University of South Wales opens graduate incubator hub at Newport Campus

Posted 09 June 2022

The University of South Wales (USW) has opened its second graduate incubator at its campus in Newport to help create new businesses in the city.

The Startup Stiwdio will offer space to USW graduates who are starting their own businesses and provides a range of support services, including business advice, assistance with intellectual property, and access to specialist help in a range of areas.

It will also provide a bespoke start-up business support programme, a great space to work, and the opportunity for new firms to grow their business contacts through access to various networks and events.

The University has already established one Stiwdio on its Cardiff campus - which specialises in supporting creative graduates - and another will be opened at USW Treforest Campus later this summer to support those students in science and engineering who want to start a business. To date, USW Startup Stiwdio has supported 65 graduate entrepreneurs

Three start-up businesses are already based at the Newport Stiwdio - NDT South Wales, which is a non-destructive testing engineering company; C Bloc Productions, which specialised in music videos; and Talking Reality, which makes wellbeing-focused podcasts.

The incubator programme is the brainchild of Professor Dylan Jones-Evans, Assistant Pro Vice-Chancellor for Enterprise at USW, who believes the Startup Stiwdio will play an important role in the future of the city.

“Newport is a great city with enormous potential for the future and it is critical that we get more young people to consider becoming their own boss and to start innovative new firms to create jobs and support the local economy.

“The Startup Stiwdio can act as a catalyst and a conduit for increasing entrepreneurial activity in Newport and, in doing so, become an important part of the community.

“It will also complement recent developments such as the refurbishment of Newport market and the activities emerging from the Alacrity Foundation.”

Opening the Stiwdio, Councillor Jane Mudd, leader of Newport City Council, said the facility will give graduates the opportunity to showcase the skills they have gained while studying at USW.

“We spend a lot of time talking about graduate attributes, and this is a realisation of that because it provides that opportunity for graduates to really demonstrate those skills,” Councillor Mudd said.

“There’s entrepreneurialism and creativity, innovation and resourcefulness, and it gives a real platform for them to really launch their careers. And I'm so proud that we've got this Startup Stwidio here in Newport, it means a lot to us to have this facility.”

Councillor Mudd also highlighted the strong impact the Stiwdio will have on the city.

“This really captures the entrepreneurial spirit that we have here in Newport. We've got a really, really, strong creative and innovative community - you see it in the businesses that have started up across a range of sectors.

“But what you also see is those businesses going on to employ people, more graduates, more local people as well. The growth really is tremendous.”

Further details can be found on the University of South Wales website.