Grow Skills. Build Mindset. Make Impact.
Overview
Cultivating an Entrepreneurial Mindset
At RGU, we are committed to helping you develop an entrepreneurial mindset - an essential foundation for success in today’s fast-moving and complex world. This mindset equips you with highly transferable skills that enable innovation, strategic thinking, and effective problem-solving across disciplines.
Through immersive training programmes, engaging events, and practical, hands-on projects, you will build capabilities such as evaluating risk, identifying opportunities, making informed decisions, and applying creative solutions in challenging environments.
Entrepreneurship extends beyond the act of starting a business; it represents a mindset that fosters both personal and professional development. It cultivates adaptability, resilience, and strategic vision which are qualities essential for navigating uncertainty and driving meaningful change with confidence.
The award enables you to transform a wide range of experiences, including internships, part-time work, course projects, international exchanges, freelance roles, and community engagement, into a coherent and impactful narrative that highlights innovation and personal growth. By reflecting on the competencies you have developed, and the challenges you have navigated, you will be well prepared to articulate your accomplishments and demonstrate your capacity to contribute effectively in an increasingly dynamic and complex environment.
Skills
There are a wide variety of skills you could demonstrate across all three levels of the award that reflect the values of an entrepreneurial mindset, these include:
- Accountability - Taking ownership of decisions, actions, and outcomes; learning from failure and using reflection to continuously improve entrepreneurial practice.
- Adaptability - Responding positively to change, uncertainty, and feedback by adjusting ideas, approaches, or strategies as contexts evolve.
- Analysis - Interpreting data, feedback, and market insight to assess feasibility, manage risk, and refine innovative solutions.
- Collaboration - Building effective partnerships and working across teams, disciplines, and sectors to co‑create innovative outcomes.
- Communication - Articulating ideas, insights, and value propositions clearly and persuasively to diverse audiences, including stakeholders and partners.
- Creativity - Generating original ideas and novel solutions that challenge existing practices and create new value.
- Critical Thinking - Evaluating problems, opportunities, and evidence to inform sound decision‑making in complex and uncertain environments.
- Curiosity - Exploring new ideas, asking insightful questions, and engaging with emerging trends to identify opportunities for innovation.
- Influence - Inspiring, persuading, and motivating others to support ideas, drive change, and contribute to shared entrepreneurial goals.
- Initiative - Proactively identifying and acting on opportunities, demonstrating self‑direction and momentum in the development of ideas.
- Integrity - Acting ethically and responsibly, building trust, and making values‑led decisions that support sustainable innovation.
- Interdisciplinarity - Integrating knowledge, perspectives, and methods from multiple disciplines to address complex challenges creatively.
Award Criteria
Eligible for RGU students only.
Bronze – Exploring entrepreneurial thinking
- Identify an activity or initiative you have completed where you have demonstrated the Entrepreneurial Mindset Skills. This can include a project from your course or your wider experience and focus on the development of skills and how this has or will help you in the future. Use the the Skills Tracker to help identify these activities.
Silver – Developing Entrepreneurial Skills
Reflective submission focus - Application and demonstration of entrepreneurial skills in practice.
- Completion of a practical activity demonstrating entrepreneurial thinking (e.g., leading a project, solving a real-world problem, initiating a new idea) either from university or your wider experience.
- Minimum of 300 word written reflection using the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result), framework, or a 2–3 minute audio/video reflection explaining the context, actions taken, and lessons learned.
Supporting evidence (choose one or more):
- Screenshots, photos, or documents showing the activity or outcome.
- Feedback from a peer, mentor, or supervisor.
- A short summary of impact (e.g., what changed, who benefited).
Gold – Leading with Entrepreneurial vision
Reflective submission focus - Leadership, impact, and sustained entrepreneurial contribution.
- Completion of a significant initiative or sustained contribution (e.g., founding a student society, running a campaign, developing a product or service, leading innovation in work placement or part time work or project).
- Minimum 750 word written reflection using STAR, with emphasis on learning, resilience, and leadership, or a 3–5 minute audio/video reflection capturing the journey, challenges, and impact.
Supporting evidence (choose two or more):
- Portfolio of work (e.g., reports, designs, presentations).
- Testimonials or endorsements from stakeholders.
- Metrics or outcomes (e.g., number of participants, funds raised, feedback scores).
- A short impact statement (e.g., how it influenced others or created change).
Find out more
Current students can find out more about the Denis Law RGUplus Award: