The SPARK Conference for young entrepreneurs took place 16 November 2012
Good company – new role supports business-minded students
Enterprising students are receiving support with their business ideas – through the creation of a Student Entrepreneur in Residence (SEiR).
The part-time role was taken on twelve months ago by new alumnus Tom Carrington-Smith who founded his own company UniSport in 2010 while still an undergraduate. He has been able to split his time between helping current students and growing his own business.
The aim of the role is to support a wide range of current students, from those who have a developing idea to those who are already running a business and need specialist advice.
During his time in the post, Tom has had meetings with 52 different students who have business concepts or fully-fledged companies. Nine new businesses have been created by current students and there are a number of others currently developing their ideas further.
The SEiR role also saw the creation of a Founders’ Club for student entrepreneurs. So far the Club has a membership of 12 and acts as a support and networking group to those running their own businesses.
The Student Entrepreneur in Residence post was paid for through support from the Annual Fund, with match funding from the Innovation Centre and the Students’ Guild.
The Annual Fund, Guild and Innovation Centre are continuing to support the project in its second and third years, through the recruitment of another recent graduate to build on the work carried out by Tom. The SEiR will also play a key role in managing a range of Entrepreneurial Support activities, such as business plan competitions & pop-up shops as well as working closely with the Entrepreneurs’ Society and the Students in Free Enterprise (SiFE) team.
