On May 21st 2014 Swansea University hosted a Symposium entitled Entrepreneurial Learning City Regions. It was attended by forty-five invited delegates drawn from the Swansea Learning City initiative and from a number of countries engaged in developing entrepreneurial learning city regions.

The principal aims of the Symposium were:

• to contribute to the UNESCO Learning Cities initiative launched in Beijing in 2013
• to provide a forum for the exchange of experience on developing entrepreneurial learning city regions
• to explore how to make Swansea Bay City Region a model region to nurture, attract and retain entrepreneurs
• to celebrate the culture of lifelong learning in the region

First the Global challenges thrown up by the knowledge economy were described by Professor Simon Gibson, OBE. Professor Gibson is CEO of Wesley Clover, venture capitalists specialising in seeding technology companies, Chair of Digital Wales and Chair of the Alacrity Foundation. In response to the new global economy students need to be able to think like entrepreneurs: resourcefully, flexibly, creatively and globally. Alacrity organises graduates into incubator teams and matches them with demand driven opportunities which are sourced from strategic partners. The intention is for each team to create products and services which address nascent market needs and match significant customer demands, resulting to date in the creation of more than eighty successful companies.

Dr Raul Valdes-Cotera, Head of UNESCO’s ‘Global Learning Cities’ initiative, turned the spotlight on city regions. He emphasised the urgent need to anticipate the learning needs of citizens in fast-growing urban communities that increasingly have become the focus of economic activity. Many cities are keen to participate in international policy dialogue, action research, capacity development and peer learning. UNESCO’s development of the ‘Key Features of Learning Cities’ provides a framework for empowering individuals, promoting social cohesion and enhancing economic development and cultural prosperity.

Chris Shepherd is Vice-Chair and one of the founders of the PASCAL International Observatory, a global alliance of decision makers, academic entrepreneurs, researchers, policy analysts, and locally engaged practitioners from government, higher education, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and the private sector. He shared his experience of programmes focused on reinforcing engagement between Universities and their regions. He is actively engaged in ensuring universities and regions cooperate in their respective roles in developing education, research and business engagement for the benefit of whole communities.

Delegates moved on to discuss how Universities are responding to the challenges posed by the UNESCO initiative.

Professor Iwan Davies, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Swansea University, shared his vision of Swansea University’s ambitious new Science and Innovation Campus, with a focus on commercialisation and collaboration with blue-chip companies, including Tata and Rolls-Royce. Entrepreneurship is a keystone of this £450m development, one of the leading knowledge economy projects in the UK and the best example in Wales of a triple helix innovation partnership between university, industry and Government. The fundamental driver behind this partnership was the recognition that building global competitive advantage for Wales and the Swansea Bay City Region is not about building new public offices. The chosen alternative is to build new research laboratories, classrooms and innovation centres where big ideas can be conceptualised and then translated into reality.

Christina Slade, Vice-Chancellor of Bath Spa University, made a convincing case for the Creative Arts and Humanities playing an important role in the knowledge economy. Professor Slade presented current data demonstrating the financial contribution of the Creative Arts to the U.K. economy. She gave examples drawn from her university which demonstrated the variety and impact of successful projects undertaken using digital technology. Bath Spa University was ranked in the top ten of creative universities in the UK by Which? 2012 and 2013.

Professor Huw Bowen, an historian from Swansea University, showed how heritage-led regeneration has contributed to the city region economically and to local people’s sense of pride in their own history.  In particular, he provided details of a joint Swansea University and City and County of Swansea entrepreneurial partnership project, to explore ways of regenerating the site of the former Hafod Copper works.  The Cu @ Swansea project was awarded funding of £521,000 by Cadw-Welsh Government as part of the Heritage Tourism Project,  evidence of  what can be achieved when Swansea Council, Swansea University and other partners work together for the good of the city. "The market for heritage tourism in Swansea is very real and is waiting to be tapped.

Entrepreneurship experts contributed the next session.

Professor Paul Coyle, Co-Director of the National Council for Entrepreneurship in Education, teased out many aspects of the process of developing students with entrepreneurial skills and attitudes. He considered how developing this different outlook can lead to long-term economic, cultural and social benefits.

A joint presentation on developing and evaluating enhanced innovative thinking skills followed. Fiorina Mugione, chief of the Entrepreneurship Section of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) gave a global perspective on youth entrepreneurship, much of which occurs outside the formal sector. Globally, entrepreneurial dynamism is shifting towards the developing countries and UNCTAD has formulated a strategy to impact directly on this area of growth. 

Professor Andy Penaluna, Director of the International Institute for Creative Entrepreneurial Development (IICED) has worked with UNCTAD to explore and measure the creative mindset. He has developed the first entrepreneurial teacher training course in the UK at University of Wales Trinity St David. He has also been engaged in developing curricula for schools and colleges designed to foster entrepreneurial skills and attitudes in learners.

