Leeds Enterprise Centre
News
LEC launch new App!
May 2012
We are excited to announce the launch of the Leeds Enterprise Centre mobile App!
The App will allow users to browse the Leeds Enterprise Centre's new elective module catalogue and find out about our MSc Enterprise programme, as well as gain an insight into what being involve in the Leeds Enterprise Centre is like featuring quotes and case studies from current students and graduates.
The App's will also have constantly changing news and events, keeping users up to date with what's going on and informing students an exciting enterprise opportunities.
Download it now!
The App is available from iTunes for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.
Download the App now from: http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/lec/id523696180?mt=8"
Win!
To celebrate the launch of the new App, those who download it will be entered into a prize draw to win Amazon vouchers. Don’t have an iPhone or IPad? Don’t worry, you can still be in with a chance of winning the vouchers - just ‘Like’ the Leeds Enterprise Centre on Facebook, write why you think developing an App could be beneficial to students, and you will be entered into the draw.*
Congratulations to our Enterprise Scholar
The new App has been developed by BoldGorilla - www.boldgorilla.com - offering social media management, strategy and consultancy. The new business venture has been set up by our very own Leeds Enterprise Scholar Nick Simm, currently on his Year In Enterprise. Nick will be officially launching BoldGorilla on Monday 28th May at the Leeds Enterprise Centre from 5pm. If you would like to come along, please notify us of your attendance at: http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/event/3559240785.
Your feedback
We’d love to know what you think about our App to we can continue to improve, please post your comments on our Facebook wall, Tweet us, or email: lec@leeds.ac.uk.
*Terms & Conditions apply.
This competition is only open to University of Leeds students.
One entry per person.
The competition will run from Thursday 17th May to Sunday 17th June 2012.
Well done to SIFE Leeds who reached the semi-finals in the National Competition.
April 2012
Student representatives from SIFE Leeds travelled to London last week to take part in the SIFE National Competition 2012.
At the end of the academic year, each of the 40 SIFE countries hold a National Competition at which the SIFE teams present the results of their projects to judging panels of business executives.
The competition gives the students and universities recognition for their hard work during the academic year while also enabling students to network with business leaders and other like-minded people from across the country.
SIFE Leeds were overjoyed to reach the semi-finals and can now say they are one of the top 16 teams in the country! The team also won ERAC's (Enterprise Rent-A-Car) Diversity Award in the opening round. Well done to everyone involved in SIFE Leeds, the Enterprise Centre is extremely proud of their hard work.
The SIFE National Competition 2012 took place on 18th and 19th April 2012 at The Britannia International Hotel at Canary Wharf.
Find out more about SIFE Leeds at lec.leeds.ac.uk/student_opportunities/SIFE
A big thanks to Leeds community groups.
April 2012
On Tuesday 27th March, we hosted a presentation lunch to meet, and present a cheque for £500 to each of the community groups who took part in the CSR in Action project; these community groups included: The Growing Zone, Holbeck in Bloom and Wyke Beck Valley Pride.
As mentioned in the news item below, Leeds students took part in a Day of Action, volunteering with one of the three projects, who do great work in the local community.
Sponsored by Santander, the CSR in Action project allowed students to work with business and community groups to learn about corporate social responsibility. In addition to this, the project allowed us to give something back to the community groups involved by providing volunteers and offering a donation to contribute to the positive impact they make to the local community.
The informal lunch-time event took place in the Leeds Business School. Representatives from the businesses and community groups involved, Leeds Ahead, Santander, LUBS and Leeds Enterprise Centre were given the opportunity to network before hearing short speeches from Nigel Lockett and Sarah Underwood, Leeds Enterprise Centre, and Sally Wright from Leeds Ahead. Nick Brennan, Santander, then presented a cheque to each of the community groups.
We received great feedback from the community groups, giving thanks to both the students, who did a great job volunteering, and to Santander for the donation, both of which are invaluable to these worthwhile local groups.
As a special thanks from The Growing Zone, they have donated two pear tree, one to the University and one to Santander, to plant on the University campus.
Success all round for the CSR in Action project.
March 2012
Wednesday 7th March saw University of Leeds students volunteer with local community projects: The Growing Zone, Holbeck in Bloom, and Wyke Beck Valley Project, planting trees, painting walls and fences, and creating a fruit garden as part of our CSR in Action project.
The CSR in Action project provided students, studying any course at the University of Leeds, with an opportunity to learn about Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) from businesses, and work with and develop a CSR plan for local community projects.
The project also gave student volunteers the opportunity to help out local communities, whilst gaining skills and experience to add to their CV.
Sponsored by Santander, students were able to network with and learn from businesses, and potential future employers, including: Logistik, Eversheds, Premier Farnell, Balfour Beatty, Grant Thornton, and Santander themselves.
The 'Day of Action' on Wednesday 7th March was a real success! We received great feedback from the students involved and the projects, with Wyke Beck Valley thanking the student volunteers for their hard working in planting over 800 trees!
"The CSR in Action Day in Kippax was truly rewarding. The most memorable aspect of this project was knowing that my participation really made a difference to the staff at the Growing Zone, and more importantly, future visitors of the Gardens that have never really had the opportunity to experience a strong sense of community. The fact that fellow students and Associates from Grant Thornton and Santander joined forces, demonstrated our shared vision in benefiting our local community. This truly made the Growing Zone project a success."
