Ian Robertson, Chief Executive of NCGE said:

"Entrepreneurship was evident and embedded in every part of Queen's University Belfast, from its leadership through to its teaching and student impact. It demonstrated excellence in all areas of the award: strong leadership at all levels; tremendous engagement with students in a diversity of learning opportunities; and a clear, tangible impact on staff, business and the local community. NCGE is proud to award Queen's University Belfast the Entrepreneurial University of the Year Award 2009."

Paul Hannon, Director of Research and Education at NCGE said:

"Queen's were simply an excellent example of what we were looking for from an entrepreneurial university - strong leadership and vision; real student engagement; innovative faculty; and clear evidence of the impact they have made in their local environment."

An entrepreneurial University is defined by a number of characteristics:

• Strong leadership that develops entrepreneurial capacities for all students and staff across its campus; 
• Strong ties with its external stakeholders that deliver added value; 
• The delivery of entrepreneurial outcomes that make an impact to people and organisations; 
• Innovative learning techniques that inspire entrepreneurial action; 
• Open boundaries that encourage effective flows of knowledge between organisations;
• Multidisciplinary approaches to education that mimic real-world experience and focus on solving complex world challenges; 
• The drive to promote the application of entrepreneurial thinking and leadership.

The award, given to Nottingham University in 2008, attracted many impressive entries and the standard of all shortlisted universities was extremely high against the criteria. This demonstrates the long term commitment of higher education institutes to engaging in enterprise and entrepreneurship, which will consequently help to sustain the UK economy.

The shortlisted Universities were:

• Coventry University
• University of Hertfordshire
• University of Portsmouth
• University of Surrey
• University of Strathclyde

Ian Robertson, Chief Executive of the NCGE said:

"The standard of the shortlisted entries was extremely impressive this year and it was extremely difficult to choose an overall winner. I would like to personally congratulate all 6 universities on their fantastic contribution to entrepreneurship within higher education."