alumni, faculty and associates of the School of Management and the University and renamed to Cranfield Entrepreneurship Association (CEA) to reflect the broader range of groups.
The objectives of the CEA are to:
- Foster the entrepreneurial spirit by bringing together entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs in an environment of learning and sharing.
- Promote networking between alumni, students, and associates.
- Stimulate collaboration and exchange of ideas between students of various schools within the University.
- Provide a venue for business ideas to be tested and facilitate the forming of teams to work on these ideas.
The Team of the CEA includes student and alumni representatives and internal and external faculty advisors. A variety of programme and events are organised throughout the academic year to achieve the objectives the CEA. As part of the programme a number of guest speakers are invited to share their experiences and expertise, workshops are organised to enhance entrepreneurial skills and knowledge, and competitions are run to stimulate ideas by working in teams and then testing these ideas in front of a panel of judges.