Marcus Simmons
Course Leader, Entrepreneurship & Innovation Management MSc
Marcus is a multi-award-winning entrepreneur who in 2016 swapped the board room for the classroom and found a new passion – educating students in the exciting, challenging and rewarding world of entrepreneurship.
Marcus started his work career in the UK and US textile manufacturing industry before progressing to management consultancy, working on projects for clients as diverse as Asda, Co-op Funeral care, Kenwood Appliances and ING bank, plus a wide range of SMEs. Like many people in the late 1990's Marcus become interested in the possibilities presented by the internet and world wide web. In 2001 he co-founded a web design company, which then led to founding an accommodation finding and booking directory in 2003 called iknow-uk. After a slow and shaky start the company grew to a multi-million-pound business employing over 50 people within eight years and won numerous awards along the way, including two national business awards for use of technology and growth strategy, plus BT Essence of the Entrepreneur of the Year in 2010.
Marcus exited the business in 2015 and started lecturing on a range of enterprise and entrepreneurship modules at undergraduate and MBA level in the Northwest of England. He set up and led an MBA project at St Catherine's Hospice which created an award-winning Business/Industry Collaboration at the Educate North Awards 2019. He was module leader in MBA team nominated by students for 'Academic Team of the Year' and was nominated several times for 'Lecturer of the Year' and 'Real World Learning'.
In January 2022 he was delighted to join Cornwall Business School at Falmouth University as he had long admired the practical approach to entrepreneurship within the school and the Launchpad business incubator. There's nothing Marcus likes more than discussing potential business ideas with students and helping to turn those ideas into reality.
External Links
Qualifications
Qualifications
| Year | Qualification | Awarding body |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Fellow HEA | Higher Education Academy |
| 1990 | MSc Ergonomics | Birmingham University |
| 1989 | BA(Hons) Industrial Design | Northumbria University |
Honors and awards
| Year | Description |
|---|---|
| 2023 | Won the National Enterprise Educators Award for Entrepreneurship Catylist for the work done by the Launchpad Business Incubator team together with the MSc Entrepreneurship & Innovation Management team from the start of 2022 to the summer of 2023. The award relates to creating freelance and internship opportunities for Falmouth students plus new business stat-ups. |
| 2019 | Set up and led MBA project at St Catherine’s Hospice which created a winning Business/Industry Collaboration at the Educate North Awards 2019. |
| 2010 | BT Essence of the Entrepreneur |
| 2009 | Growth Strategy of the Year, Northern Region, National Business Awards |
| 2008 | Best Use of Technology, North West Region, National Business Awards |
| 2007 | Best of Lancashire, North West Digital Industries Big Chip Awards |
| 2006 | Excellence in E-Business, Lancashire Business Awards (BIBAs) |
| 2005 | Best Commercial Website, North West Digital Industries Big Chip Awards |
| 2004 | Start Up Business of the Year, NW Society of Chartered Accountants |
Research Interests
Research interests and expertise
I am facinated with the field of entrepreneurial education and have published two articles and spoken at several conferences about the benefits of experiential learning, which I believe is fundamental to understanding the complexities of starting and growing a business.
Research Topics
- Entrepreneurial employment
- Entrepreneurship education
- Experiential learning
Research Outputs
Publications and research outputs
Externally funded research grants information
| Collaborators | Currency | Funder | HESA Category | Project title | Value | Year ending | Year starting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GBP | Innovate UK | Knowledge Transfer Project | £115,567 | 2020 | 2018 |
Teaching
Areas of teaching
- Business start-up
- Design Thinking
- Innovation
- Leadership and Team Development
- Lean Manufacturing
- Marketing
- Operations Management
Professional Engagement
Engagement with professional associations and societies
- EEUK - Intellectual Property: "Using case IP studies: from Colin the Caterpillar to my own business copyright conundrums", April 2021
- Advance HE Employability Symposium 2021: "Increasing student problem-solving, self-confidence and enjoyment through entrepreneurial activity", April 2021
- CABS conference on Learning, Teaching and Student Experience. PechaKucha - "Experiential learning – better results, more fun and more valued", May 2019.
- LSBE Learning & Teaching Forum - Presentation - "Experiential Learning", July 2019
- UCLan CELT Conference - Inspiring Student Success, Interactive presentation - July 2019
- ISBE, Practitioner Paper, "Turning practice into theory - the lived experience of an award-winning entrepreneur turned educator", Nov 2019.
- Speaker at the Network of Tourism Academic – Presentation and debate leader - "What Makes Good Consultancy?", Dec 2019
