People
Founding Director: Joanne J. Zhang is a Professor of Entrepreneurship and Strategy at the School of Business and Management, Queen Mary University of London, and a research associate at the University of Cambridge. Joanne has built the Entrepreneurship Hub from scratch since 2019, co-creating and delivering innovative and purpose-driven entrepreneurship programmes and activities, including the award-winning Queen Mary Social Venture Fund —the first student-led social venture fund in the UK investing in student-led social ventures, and the QMUL-ReMAKE programme—a pioneering initiative supporting prison leavers through self-employment and employment. Her leadership extends to securing the Small Business Charter Accreditation and driving engagement with SMEs, local communities, and entrepreneurial ecosystems.
Joanne was named “Entrepreneurship Educator of the Year” at the Triple E European Awards (2022). She also received the QM President and Principal's Education Excellence Award in 2021 (for QMSVF) and 2024 (for “Co-creating AI best practices with students and staff in HE”). The latter was shortlisted for the global OS Reimaging Education Awards 2024. A passionate educator and innovator, Joanne also co-founded an EdTech startup that was a finalist in the 5050tech Challenge for female-led tech startups, championed by Baroness Martha Lane Fox. Joanne is frequently invited to speak at leading international forums, including the OECD, EFMD, NESTA, and the UK Technology Strategy Board.
Deputy Director: Gloria Appiah is a lecturer in Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) and serves as the Deputy Director of the SBM Entrepreneurship Hub. In this role, she supports various programs and activities aimed at fostering student entrepreneurship. Gloria is dedicated to helping new and small businesses thrive, with a particular focus on those that positively impact their owners and stakeholders.
Beyond her work at QMUL, Gloria is a co-founder of Ezer Mamapreneurs, a social enterprise that empowers Ghanaian women from disadvantaged economic backgrounds to start and grow their businesses. In addition to providing strategic oversight, she offers business coaching to help these women develop an entrepreneurial mindset and successfully manage their enterprises.
Entrepreneurship Hub Manager: Luke Mitchell leads the strategic direction and day-to-day operations of the Entrepreneurship Hub, working in close partnership with academic directors. With experience as a manager in student enterprise since 2016, he previously founded and ran a youth marketing business for a decade. In 2024, Luke led the university team recognised as Entrepreneurship Catalyst at the National Enterprise Education Awards and commended for excellence in inclusion. Passionate about entrepreneurial skills development, he recently published a practical workbook aligned with the EntreComp Framework: The Complete Founder.
SBM SKETCH Coordinator (Student Knowledge Exchange Through Community Hubs): Anna Glarin leads on interdisciplinary and entrepreneurial projects and initiatives. Prior to QM, Anna co-led participatory arts company Project Phakama until they closed their doors for good in 2023. Phakama was based in the Arts Research Centre at Queen Mary University and worked closely with local communities and the QM Drama department. For several years prior to this, Anna managed arts programmes for all ages for Coin Street Community Builders on the South Bank. Anna’s entrepreneurial spirit saw her help set up North London Swedish School in 2010. In 2015 she set up her own CIC, Waterloo Community Theatre. She is also the co-founder of Curious Collective, an all-female led organisation seeking new insight for community health, working with communities.

Faculty members: Meet our academic staff members.
Advisory board: The Entrepreneurship Hub has an advisory board consisting of leading social innovators, serial entrepreneurs and alumni from the School of Business and Management. These include representatives from Affinity, The Big Issue, Trust for London, Six and Green Purposes Company.
The QM Business and Enterprise Society is a student-led society that allows students to explore their career options whilst building memorable and long-lasting friendships. They work to create a community of future innovators in business by organising a range of talks, workshops and social events, including the annual Social Entrepreneurship Summit. Students interested in learning more can follow the society on Instagram (@qmbes).
Entrepreneurial mentors: We are always looking for voluntary mentors to nurture student venture capitalists who take part in the Queen Mary Social Venture Fund.
Who: Experienced professionals with expertise in entrepreneurship and innovation, socially responsible and impact investment, or venture capital.
When: It is expected that a mentor would spend around 1 hour per week with their mentee, for four weeks, during semester B (Feb – April).
What: You will be mentoring and coaching a small group of student investors, as they work to find a potential student-led social venture, and organise a panel event on social entrepreneurship and impact. You will provide guidance and feedback on how students approach their tasks. The mentoring sessions can be done either face-to-face or virtually.
If you are interested in becoming a mentor for our student enterprise projects, please email ent-hub@qmul.ac.uk.