SurreyIDEA scraps tuition fees for investment in ideas

by Startacus Admin

University digital enterprise academy SurreyIDEA, to scrap tuition fees like a conventional university, for investment in their students’ enterprises, taking a percentage of the profits! A win-win all-round, the University of Surrey and the participants will surely hope.

A ground-breaking initiative from the University of Surrey is launching an inspiring innovation and digital enterprise academy, SurreyIDEA, to welcome individuals denied the opportunity of attending university due to social restrictions or those looking to deviate away from the traditional academic route.

The academy, reportedly the first of its kind in Europe, will provide a novel and progressive learning experience that enables students to gain valuable skills in an interactive format free from prohibitive entry requirements based on academic achievement – recruitment will be based on potential.

With under and post graduate programmes, the academy will offer development as an entrepreneur and funded scholarships to students who will join as part-owner of the business and intellectual property that they create on the programme.

With the fundamental objective of making higher education available to all, the faces behind SurreyIDEA are passionate about the fact that they are not an elitist platform closed off to large segments of society and thus further increasing the gap between rich and poor. Whereas the current education system prioritises academic achievement above all else, SurreyIDEA want to acknowledge the cornucopia of varied attributes possessed by so many other individuals which are essential in the workplace and welcome those without the ‘gold standard’ qualifications or CV.

Instead of charging students tuition fees like a conventional university, SurreyIDEA will invest in students’ enterprises and take a percentage of the profits.

With no other business school in Europe having built an entrepreneurship programme on such a model, the expert panel of teachers will showcase their own experiences which have led to their involvement with the academy. As well as helping to shape the future of business education, the students can be part of history, too.

Founder and Head of the School, Andy Adcroft, says "We want to create a new generation of digital entrepreneurs that we call the Disrupters, the people that will transform the way we learn and get noticed in a less conventional way. University should be a life changing experience, if you leave the same person you were when you arrived, we have done it wrong.

I know what it is to be met by a preconceived opinion based on my postal code, it’s an unfair judgement and doesn’t reflect the individual’s capabilities and strengths. This must change. Equality of opportunity should be a running theme in all areas of education and business to prevent the distance between the wealthy and poor from increasing further, and SurreyIDEA aims to help encourage this.”

 

 

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Published on: 26th June 2019