The Company of Entrepreneurs has been formally affiliated with the Defence Academy of the UK since 2017. Both the Defence Academy and the Entrepreneurs’ Company promote innovative thinking, resilience and adaptability, and the relationship has grown very positively over the years.
 
Part of the “innovative thinking” intersection of the affiliation has been explored in more detail by a new paper published through CDERA (Centre for Defence Education Research and Analysis). This is the result of a joint project between the Company of Entrepreneurs, the Defence Academy of the UK, and the Worshipful Company of Educators, which explores neurodiversity as a component of success in a military context.
 
Research shows that the prevalence of neurodiversity (conditions such as dyslexia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autism spectrum conditions) is statistically higher in entrepreneurs when compared to wider populations, and the Defence Academy has long expressed an interest in exploring whether there are military advantages to recruiting and adjusting for neurodiversity in the armed forces.
 
This year-long joint initiative gathered case studies from Freemen Entrepreneurs detailing how their neurodivergence had shaped their entrepreneurial journeys. The research looked at the challenges as well as the rewards of thinking differently, and considered the lifestyle and medical accommodations that neurodivergent entrepreneurs had made to enhance or control their conditions.
 
The outcome is a short and readable paper “THE UK ARMED FORCES AND THE OPPORTUNITY OF NEURODIVERSITY”, which is intended to brief and inform policy and decision makers in defence.
 
The experience of this project has been one of enthusiastic joint effort, and the Master Entrepreneur, Mr Mark Huxley, praised the collegiate and cheerful work between the team from the Company of Entrepreneurs, and their counterparts at the Worshipful Company of Educators.
 
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