19/04/2012
The Grad Factor – An opportunity for budding Cardiff University student entrepreneurs
‘The Grad Factor’ – the first university student digital TV show dedicated to graduate employment and student enterprise & entrepreneurship in the UK is to be screened from April 2012. The show creators are pleased to announce that they will be heading to Cardiff to film one of the shows on 25th April 2012!
The show will visit five different regions, examining differing industry sectors at each. The makers of the show will be visiting Cardiff next Wednesday and will be examining entrepreneurship in relation to the legal sector. As part of its ‘Grad Den’ section of the show, the makers hope to showcase three exciting Cardiff student business enterprises, the most popular of which will have a chance of appearing in a grand series finale in London in June 2012.
If you would like to get involved, please email hello@gradfactor.co.uk. You will need to declare whether you are looking to pitch for financial investment to get your business moving, offering a stake of the company in return – or whether you are already trading and are therefore presenting your product or service for the additional promotion and customer interest and gain the show will provide.
More about the show:
‘The Grad Factor’ – an engaging topical show that will offer students tips and advice on graduate employment, providing new work experience opportunities and live interviews with graduate employers. How graduates get jobs, what firms look for, how to succeed in job searches and interviews, and providing crucial insights into firms across various different sectors. The show will also champion student entrepreneurship providing mentoring and start up support to new student enterprises from around the UK.
‘The Grad Den’ – similar to Dragon’s Den this segment of the show will champion student entrepreneurship. Budding student entrepreneurs will be invited onto the show to pitch their business ideas to a live student audience from a particular region. It will showcase and link local entrepreneurs and local universities and lead onto a Grand Final to be filmed from London where the most popular student entrepreneurs as voted for by the university student population will pitch to a panel of successful entrepreneurs to win investment and mentorship to get their business off the ground.
11/04/2012
05/04/2012
20 days to Spark2012
6 Easy steps | 10 Questions | £5000 Prize
Cardiff University’s annual Idea Competition, Spark2012 will kick off in 20 days time (25 May 2012). This year’s competition will see current students contest for prizes under 3 categories (IDEAS, PLAN & VENTURES) and one prize for the most popular idea as voted by the public.
Students will also get the opportunity to apply and get feedback online for their entries, attend relevant workshops and get support from the Enterprise Team.
Watch the space. Details to follow.
02/04/2012
Computer Science Work Placement Opportunity
SEO Work Placement Opportunity
There is an opportunity for a third year undergraduate student who has experience with search engine optimization, to have a part-time work placement. That can be used to aid your dissertation and for your future CV. Days of work are flexible to suit you.
The candidate we are looking for is someone who will be able to apply SEO to our company website, ensuring our website is viewed often and appears at the top of any search for our services. The position will involve applying skills to a real business, to improve its quantity of website traffic and enhance web marketing. The role will require you to write blogs, current news reviews of the field, and to update and strengthen the current website. Crucially, it is a role to apply your own SEO skills, not a training course.
The SEO skills required include:
• The ability to increase search ratings
• The ability to increase keyword density
• Skilled at writing blogs and communicating on forums
• The ability to get the website indexed by the search engines
• The ability to increase the prominence of the website and company
• The ability to write articles to promote the business
• The ability to assess current social media and suggest alternatives/better methods
• The ability to critique Google Analytics and report on this from your first day’s assessment to the assessment once you leave the placement
Personal skills required include:
• Attention to detail
• Good communication skills in the office
• Good time keeping
• The ability to understand a potentially difficult field of science
• Be prepared to research the industry online
If you would like to register your interest please contact Student Enterprise (third floor of Student Union building on Park Place) or email at enterprise@cardiff.ac.uk
30/03/2012
BBC3 Be Your Own Boss – Last chance to apply!
The countdown to the application closing deadline for BBC Three’s Be Your Own Boss starts now…
Budding entrepreneurs with amazing business ideas have until Sunday 8th April to apply.
Richard Reed, co-founder of innocent Drinks, has up to £1million that he is making available to entrepreneurs with brilliant business ideas.
This could be a life changing opportunity. Check out Be Your Own Boss and apply before it’s too late.
Apply for your slice of Richard Reed’s investment fund, up to £1m available: http://www.bbc.co.uk/showsandtours/beonashow/
The application process is open for a limited time so if you’ve got a great business idea apply today!
See our previous blog posts about the show: 13th March & 15th March
Follow Be Your Own Boss on twitter: @BYOBoss_BBC3
Join the Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Be-Your-Own-Boss-BBC-Three/365962350095405
15/03/2012
BBC3′s Be Your Own Boss! – Hot off the press
Further to our previous post regarding the new BBC3 show “Be Your Own Boss” comes this BBC press release issued today:
BBC Three commissions a new high stakes entrepreneurial show with Richard Reed.
The ultimate search for hot new business-blooded talent is on.
In “BE YOUR OWN BOSS”(working title) leading entrepreneur and co-founder of Innocent Drinks, Richard Reed, is on the hunt for the next generation of start-up superstars – and he’s got up to £1million to invest in the right people with the best ideas.
It took the faith and investment of one man to turn Richard and his friends’ idea into a multi-million-pound empire. Now he wants to do the same for a new wave of young entrepreneurs, bringing passion, high stakes and opportunity to the cream of young British business talent.
