Professor Gurpreet Jagpal

Gurpreet is the Pro Vice-Chancellor Business and Entrepreneurship at the University of Suffolk, driving business engagement across the institution and region and leading the development of enterprise and entrepreneurship. Gurpreet has spent the last 15 years working in universities across the UK, in roles predominantly focussing on business engagement, innovation and entrepreneurship. Blurring boundaries between education and business is Gurpreet’s passion, exploring ways that they can come together to ensure the needs of business are being met and graduates are equipped with the skills and knowledge to make a positive impact on society.  Gurpreet joined the University of Suffolk from UWE Bristol where he was the Professor and Director of the Institute for Enterprise and Entrepreneurship.

Prior to this, Gurpreet was Director of Research, Enterprise and Innovation at London South Bank University (LSBU), and CEO of South Bank University Enterprises Ltd (SBUEL) where his main responsibilities included the strategic and day-to-day operations for research and enterprise activities. At LSBU, and in a relatively short period of time, he has established an award-winning research and enterprise centre culminating in LSBU successfully securing the crown as The Times Higher Award for Entrepreneurial University of the Year.

He joined LSBU in September 2014 from University College, London (UCL) where he served as Deputy Director for UCL Advances with strategic oversight of enterprise and small business engagement activities. Previous to that he worked at University of Birmingham where he spent two years designing and delivering postgraduate and graduate enterprise programmes and held operational responsibility for the enterprise team.

Previous to that Gurpreet spent six years at Birmingham City University supporting Staff and Student Enterprise and knowledge transfer activities including working closely with Advantage West Midlands on the Birmingham Science City programme in the area of Digital Media and ICT – investing over £2m in flagship Digital Demonstrator projects. 

Gurpreet was the 2016/17 chair for Enterprise Educators UK, a UK national network of 117 universities dedicated to supporting their member institutions in increasing the scale, scope and effectiveness of enterprise and entrepreneurship education and practice. Gurpreet was also a board member of the Association of Research Managers and Administrators, UK