Lancaster University Management School (LUMS) is taking its renowned excellence in building an Entrepreneurs in Residence network to the international stage in collaboration with the Global Business Schools Network (GBSN).

The GBSN Global Entrepreneur in Residence (EiR) Program will bring together academics, students and entrepreneurs from around the world, with the aim of cultivating an international engagement network.

The six-week global module will build on the success of an initial pilot scheme in Egypt earlier this year. LUMS, GBSN and the American University in Cairo co-delivered that programme, which focused on social media and communications in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and the UK.

LUMS will now apply its EiR expertise – recognised in the School’s SBC reaccreditation in 2020 as an exemplar for involving small business leaders in developing and delivering high-quality higher education programmes – on a grander scale.

Students from GBSN member schools will take part in six-week online programmes, working alongside their fellows from different institutions and nations. Teams of between two and four students will work together – and with academics and EiRs – on assignments and presentations, with a focus on the informal economy in the regions of four member business schools.

Brian Gregory, Director of the LUMS Entrepreneur in Residence programme and a former EiR himself, will organise and run the programme with GBSN. He said: “The programme will allow students to look at the informal economy from four different places around the world, to look at the similar challenges across those geographies and the unique solutions and best practices each have come up with that might be applied elsewhere.

“The Entrepreneurs in Residence will bring diverse perspectives and levels of experience in innovation across numerous industrial sectors and cultures, providing students with insights into their challenges and achievements and valuable different viewpoints.

“We hope that the Global EiR programme will help students to cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset and develop soft skills – potentially even taking new ventures to market. Students will have the opportunity to build valuable networks they can carry with them through their careers, wherever they may take them. There will be tangible, long-term, global benefits for them.

“The long-term goal is to nurture a global EiR pool with whom all GBSN member schools – through students, researchers or lecturers – can engage.”

The programme will feature successful executives, industry experts and entrepreneurs as guest speakers, as well as mentoring and advisory meetings between students and EiRs.

The programmes – which run between October and November 2021 and then between February and April 2022 – are open to graduate or undergraduate students from any GBSN member school. Academics can also sign up to take part in curriculum reviews, session lectures, and advisory sessions with EiRs.

For more information, or to apply to participate as a student, an Entrepreneur-in-Residence or an academic on the programme, click here: https://gbsn.org/what-we-do/programs/globaleir/