Make your Place (MYP) is an inclusive place based sustainable enterprise challenge. It is built upon the EntreComp Framework for Entrepreneurship (Bacigalupo, Kampylis, Punie & Van den Brande, 2016), the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and the Gatsby Benchmarks. The programme is a collaboration between the University of Southampton, Southampton City Council, and the Solent LEP, and has so far been delivered to almost 200 pupils Year 9 pupils across Southampton. It has run as an open event at the ESRC Festival of Social Science and has so far produced three conference papers including one at the International Enterprise Educators Conference (2023) under the Sustainability Track.
The purpose of this challenge is to get young people to think about their town or city, its economy, its importance to the UK, and how they can contribute – through a career, enterprise, study, etc. They then develop ideas for products, services and initiatives that could support the economy and sustainability of the city by analysing its key strengths, activities, and markets. In doing so, they develop ideas about what future towns and cities might look like, and what opportunities might be available to them. The programme was launched last year and over 200 Southampton children took part. It has recently been independently evaluated and the report concluded that:
“The evidence […] suggests that the programme is strikingly successful in achieving the targets in careers, enterprise and place criteria. What is more, most student and teacher feedback supports the view that participants find the experience engaging, enjoyable and even exciting in many cases.”
Why is it important?
• Gives young people the opportunity to develop innovative and sustainable ideas about what future towns and cities might look like and explore what opportunities might be open to them.
• Meets 6 of the 8 Gatsby Benchmarks for enterprise education.
• Contributes to University Commitments to Place by being an active partner in the city, working with our civic partners to build sustainable communities, transform educational opportunities, and strengthen economic prosperity, as well as fostering collaboration across faculties.
• Provides training and development for PhD students.
Benefits of the challenge
• Offers participants the opportunity to develop an appreciation for the range of opportunities offered by where they live – their ‘place’.
• Time and space to ‘think outside the box’ – to think creatively about how they can develop and lead sustainability initiatives.
• Think deeply about a sector or business that interests them.
• Produce an output that can be shared with policy makers.
• Explore the future of work