The search is on for groups of friends with killer ideas, hungry for a shot at life-changing investment.
The series kicks off with an attention-grabbing test of entrepreneurial skill when Richard hands the 500 best applicants some cash to see just how easily they can turn a profit. Disregarding traditional elimination formats, Richard will draw on his own business philosophy to help determine who should have a chance at the kind of big money that turns business dreams into reality.
Richard Reed said: “Setting up and running innocent with my friends has been a life-enhancing adventure. That’s why I’m excited to be part of this new series giving others the chance to have the same experience, starting their own business and setting them up to become successful entrepreneurs.”
Apply for your slice of Richard Reed’s investment fund, up to £1m available http://www.bbc.co.uk/showsandtours/beonashow/
The application process is open for a limited time so if you’ve got a great business idea apply today!
Follow us on twitter: @BYOBoss_BBC3
Join us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Be-Your-Own-Boss-BBC-Three/365962350095405
13/03/2012
BBC3 are looking for entrepreneurs with fantastic business ideas who want funding!
Richard Reed, co-founder of Innocent Drinks, has an investment fund of up to £1million that he is making available to entrepreneurs with a fantastic business idea or perhaps a business they’ve already got off the ground.
12 years ago Richard started his business with his two university friends, Adam and Jon, but it very nearly didn’t get started because they couldn’t find an investor. Today, Richard wants to give the next generation of Great British entrepreneurs a helping hand in getting started. He’s looking to meet 500 businesses to invest in.
To apply to take part in this exciting new BBC3 TV series, you need to be over 18 and will have either started a small business or have a great idea that you really want to follow through with.
Look out for updates on twitter @BYOBoss_BBC3.
Visit the BBC3 website for further details about the programme.
Visit the programme website to apply.
12/03/2012
A prime opportunity for Cardiff University student entrepreneurs
‘The Grad Factor’ – the first university student digital TV show dedicated to graduate employment and student enterprise & entrepreneurship in the UK is to be screened from April 2012. The show creators are pleased to announce that they will be heading to Cardiff to film one of the shows!
The show will visit five different regions, examining differing industry sectors at each. The makers of the show will be visiting Cardiff on the Wednesday 25th April and will be examining entrepreneurship in relation to the legal sector. As part of its ‘Grad Den’ section of the show, the makers hope to showcase three exciting Cardiff student business enterprises, the most popular of which will have a chance of appearing in a grand series finale in London in June 2012.
If you would like to get involved, please email enterprise@cardiff.ac.uk stating ‘Grad Factor’ in the email subject heading, with your contact details and a brief overview of your potential enterprise pitch.
More about the show:
‘The Grad Factor’ – an engaging topical show that will offer students tips and advice on graduate employment, providing new work experience opportunities and live interviews with graduate employers. How graduates get jobs, what firms look for, how to succeed in job searches and interviews, and providing crucial insights into firms across various different sectors. The show will also champion student entrepreneurship providing mentoring and start up support to new student enterprises from around the UK.
‘The Grad Den’ – similar to Dragon’s Den this segment of the show will champion student entrepreneurship. Budding student entrepreneurs will be invited onto the show to pitch their business ideas to a live student audience from a particular region. It will showcase and link local entrepreneurs and local universities and lead onto a Grand Final to be filmed from London where the most popular student entrepreneurs as voted for by the university student population will pitch to a panel of successful entrepreneurs to win investment and mentorship to get their business off the ground.
08/03/2012
The Cardiff Award
Are you interested in developing your skills and seeking opportunities that will enhance your CV and make you stand out from the crowd?
There is a new employability Award that has been developed by the Careers and Employability Service, the Student Union and industry called the Cardiff Award This Award recognises and rewards the efforts of students who undertake extra-curricular activities and work experience; not only that it develops, skills, self-confidence and professionalism. Those involved will REALLY stand out from other students and will have the ability to sell themselves to future recruiters. The Award is a unique scheme and places are limited to just 150 for the academic term 2012 – 2013.
To find out more watch this short video:
The Award is currently in its pilot phase and has a number of students from across the University School involved, here’s what some of them say:
“The Award has highlighted the key skills employers desire and need you to have as a graduate. It really prepares you for the world of work, giving you chance to practice skills, such as teamwork and problem solving, in active workshops, and gives huge support along the way. The Award has been a brilliant opportunity to develop the skills I already had. If you want to further your career, network with top employers, and enhance your CV, then get involved”
Helen Cameron, 2nd year English Language & Communication
“The Cardiff Award provides me with great opportunity to really make the most of and emphasise my extra-curricular activities to employers. It’s the best thing Cardiff University has ever done!”
Natalie Crawford, 2nd Year, Business Information Systems
Applications are open now! The team are recruiting for the next academic year.
The deadline for applications is Friday March 30th.
You get the opportunity to meet the Award team at the Work Experience Help Zone on Thursday 23rd February, 11am – 1pm in the Humanities Cafe, if you can’t make this then please e-mail your questions to cardiffaward@cardiff.ac.uk
You can follow us on Twitter too: @cardiffaward
Don’t miss out on this fantastic opportunity!
13/02/2012
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
