Dragons Den celebrity and retail millionaire Theo Paphitis is lending his support to a new degree aimed at budding entrrepreneurs.

Huddersfield University's new BA Honours degree in Enterprise Development has been designed to help young entrepreneurs start and run their own business whilst studying for a degree. Over the three-year period of their studies they will also have the opportunity to talk to several successful entrepreneurs including Paphitis, who has agreed to mentor the students with his very own 'Masterclass'.

Other inputs will come from business guru Michael Gerber who has influenced and supported the business development part of the degree. Gerber argues: "We need to re-invent the way we start a business.the current thinking isn't working and hasn't worked properly for over 30yrs. Too many small businesses still fail in the first five years of their existence. This must stop.”

Huddersfield University's Professor on Entrepreneurship, John Thompson, explained the thinking behind the degree: "Most people who start a business are good at the technical aspects of what they are doing , be it web design or language translation, chiropody or fashion design . What they are typically less good at is running a business and this affects the growth potential. In large part this is because they never trained to run a business; they trained to be a technician and they became expert at that. This degree will change the way a would-be entrepreneur starts and runs the business from the outset."