Support to build your own business

Here at Future Space, we can help you develop the mindset, build your skills and offer you the tools and support to create change. In partnership with Loughborough Enterprise Network (LEN) we can provide access to the LEN business building Toolkit via Handshake. They offer 1:1 online business advice appointments through MS Teams or phone call, and you can email to book an appointment. Graduates who completed their studies within the last two years can also book an appointment.

Our support has three stages:

We run regular LEN Legend online talks, one in person LEN workshop a year and events to bring disruptive thinkers and thinking into our space. We host events such as Venture Crawl in March, Founders Forums as part of our Career Insight Events, guest lectures from industry, networking opportunities, and student enterprise competitions. We also have opportunities to attend activities on our East Midlands campus including the Women in Enterprise Conference in March and LEN celebration in June.

We offer online workshops and programmes to help you respond to challenges and generate new ideas and responses to global challenges. You can join our regular sprints and challenge events. Through these you will build new teams, new solutions and new ventures. The LEN team will also offer one in person workshop in Semester 1 focused on Ideation, pitching your ideas and introducing a new entrepreneurial competition. Details will be shared via Handshake. 

You can access our internal and external idea accelerators. You have year-round access to the online Freelancer course/programme (6-weekly) and the ‘How to Get your Business Online’ course/programme (6-weekly). These are available through the LEN toolkit on Handshake. You can also access funding of up to £5,000 from our Start-Up Fund to develop and launch your own business. This is now available to students on visas in line with UKVI.

Graduates can apply to our East Midlands-based business incubator, LUinc., which brings together graduate startups, staff spinouts and ambitious founders from outside the University.  Support includes Pre-Accelerator and Investment Readiness programmes, Loughborough Venture Mentor Service and Loughborough Venture Investor Network (LVIN).  To find out more contact Incubator@lboro.ac.uk.

At Future Space we aim to teach the discipline of solving problems sustainably. The world is full of problems, which in turn create opportunities. Some opportunities can be seized by starting a new business, others by changing laws, creating impactful campaigns, or founding social enterprises and charities. Often, it takes a combination of approaches to bring about change. For this we need Changemakers.

We believe Changemaking is a team sport. Changemaking requires a diversity of thought and experience that you can connect with through the global peer group here within Loughborough University London. 

We run a student led Changemakers Club that gives students the opportunity to develop skills and experiences that can go on their CV. If you are interested to learn more about the Club contact futurespace@lboro.ac.uk.