Becoming a successful creative practitioner not only involves developing your subject knowledge, but also learning how to navigate the landscape of your chosen career. At London College of Communication (LCC), we support our students and graduates to grow the skills they’ll need to establish themselves in their practice while making a living doing what they love.
Our new graduate incubation programme, LCC Accelerate, has been designed to empower emerging creatives with big ideas to take their own business concepts to the next level. Over the course of 12 weeks, graduates engage in a series of sessions chaired by industry professionals, with insights tailored to illuminate different areas of entrepreneurship ranging from ideation to finances and marketing.
Throughout the process, participants learn how to build and launch new business ideas, familiarise themselves with necessary start-up tools and frameworks, and explore successful approaches to creating a viable product, service and distinctive brand. They also have opportunities to grow their professional networks, gain pitching experience, access mentoring, and learn how to articulate the vision for their own enterprise.
Luminita Molico, Graduate Futures Manager at LCC, explained that the development of LCC Accelerate was inspired by a greater number of students opting to make their mark as freelancers and business founders after graduation rather than taking more traditional employment routes into industry.
"London College of Communication has successfully piloted the first edition of LCC Accelerate - an exciting initiative that supports recent graduates in achieving their entrepreneurial creative career ambitions.
"As Graduate Futures Manager and initiator of the programme, I responded to the increasing number of recent graduates choosing the entrepreneurial route and decided to set up this programme alongside our already extensive Graduate Support offer." she said.
"As a creative business incubator, the programme aims to empower graduates by nurturing their own business ideas, with the goal of helping them kickstart their own enterprises as freelancers and entrepreneurs after graduation. By providing support, resources, and mentorship, LCC hopes to help these graduates to turn their ideas into reality, and to make a positive impact on society.
"This project aligns perfectly with LCC's core values of tackling climate change, promoting diversity and social inclusion, and supporting positive change across the world around us. We're excited to see the long-term impact that this initiative will have on the future of our graduates' careers and our own wider College community."
After a competitive selection process, the first iteration of LCC Accelerate launched in February 2023. 12 business concepts were chosen, which represent 4 collectives and 8 individuals across Design, Media and Screen:
Throughout the programme, participants will be empowered to begin solving real-world problems, defining their own success and developing ideas that make a real impact - emphasising not only the importance of growing as an individual, but also working as a collective to drive tangible, social change.
Are you an LCC graduate? Whether you're currently running your own business, or looking for support to set one up, we want to hear from you.
Contact the LCC Graduate Futures team for further information on how we can help you on your entrepreneurial journey: graduates@lcc.arts.ac.uk
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