Student Enterprise

Ignite 2012 – Be part of it!

Places for current Cardiff University students still available – applications must be received by midnight of Thursday 23rd February.

For further details and to apply visit www.ignite2012.co.uk now!

Virtual Enterprise Conference 2012

Want to hear about the student who set up GaBoom the UK’s first site for trading video games online?

Or how one man left a promising career in advertising at a top UK firm to pursue his passion for developing ideas and starting business?

Back for 2012, Glyndŵr University’s Virtual Enterprise Conference will host speakers with inspirational web business success stories. The UK wide event, held from Wednesday 22nd – Thursday 23rd of Feb 2012, will focus on the opportunities available for students, businesses and entrepreneurs to develop products and services online

Day 1 of the conference gives you the opportunity to hear from:
Jessica Radcliff – CEO & Founder of GaBoom the UK’s first video game trading website.
Josh Liu – Founder of MinuteBox.com a portal which allows experts to charge micro sums for their advice.
Simon Grice – Serial internet entrepreneur and founder of Belocal a website connecting local people, services and events.

Day 2 of the conference will be held in Second Life, affording the opportunity to explore this amazing virtual world and what it can offer entrepreneurs with a range of guest speakers from education and industry including John Lester, returning for his third year to discuss the changing nature of virtual worlds, Dr David Bozward serial entrepreneur and specialist in mobile communications and John Ulotti a web designer and local small business owner joining is for his first ever conference presentation.

A Cardiff University student’s blog post regarding last year’s event: http://enterprisecardiff.net/2011/03/virtual-enterprise-conference-2011/

Successful applicants will travel from Cardiff to Wrexham by train on the afternoon of Tuesday 21st February arriving back in Cardiff on the evening of Thursday 23rd February. Travel and accommodation costs are covered.

For further details or to apply please contact enterprise@cardiff.ac.uk

Ignite 2012 – 24 hours to make a profit!

The Ignite programme offers you the chance to become more enterprising, creative, employable and learn more about setting up a business. Using the model of business start-up as a vehicle for enterprise skills development, the programme aims to cultivate innovative individuals who can spot opportunities, tackle problems and work out original and inventive ways to change things for the better.

The event is designed to offer participants a range of experiences and benefits relevant to their professional development. Areas addressed during the programme will include:

• The role of networking
• Techniques for sound communication
• Differences between traditional and social businesses
• Team working skills
• Creative thinking skills
• Appreciate different ideas
• Strategic thinking
• Decision making skills
• The importance of marketing
• Pitching, presentation and negotiation techniques
• The initial challenges of going to market

Ignite is a Welsh Government funded intensive programme which has experienced year on year success. It is a joint collaboration between Cardiff Metropolitan University, University of Glamorgan, University of Wales, Newport and Cardiff University. Fifteen students from each institution attend Ignite, providing a unique opportunity to work with participants from different institutions in this innovative and exclusive context.
Ignite utilises a variety of teaching and learning methods to develop the skills and abilities of participants. Some highlights of the week include workshops on creative thinking skills, tips surrounding personal projection and control, workshops delivered by local entrepreneurs and speakers discussing a range of relevant issues including the hot topic of social enterprise.

Ignite culminates with a 24 hour business challenge. Students will pitch for their seed money in a tough Welsh Dragons Den. The challenge involves going out into the city of Cardiff to put what has been learnt to the test through various negotiation and selling techniques. Participants will be challenged to develop and implement a business idea from scratch, with the aim of making a profit within one day!

What do students say about Ignite?

We had sessions aimed at teaching us how to devise an effective market strategy, after which teams had to give mock pitches for the various creative but fictitious business enterprises each team came up with. It was clear at the end of all these activities that they were carefully devised to teach us various aspects of starting a business, in a way that was fun and unforgettable…we all had so much fun.
David Kemmer Amoda

I decided to stay in Cardiff for an extra week (and a bit) to take part in Ignite 2010. The event is set up by Cardiff Universities with Glamorgan, UWIC and Cardiff Uni students attending. And I will say now that it has been one of the best experiences of my life so far.
Adam Rush

Thanks everyone (especially the organisers) that was a brilliant week, definitely my best experience of Uni so far!
Symon Irving

Details
The event runs from 5pm Thursday 1st March to Sunday 4th March.
For more information please visit www.ignite2012.co.uk or email enterprise@cardiff.ac.uk

Impress lots of entrepreneurs

Capital Cardiff is annual event with the aim of connecting the local business community. This year young people are being offered the opportunity mix with local firms in a one off challenge to solve a real business problem. Employers and entrepreneurs will be on hand to support development and cast their eye over the next generation of gradate talent in a workshop.

To enable the student and entrepreneur mix, Student Enterprise Cardiff will be hosting a one off workshop that will test the aptitude of students in being able to make a difference. Employers desire graduates that can solve problems. This workshop will allow students to demonstrate their problem solving and innovative capacity (in front of those that they may want to impress!)

We are now looking for capable individuals to represent themselves in a one off challenge. Do you have what it takes? Register now or talk to one of the team .

