Member Article

Record number of students take up the challenge

A sustainable housing project in Nigeria, a tax-saving website and a company that manufactures bespoke canvas shoes are just three of the winners from a record number of entries which won a share of £11,000 prize money at Newcastle University’s Enterprise Challenge Awards Dinner last week. Enterprise Challenge, which is now in its sixth successful year, is Newcastle University’s Business Planning Competition, run in association with Accenture.

PhD Architecture student Eno Nyong won the Community Impact Award, having come up with a convincing business plan for a sustainable conceptual housing project in Nigeria, together with her husband John. Eno said: “I have benefited hugely from the encouragement and support provided through the Careers Service at the university, in particular the advice given by Doug Richard (ex-Dragons’ Den), who held a one-day seminar on campus. This enabled me to ‘cut out the excess’ from my business plan and the financial forecasting software package they gave me has been indispensable.”

Nick Keeley, director of Newcastle University’s Careers Service, said: “We have had a record-breaking number of 94 entries, which suggests that students are really buying into the importance of enterprise skills for their future career. The interest from the business community in the Awards Dinner has been tremendous with all 300 tickets sold out one month in advance.”

Lisa Hyman of Accenture added: “We are delighted to be sponsoring the Enterprise Challenge Awards again this year because as a company, we encourage innovation and this initiative offers a great springboard for creativity, offering the support these entrants need to grow their ideas and help them materialise.”

The Enterprise Challenge competition is held annually and is organised and hosted by the Careers Service on behalf of Newcastle University. For more information on the competition, visit www.enterprise.ncl.ac.uk.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .