University Enterprise Zone

In 2019, the University of Hertfordshire was awarded University Enterprise Zone (UEZ) status and £1.1 million of funding to support start-up and small business and to increase economic growth, employment, and investment in the county. This award also helps us to address the grand challenges set out in the Government’s Industrial Strategy, which we are committed to supporting.

The University plays a vital role in the Hertfordshire economy; a county which has 58,000 enterprises, most of which are small businesses. The UEZ offers companies across the county access to new specialist workspaces, equipment and resources and encourages the development of talent through apprenticeships and student placements.

We welcome entrepreneurs from all backgrounds into our diverse community. Both of our campuses, that are situated at the historic site of the former de Havilland Aerodrome in Hatfield, power enterprise with highlights including 2,500m2 of life science labs and research equipment for local businesses and £550 million in export wins supported by Exemplas.

This initiative gives the University the opportunity to support many more small businesses and start-ups in the Hertfordshire region, extending the work of our existing enterprise programmes, such as our Business Incubator. Stimulating the growth of small businesses will help drive economic development, turnover and employment in Hertfordshire, leading to greater long-term investment in the region

Professor Julie Newlan MBE

Pro Vice-Chancellor (Business and International Development) at the University of Hertfordshire

How can businesses benefit?

Businesses can access our specialist workspaces, equipment and online resources to meet needs in areas such as rapid prototyping, app development, augmented and virtual reality development, sports science, food and nutrition. We also offer a collection of portable, specialist equipment for hire such as cameras, Internet of Things (IoT) development kits and advanced drones.

Alongside this investment in critical facilities, businesses can be matched with our academic experts and external advisors that cover the above technical areas, plus market intelligence, social media, finance and tax, intellectual property, commercial law and social enterprise.

The UEZ also supports early-stage development of business ideas for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) postgraduate (PG) students at Herts, through the University’s Proof of Concept scheme. Applicants are invited to share their ideas and the problem they are seeking to solve with the aim of securing funding for work such as the development of a prototype, to support market research or a feasibility study.

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