Could you ignite a Spark for future generations of students at Leeds?
As the Student Enterprise and Incubation Manager for the Spark programme – the business start-up service based at the University of Leeds - I know how life-changing it can be to support students and their ideas.
Every day, I witness the transformative power of education as students ignite their innovative business ideas. With the dedicated Spark team, I support and encourage them, helping turn their passions into life-changing realities.
We want to invite you, our Leeds alumni and supporter community, in helping us to shape the future.
Enterprise has been part of the University of Leeds since its inception, with our roots stretching back to the nineteenth-century Yorkshire College of Science which was funded by forward-thinking entrepreneurial industrialists. More recently, the University has helped nurture the next generation of global entrepreneurs - with LadBible, Too Good to Go, and Seeai just some of the businesses that started life at Leeds.
The University is connected with entrepreneurs, start-ups and industry leaders in Leeds and across the region, and they all agree there’s a need for fresh, bold talent.
We are embedding enterprise, innovation and entrepreneurial thinking across the curriculum and experience of a Leeds education. This ensures that all students, regardless of their course or background, gain essential entrepreneurial skills.
But, with around a third of students intending to start their own business, demand for our Spark and Enterprise Scholarships is higher than ever.
While we are equipping more students with the skills they need, your help is needed to provide these students with tailored one-to-one support through a Spark Scholarship.
We believe that students who graduate with enterprising skills have a greater chance of long-term success. Whether by developing life-changing business ideas or excelling in their careers. Can you imagine being one of the supporters who backs a student-led venture that becomes a global success, solves major issues or makes life better for millions of people?
Spark scholarships have already helped over 350 student-led businesses.
Below you will hear from Spark scholars who turned their business ambitions into successful enterprises and are making a transformational impact across the globe. With your continued generosity, students with life-changing dreams can turn them into a reality.
And right now, our economy, country and world urgently need more innovative and enterprising solutions.
With a gift today, you will be providing expert guidance from business advisors, accountants and lawyers and the space to incubate and grow ideas with an exclusive spot on our enterprise boot camp. But more than that, being given the opportunity to fail and take risks in a safe environment can lay the foundations for future success, be that through developing self-trust and resilience or building the skills and experiences to draw upon in their future career.
Please give today and champion the next life-changing business at Leeds.
Best wishes,
Brian Baillie
Student Enterprise and Incubation Manager
University of Leeds
Meet the bright Sparks changing the world
Too Good To Go
Too Good To Go is an app that lets consumers buy unsold food from restaurants, supermarkets, and retailers to prevent waste.
Co-founded by alumnus Jamie Crummie in 2014, the app now has over 100 million users and partners with 170,000 businesses globally.
Your participation helps to build a future where food waste is a thing of the past and everyone can access affordable, quality meals.
Spark provided Jamie with networking and collaboration opportunities, helping the app grow and save millions of meals from waste.
Seeai
Seeai, a med-tech start-up, was co-founded by Masters students Saile Villegas and Reo Ogusu with a mission is to reduce hospital waiting times and improve patient outcomes using AI.
Their product, Fraxpert, detects subtle bone fractures in X-rays, providing quick and accurate diagnoses to ease healthcare professionals' workload.
Spark supported Seeai with funding and office space at NEXUS, where they collaborate with experts to refine their technology. By integrating Fraxpert into A&E departments, Seeai aims to make healthcare more efficient and reliable.
Bloomin' Buds
Katie Mahon (Theatre and Performance Industrial 2018) faced challenges attending a special measures school in a deprived area of West Yorkshire.
With support from her parents and teachers, she pursued her passion for drama and joined the Spark programme at Leeds following receipt of a scholarship. There, she founded Bloomin’ Buds, a theatre company aimed at increasing access to the arts for working-class communities.
Bloomin’ Buds builds narratives around young, under-represented people and has received numerous awards, including being shortlisted for a National Lottery Award and named Creative Business of the Year at the Bradford Means Business Awards.
Katie aims to scale up Bloomin’ Buds and help others find their way in the arts world.
Moss Nook Honey
In his first year, Harry Simpson (Economics 2023) entered the Spark Business Plan competition. Although he didn't win, he was advised to apply for a Spark scholarship.
The following year, he received £3,000, which helped him buy stock and build a website for his beekeeping business, Moss Nook Honey.
Moss Nook Honey is now nearing a turnover of £1 million, selling honey and affordable beekeeping equipment. Proceeds support beekeeping and biodiversity, contributing £600 million annually to UK crop production. The company also offers hive adoptions and pollination services for farmers, increasing crop yields by up to 25%.
Harry recently acquired Simon The Beekeeper and is expanding globally, selling in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and soon, America.
Enterprise at Leeds
At Leeds, our enterprise strategy fosters a creative, innovative mindset by guiding students through every stage of their journey.
Students at the beginning of their journey can explore their entrepreneurial potential through workshops, seminars, and networking events. As their vision starts to take shape, they benefit from tailored advice, guiding them to take confident and purposeful next steps. And for those with a developed business idea, we have multiple opportunities, including Spark scholarship, where students can turn their innovative ideas into successful ventures
Well what a year it has been! We saw the opening of Helix and our first ever Enterprise Zone on campus. We witnessed the immediate impact of our makerspace where students can come and design, build and produce prototypes of their new inventions."
Spark has powered the launch of numerous successful businesses, driving social, economic and environmental change.
Together, we can equip talented entrepreneurs with the resources they need to turn their bold ideas into lasting ventures that make a real difference in the world.
For two decades Spark has been supporting students to realise their business dreams. In 2024/25 a further 12 scholarships were awarded, with 25% from underrepresented backgrounds..
1,000 student-led businesses
have been supported by Spark and Enterprise at Leeds;
£16m revenue
generated from Spark-related businesses in the last 5 years;
£1.4m
raised by donors to support Enterprise at Leeds.
Why give a gift by direct debit?
By choosing to give regularly by direct debit, you will help us to look to the future and be bold in our approaches to the increasing demand for support and flexibility to meet students’ changing needs. Whether that’s to support their wellbeing, academic achievement or even career aspirations.
You’ll join a community of almost 2,000 alumni and supporters who are behind students every step of the way. From taking up their place at Leeds, all the way through to the day they don their graduation gown and take steps into their careers.
Keep in touch
We love to keep in contact with our global alumni and supporter community and provide updates on the latest from Leeds – including stories about the impact your generosity has across campus. Don’t miss out – update your details today.
Built with Shorthand