Paul Hannon
Job advertised in The Times Higher , July 11 2003
Paul Hannon has become the first professor of incubation and enterprise at the University of Central England.
He joined UCE from De Montfort University, where he had been working in the areas of business incubation and enterprise for more than five years. At De Montfort, Hannon collaborated with the innovation centre, which embeds enterprise across the Leicester campus, integrating academia, enterprise and professional business support.
Before his time at De Montfort, he was at Durham University, and he has also been visiting professor of entrepreneurship at Limburg University in Belgium and visiting senior research fellow at Curtin University, Perth, Australia.
Hannon's research and teaching interests are incubation, enterprise creation and support policy, and entrepreneurial learning processes and education.
His interest in the field is not just academic. Hannon is the owner/director of a small fast-growing food industry firm and is a director of the Institute of Small Business Affairs.
Graham Ross-Russell, chair of UK Business Incubation, says UCE's decision to create a professorship in the field is an important phase in the development of the business incubation industry and demonstrates how the field has matured.
Upkar Pardesi, dean of UCE's Business School, says the university is committed to supporting enterprise development and entrepreneurial activity. He adds that Hannon's appointment will enhance this process.