UEA appoints Entrepreneur in Residence
By: News Archive
The University of East Anglia (UEA) is helping students and staff develop their business skills with its first “entrepreneur in residence”, Jacyn Heavens, CEO of Epos Now, who will give advice and support on their current and potential ventures.
“We’re very grateful to Jacyn for giving his time to this role and delighted that he will be offering our staff and students the benefit of his experience and expertise,” said Prof Fiona Lettice, UEA’s Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation.
“Developing a culture of entrepreneurship is an important way of enabling our students to fulfil their potential, either by starting their own ventures or developing the skills they’ll need for their future careers in business. We’re very proud of the number of successful start-ups and spin-outs launched by our students and staff, and look forward to working with Jacyn to develop this even further.”
Jacyn will spend time each month in The Enterprise Centre, home to the University’s Student Enterprise team, where he’ll offer mentoring to students about their business propositions, and to staff who wish to commercialise their research and expertise. He’ll also advise on pitches for funding, hold masterclasses on starting and scaling a business, and work with UEA’s MSc Enterprise and Business Creation students.
“Jacyn’s knowledge and guidance will greatly enhance the support we already offer which includes grants from our Student Enterprise team of £250-£7,500 to help students test, launch and develop their businesses, as well as investments in academics’ innovation activities through our Proof of Concept, Development, Translational and Impact schemes” said Prof Lettice.
Recipient of the Queen’s Award for Innovation, Epos Now creates insightful point-of-sale solutions which allow businesses to streamline their operations, saving time, cutting costs and boosting profitability. Predominantly serving small and independent retail and hospitality businesses, Epos Now has made the ST Tech Track 100 for 3 consecutive years. Since the business launched in 2011, they have onboarded 30,000 customers and expanded to the US.
“It’s a huge honour to have been selected as UEA’s entrepreneur in residence and I’m really excited to hear the ideas and plans the students and staff want to get underway. Being from the area and running a business in Norwich, it’s great to see the city thriving with new upcoming talent. I haven’t had a university education, but have learnt by trial, error and experience. Hopefully, what I’ve learnt along the way will prove valuable for staff and students and my mentorship will give students a good head start into the business world.” Jacyn Heavens, Epos Now CEO.
“We’re very grateful to Jacyn for giving his time to this role and delighted that he will be offering our staff and students the benefit of his experience and expertise,” said Prof Fiona Lettice, UEA’s Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation.
“Developing a culture of entrepreneurship is an important way of enabling our students to fulfil their potential, either by starting their own ventures or developing the skills they’ll need for their future careers in business. We’re very proud of the number of successful start-ups and spin-outs launched by our students and staff, and look forward to working with Jacyn to develop this even further.”
Jacyn will spend time each month in The Enterprise Centre, home to the University’s Student Enterprise team, where he’ll offer mentoring to students about their business propositions, and to staff who wish to commercialise their research and expertise. He’ll also advise on pitches for funding, hold masterclasses on starting and scaling a business, and work with UEA’s MSc Enterprise and Business Creation students.
“Jacyn’s knowledge and guidance will greatly enhance the support we already offer which includes grants from our Student Enterprise team of £250-£7,500 to help students test, launch and develop their businesses, as well as investments in academics’ innovation activities through our Proof of Concept, Development, Translational and Impact schemes” said Prof Lettice.
Recipient of the Queen’s Award for Innovation, Epos Now creates insightful point-of-sale solutions which allow businesses to streamline their operations, saving time, cutting costs and boosting profitability. Predominantly serving small and independent retail and hospitality businesses, Epos Now has made the ST Tech Track 100 for 3 consecutive years. Since the business launched in 2011, they have onboarded 30,000 customers and expanded to the US.
“It’s a huge honour to have been selected as UEA’s entrepreneur in residence and I’m really excited to hear the ideas and plans the students and staff want to get underway. Being from the area and running a business in Norwich, it’s great to see the city thriving with new upcoming talent. I haven’t had a university education, but have learnt by trial, error and experience. Hopefully, what I’ve learnt along the way will prove valuable for staff and students and my mentorship will give students a good head start into the business world.” Jacyn Heavens, Epos Now CEO.
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