Prof. Terence Brannigan inspires next generation

SERC’s Bangor Campus hosted its first ‘Get the Edge’ project with an Entrepreneurship Masterclass featuring Prof. Terence Brannigan.

Prof. Brannigan is a hugely successful entrepreneur who is currently the Chair of NI Tourism and the Long Kesh Development Board. He is also a visiting professor for Ulster University.

The masterclass was opened by SERC Head of Enterprise and Entrepreneurship, Kieran Mckenna who introduced the reasoning behind the class which was to build on previous enterprise activities that have taken place at SERC and reinforce the importance of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial skills.

The was followed by Director of Curriculum and Information Services, Dr Michael Malone who presented SERC’s Entrepreneurial strategy.

He said “The first step is to create an entrepreneurial environment and look at how we assess and how we get our students to learn with the objective being how do we grow more entrepreneurs. Secondly, through ‘Get the Edge’ SERC is committed to enable students to stand out from the rest.”

John Kelly, managing director of Fingerprint learning provided a background to Prof. Brannigan as well as an insight into Entrepreneurship in Northern Ireland.

As Prof. Brannigan took to the stage the attendees were eager to hear his stories of his wide range of experience across different industries. He discussed that over the years he believes that there is no such thing as a typical entrepreneur.  

He said “Entrepreneurs come from every background, every type, it’s not restricted and it’s a journey you can take.”

Coming from a working-class background, Prof. Brannigan grew up with a family of 8 siblings and started working at a very young age. He himself admitted he didn’t know that he was entrepreneurial until someone told him.

Through his first business, Compass Group, which provided catering services to the Ministry of Defence (MOD), Terence grew his first “Rising Star Business.” Terence stated that Compass Group got into the market early, grew substantially and it took competitors years to catch up.

Terence admitted that he secured the contact to go overseas without asking permission from his fellow board members as he believed that they needed to expand, and it was the best decision that they had ever made in terms of growth.

Terence said, “You need to be unconventional to succeed.” In his own mind Terrance said that “An entrepreneur is a person who conceives a business idea, who is unconcerned with the risks and convention and is single minded in their approach and delivery.”

In closing SERC Principal and Chief Executive Ken Webb thanked Terrance for providing a truly inspiring talk.

He said “Our partnership with Terrance will allow our students to learn and grow and will help Northern Ireland become world class once again.”