The Durham University Venture Lab started in 2019 with a lot of ambition. The lab offers students opportunities to collaborate on enterprising projects, and with it, the U.K. institution created an entrepreneurship center.

Having a physical space on campus “was the real catalyst for change,” says Marek Tokarski, Senior Enterprise Manager.

This prompted the university to support entrepreneurship programs that allowed the Venture Lab to hit the ground running. It engaged 350 students in its first year, and the lab has only grown in the four years since, engaging over 1,000 students in 2022.

Since the lab launched, there has been a 127% increase in the number of startups created, collectively generating the creation of more than 100 jobs and raising over £15 million.