North-east uni business course aims to help creatives navigate challenging times

A NORTH-east university is set to offer people in the creative industries short courses on navigating the current difficult times.

Robert Gordon University (RGU) a fully-funded short course for 20 creatives, which will provide them with a raft of business support.

The Creative Entrepreneurship course equips graduates with the knowledge and skills to transition their creative practice into a viable business. It is open to those looking to start up a new enterprise, or with an existing creative business who want to take it to the next level.

The course, which will be delivered entirely online, takes participants through a number of business tools and toolkits, where they will gain expert guidance from academics and existing entrepreneurs, who will share their experiences.

This course is an accredited Master’s level qualification which allows participants to accumulate further credits and achieve a full postgraduate qualification over time.

The initiative, which is now recruiting for its third cohort, is an innovative collaboration between the University’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation Group (EIG) and the Look Again team, part of Gray’s School of Art, with funding provided by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC).

Libby Curtis, Head of Gray’s School of Art at RGU, commented: “We are delighted to be able to offer this fantastic, fully funded online short course again for 2021, extending our support for creative practitioners during these challenging times and reaching across Scotland to help build entrepreneurship skills to sustain creative businesses.”

Maija Nygren is a children’s clothing designer with sustainability at the heart of her work. She was part of the second cohort of the Creative Entrepreneurship short course and is using the skills and tools to develop her business.

She commented: “This course has hit the nail on the head for me. There is so much ambiguity in business jargon, in business models and structuring the foundation of your business. I always felt I needed to become something else, a business person, to set up my business.

“Through this course I realised that the business is me, and is built on my experience, my vision and my values. I am now using the tools I familiarised myself on the course to shape my vision, values and experience rather than vice versa.”

The call for applications is now open, with a deadline of February 14. For more information or to apply to the course please visit the website at www.rgu.ac.uk