PROGRAMME SUPPORT UNIT SECURE EXTRA £530 000 FOR THRIVING BUSINESS SUPPORT PROJECTS

Lancaster University Business Enterprise Centre's Programme Support Unit (PSU) has secured £530, 000 in additional funding from the European Regional

Development Fund for three of its existing and two new business support projects.

One of the projects that will benefit is the Learning Tourism project which will receive an additional £130k.The project, delivered by tourism experts in the Geography department, is already well underway, providing tourism businesses with specialised support. Their first client, Farm Manager Eddie

Newsham, who received help to prepare a marketing plan to aid his bid for a DEFRA redundant buildings grant, said, "I would never have thought that the university, who I look out onto everyday, could ever help me and my business grow."

Two of the projects gaining further financial support are being delivered by the Management School, who held the Lancaster University Business Network Event to promote the projects, late last year. This was attended by the, MEP Chris

Hamilton, project staff and representatives from local businesses and also Chris Bonington, the internationally renowned mountaineer, as guest speaker. The Entrepreneurial Performance Project and the Business Enterprise Development received additional funds of £110k, and £180k respectively, which brings the total value of the Management School projects to over one and a quarter million pounds.

The fourth project to benefit is a new project called The Innovation and Technology Management Project. It will receive £84k to provide general business support exclusively for Lancaster based companies.

The fifth project, Sustech Access, is the first of to be focused solely on environmental issues and has received £25k. Several new projects on environmental sustainability are also being developed to make full use of the University's expertise in this area and regenerate the region.

Staff of the Lancaster Business Creation project are currently completing preliminary research for several business start-ups, and the other projects, the Business Support Initiative, Virtual Prototyping, and the Cumbria and Lancashire Knowledge Economy Initiative, (an ICT project) are also starting to assist companies all over the region.

The projects are also supported by the staff at the University Career's Centre, who are involved in various activities to promote business outreach. These include business workshops for staff and students, and the North West Business Access Scheme, which helps businesses by finding students with the particular skills they need to increase the competitiveness of the business, which provides students with invaluable opportunity to utilise and develop their

skills in the workplace.

If you would like further information about any of the projects, would like to get involved, or if you have any ideas for starting up a business and would like some help and advice, please contact the Business Enterprise Centre on

93230, or alternatively, come in and see us on the first floor of Bailrigg House.