Date: Wednesday 29th February
Time: 2-4pm

Creative Thinking, 11am today

Employers are looking for graduates who are able to offer lateral thinking and new ideas to their business. Today’s 11am workshop aims to define innovative thinking, offering practical steps to generating new ideas. If you’re interested in becoming more innovative in your approach just turn up at the SDU, Students’ Union for 11am. This activity is eligible under the Cardiff Award.

Build a Business & win an iPad 2

This Monday evening Cardiff Students will be challenged to outline a new business concept that could be housed in a vacant Students’ Union unit. The idea for a one off, ‘what would you do’ competition is being led by the Academic and University Affairs Officer Sam Reid. Sam is keen to highlight the development opportunities held with the Students’ Union and said, “the Build a Business Competition will end the first day of the Students’ Union Refreshers Week, with lots of new and innovative ideas, and one Cardiff Student walking away with an iPad 2!”

Apple Education is supporting the Competition which is looking for a new and exciting idea to be housed within retail space held with the Students’ Union. There is nothing to say that you could not take the idea forward, but for the moment this challenge is about finding the most workable idea.

Samantha Alice Reid is still looking for candidates who must be willing to talk through their ideas in front of a carefully selected panel this Monday. If you have an idea email academicofficer@cardiff.ac.uk before midday on the 30th saying, “I want to Build a Business, so tell me more…”.

Refresh your future & win an iPad 2

We hope that you enjoyed the first semester and are ready to start the year with a bang. Refreshers Week is your light at the end of the tunnel. We know that you have all been studying hard for exams or burying yourself under books in the library so we have put on a fantastic week of activities and events to rejuvenate you for 2012!
Refresh Your Future is set to be a great start to Refreshers Week 2012, and will help improve the job prospects of all those who get involved.

For more details about any of the Refresh Your Future events, see facebook.com/RefreshYourFuture or contact AcademicOfficer@cardiff.ac.uk to register your interest.

Feel the pressure and get prepared with mock interviews from:

Champions Life Academy: The Kitchen: 10am -3/4pm
(to book interviews, email academicofficer@cardiff.ac.uk)

Santander: Santander Branch, Ground Floor: 10am-3pm
(to book interviews please go to Santander from the 23rd Jan onwards)

Welcome Crew Interviews: The Lounge: 10am-4pm
(to book interviews, email academicofficer@cardiff.ac.uk)

Come and hear what top employers want to say and go to workshops from:
Endsleigh: You’ve Got Skills: 10am-11am, The Lounge
Ernst and Young: How to Use Social Media for Effective Career Planning: 11am-12pm, The Lounge
Student Enterprise: Creative Thinking Workshop: 11am-1pm, SDU
Ernst and Young: Commercial Awareness: 1pm-2.30pm, The Lounge
Networking Workshop: 2pm-4pm, Student Development Unit
Rate My Placement: How to get a placement: 4pm-5pm, The Lounge

Email academicofficer@cardiff.ac.uk to register your interest in attending workshops and talks.

Build a Business Competition Take part in the “Build A Business Competition” – win the opportunity to present your business ideas in front of the Dragons at the “Official Launch of the Cardiff Award” and win 2 iPads 2s (kindly donated by Apple Education) + a selection of other prizes provided by employers, who knows you may even bag yourself an internship!! For more information on sign ups please see: www.cardiffstudents.com and look out for our Facebook pages: ‘Cardiff Union’s Build a Business Competition’.

Come along to the launch and hear a talk from a top entrepreneur on how to go far in YOUR FUTURE: 6pm-8pm Solus.

For more details about any of the Refresh Your Future events, see facebook.com/RefreshYourFuture, contact AcademicOfficer@cardiff.ac.uk to register your interest or just pop along to the Union on the day!

Wishing you an enterprising new year

The Enterprise Cardiff team will not now be available until the week commencing 23rd January, when our new programme of events will be available. We wish you a happy holiday period and an enterprising new year.

StuConnect

StuConnect is a new, on trend skill-sharing website aimed at ambitious students and graduates from universities across the UK. Think Facebook for young entrepreneurs, the ultimate social-networking pool of human resources and job opportunities for the skills you possess! This together with competitions, events and advice all absolutely free – what more could one ask for?

So are you creative? Do you have a business idea or an existing business? Want up-to-date information that could boost your chances of employment/self-employment?

Or perhaps you would like to earn some extra cash while at uni? Then StuConnect is the site for you!
Get involved by registering here and create a profile to become a part of the growing StuConnect family!
info@stuconnect.co.uk  / @realstuconnect

Upcoming Webinars

‘Knowing your market’ and ‘Being an Employer’ and ‘Cashflow’ Webinars are now available to view. This webinar is being hosted by HMRC and will cover all the steps needed for when you are hiring for the first time.

NOT just for businesses or potential entrepreneurs; Undergrads, seriously boost your employability by attending this Webinar and get a better understanding of how people management and the job market work

To register and find out more follow either of these links.