Two Swansea University PhD students presented case studies of student entrepreneurship in action. Owen Bidder, his latent entrepreneurial spirit sparked by a challenge from the Swansea University Employability Academy, created ‘What’s that Butterfly’ app and this has led to further successful commercial projects. Zack Saud outlined his success in achieving a sustainable way of commercial fish feeding that also reduces insect pests.

Partnerships, the next theme and the cornerstone of Welsh policy initiatives within the public sector was introduced by Elid Morris, manager of the Regional Learning Partnership in South West and Central Wales. She posed the question: ‘Can integrated effort and partnership within and between sectors, organisations and urban centres lead to a viable and sustainable future?’  From a practitioner’s perspective, she surveyed the research undertaken on collaboration & and pinpointed gaps worthy of further research. 

Cerys Furlong, Director of the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE Dysgu Cymru) in Wales and Anthony Hughes chairman of Swansea U3A (the University of the Third Age) and Trustee for all Welsh U3As made strong contributions describing the lifelong learning opportunities made locally and nationally by their organisations.

The efficacy of new ways of co-operative working and the use of social networks was described by Adam Curtis, a keen promoter of entrepreneurs. Adam is a Welsh Government Dynamo Role Model, Director of the incubator and co-working space Swansea TechHub,  providing  a unique environment for  technology start-ups, places where an international network of like-minded and focused tech entrepreneurs can work, meet, collaborate, network, learn and have fun. “By getting the right people together in a physical space, good things happen.” Adam is also lead organiser of Swansea’s Startup Weekend a global movement which is planning its second event to end this year’s Global Entrepreneur Week in November.

A Tale of Three Cities: practical examples completed the symposium where cities and universities by integrated effort and partnership within and between sectors, organisations and urban centres are setting out to create a viable and sustainable future for their city regions.

Delegates from three universities gave descriptive accounts of how their universities engaged with their regional communities. From Catania University (Sicily, Italy), Roberta Piazza advocated ways by which all university departments could take an active role in their communities, co-creating and co-producing new opportunities for learning. She also argued that universities, by engaging with external partners (business, industry, civil and voluntary services and the community), could spread a learning culture and contribute to regional social, cultural and economic growth

Lynette Jordan, from Glasgow University, examined the potential of the Glasgow-based 2014 Commonwealth Games to stimulate the economy and create learning opportunities both during and after the event. Strong regional, sustainable policies, participatory citizenship and new models of democracy which took into account the city’s future economic position over a longer term period - over decades rather than over a few short years - were highlighted. Glasgow’s slogan is, ‘People make Glasgow!’

Jean Preece of Swansea University’s Department of Adult Continuing Education (DACE) outlined the long and proud history of DACE’s work in the ex-coalmining and post-industrial communities of South Wales to provide progression pathways to higher education learning opportunities and employment. European funding was used innovatively to equip IT labs and provide new ICT skills for more than five thousands participants. DACE provides a part-time humanities degree offered in fourteen community centres, located in remote or socially and economically disadvantaged communities.

Judith James, of Swansea University’s Planning and Strategic Projects Unit, explained how a ‘Learning Cities’ partnership with the City and County of Swansea led to an opportunity to link with UNESCO’s Learning Cities Initiative. Following the UNESCO Beijing Declaration on Learning Cities adopted in October 2013, the Swansea Bay City Region became the first UNESCO Learning City for the UK. When piloting the UNESCO Key Features of a Learning City in Swansea, in discussion with policy makers it became apparent that strategic actions were required to regenerate the regional economy. This need, further revealed by the data, led to agreement that within Swansea Bay City Region the ‘Learning City’ initiative would focus on the development of an ‘Entrepreneurial Learning City Region’. Swansea University are leading Swansea Bay City Region to develop a case study for UNESCO, one of only six case studies world-wide.

A former President of the European Lifelong Learning Initiative and a UNESCO Professor, Norman Longworth has also been a visiting Professor of Lifelong Learning at several European universities. He managed many of the EC’s Learning City projects, developing tools and techniques to stimulate their growth. He wrote the EC’s strategy paper on learning city and region development, has written and edited books and lectured on the subject in more than 25 countries. He has worked with UNESCO, OECD and the European Commission on the same topics, and has recently helped the former to develop a network of global learning cities. Professor Norman Longworth summarised the day’s main ideas and events.

Next Steps

• The presentations made at this symposium, supplemented by invited additions, will form the basis of a book ‘Entrepreneurial Learning City Regions’ scheduled for publication in spring/summer 2015.
• The Swansea Bay City Region will be leading a PASCAL Learning Cities Networks ‘Entrepreneurial Learning Cities’, providing access to worldwide expertise and developments.
• UNESCO is preparing a publication of Learning City Case Studies, to which we have been asked to contribute a case study of the Swansea Bay City Region as the first of six cities worldwide. This will be written with the help of our regional partners.  
• Judith James has submitted an Erasmus+ European project with partners from nine other countries which would allow the partnership to develop entrepreneurial learning city regions together.

Judith James [email protected]    Jean Preece [email protected]