Rethinking Enterprise Education: Enactus UK & Ireland x IEEC 2025

10-12th of September, Enactus UK & Ireland was present at the International Entrepreneurship Educators Conference (IEEC), organised by Enterprise Educators UK and hosted by Manchester Metropolitan University. As a contribution to the conference theme on ‘Disruption, Futures, and Enterprise Education’, we ran our Enactus Action4Good Hackathon designed to spark critical thinking and promote entrepreneurial education and action. We were additionally part of a panel talk on ‘Rethinking Measures, Access and Competition in Enterprise Education’, focused on questioning the underlying assumptions that structure current enterprise education.

‘How do we approach disruptions and how can we provide agency to students, colleagues and community? What structures, businesses and organisations support and shape a sustainable future? What developments and innovations display new ways forward that inspire change?’

These are some of the questions raised by the IEEC concerning disruption, futures, and enterprise education. Enactus UK & Ireland believes in the impact entrepreneurial education has as a catalyst to drive a sustainable future led by a generation of responsible and forward-thinking changemakers. At our core, we champion entrepreneurial education, while also engaging more broadly across sectors in order to bring about a purpose-driven leaders who are committed to addressing social, economic, and environmental issues.

Our student-focused Enactus Action4Good Hackathon offered hands-on opportunity for students to explore these themes and questions. Our changemakers collaborated to ideate creative and impactful solutions to real-world problems, thus, displaying the kinds of mindset, social responsibility and innovation we seek to cultivate the next generation of leaders. In line with our mission and values, the hackathon inspired students to view disruptions, not as a limitation, but an opportunity for responsible entrepreneurial action and impact.

As part of our participation in the IEEC, we joined a panel talk on ‘Rethinking Measures, Access and Competition in Enterprise Education’. This panel talk raised questions on the nature of enterprise education concerning: 1) Are traditional metrics such as revenue and jobs still relevant when assessing sustainable impact? 2)Does treating enterprise education as extracurricular help or hinder equal access? 3) Does competition in this space risk leaving some learners behind?

Change and impact extends beyond young people and students, to organisations like ours. That’s why we’re committed to engaging with them. By doing so, we aim to improve our programmes and stay true to our mission: cultivating the next generation of responsible leaders.

We are deeply moved by the insight and ambition displayed by the students at the IEEC. We are grateful for Enterprise Educators UK for organising such a thought-provoking conference, and to Manchester Metropolitan University for hosting us. We are proud to collaborate with a network of educators and changemakers to support young people as they shape a more sustainable future.