Letetia King (LLB Law finalist)
"I think this was one of my favourite activities which I have participated in at Leeds University. This project meant a lot to me because my brother has learning difficulties and extreme disabilities and so I know what difference community centres like those in Holbeck make! The work was hard and I definitely struggled to get up the next morning, but it was worth it. The team was lovely and really made us feel involved even though at times I felt like a hindrance because I have no muscle! From this project I have looked into volunteering on a regular basis when I come back to Leeds in third year. If I could have changed anything about the day it would be the lack of communication with those in which the project was designed to help; we spoke to the adults with learning disabilities during a coffee break and I think i would really have liked to spend more time with them.
I spent most of the day with Balfour Beatty and it was nice to speak to them. I also made a contact with Eversheds which led me to going down to their office on Saturday to take part in a 'Big Deal' event; the event at Eversheds has probably been the most helpful thing I have participated in regarding my future career and has sparked my passion for law once again. Without the CSR in Action scheme I would never have had such an amazing opportunity. Fingers crossed I'll get a job at Eversheds someday and I will be able to come back to Leeds University to give future students the same experience that I had. Thank you for the opportunity."
Jodie Nevin
"I volunteered in the 'Wyke Beck Valley Pride' project and helped plant trees. It is a great initiative by Leeds Ahead and I hope it turns out to be beneficial for the local community. It was definitely a worthwhile experience and we were astounded to know that we had planted around 800 trees in the space of four hours! I got immense satisfaction by volunteering in this project as I always have a feeling that I owe something back to my community. I also had a chat with employees from two companies, Logistik and Grant Thornton. It was interesting to get to know about them and how they ended up in their respective current jobs. Overall, it was a day well spent, away from the university's lecture theatres and in the local community, making a real difference!"
Kaustubh Pathak, 1st Year BSc Economics
"I helped painted a wall at the kids' area in Kippex to make it brighter and less drab. We also touched up some other walls that had got a bit dull.
It was a great experience to work with students with similar interests in taking the time out to help those people who need it. Those working on the area for kids with special needs receive no funding whatsoever so June, one of the ladies who worked there, expressed such appreciation for us coming just for half a day. Even though it was a small area of land, there was an desire to create another larger area similar to the one we worked on and it was great to learn that businesses share this desire and put effort into just helping out so that June and the other workers are able to put other funds and resources into expanding the area for those with special needs.
This experience will definitely be beneficial for my CV, looking to work with big corporate law firms, and I would definitely take part again if it was available for me to, or anything similar. Thank you."
Maya Parmar
Thank you to everyone who too part in the project and made it such a success.
Inspiring guest speaker and Leeds graduate, Nathanya Laurent, talks about Social Enterprise
March 2012
On Tuesday 6th March we were very pleased to welcome Nathanya Laurent from Healing Through Style as a guest speaker for LEC’s Enterprise and Society Lecture Series.
Nathanya talked about how she started her social enterprise while a student at the University of Leeds (in Performance and Cultural Industries) and the support that she received from SPARK and the Careers Centre. She told students of her experience working as a costume designer and stylist in the TV, film and fashion photography industries and how she was inspired to work with women who were experiencing difficult and life-changing circumstances.
Nathanya talked about how her image consultancy company, Healing Through Style, works with women who have had cancer, or mental health issues or who have experienced domestic violence. Her work helps them to build confidence and supports them in positively changing the way that they feel about themselves, helping them to recover from these experiences and work towards healthier and happier lives.
The social aims of Healing Through Style has inspired funders to offer grants and Nathanya has received funding from the University of Leeds’ Enterprise Scholarship fund and also from UnLtd, a charity that supports social entrepreneurs.
We hope that Natanya’s experiences will help to encourage those who attended to appreciate the positive social that can happen through social entperise. Those who attended certainly seemed to have enjoyed Nathanya’s talk with one student commenting: ‘Nathanya was very interesting and inspiring!’
Find out about more events like this and others through our website events, Facebook page and Twitter.
Leeds University Enterprise scholarship success story
EthicalCommunity.com, a new online marketplace selling eco-friendly and natural products founded by two Leeds graduates has secured £200,000 investment aimed at making this rapidly expanding start-up grow even faster in 2012.
Founded by Liam Patterson (Environment & Business, 2009 and LEC intern 2009-10) and Jason Dainter (Computer Science & Management, 2006). EthicalCommunity.com has already signed up over 850 sellers from around the world who use the site as a platform to help get their amazing eco-friendly products out to the masses. To date over 7,000 products are for sale ranging from organic t-shirts from eco-fashion designers in London through to Fairtrade coffee direct from Ethiopian farmers in Africa.
Alice Ridley is founder of Bhang Designs that specialises in organic baby clothing and is one of the recent sellers to join EthicalCommunity.com. "A big reason for us choosing the site to sell on was that its customers share the same values as we do and it makes it easy for small sellers like us to sell online, giving us more time to focus on the things that we are passionate about; our products and customers."
"As well as promoting great products and fantastic causes, the site also has the goal of enabling shoppers and sellers to connect in a very personal way." says Patterson.
"People looking to buy eco-friendly and natural products are often just as interested in the stories behind the products. Who made it? What from and why? These questions were previously difficult to answer when buying online, where shopping can often be a very impersonal transaction."
"This is a big problem we feel we are helping to solve with EthicalCommunity.com. Throughout the site, shoppers are encouraged to interact with the people behind the products via social networking feeds and videos from sellers filmed directly from their workshops, farms, or kitchen tables. There’s also a blogging platform which allows sellers to share their stories, tips and experiences on living a green lifestyle."
The business idea was conceived whilst Patterson was studying at Leeds University he met business partner Dainter and was awarded a prestigious Enterprise Scholarship. The Enterprise Scholarship is the first of its kind in a UK University and provides financial support and connects entrepreneurial students with mentorship from world class Alumni entrepreneurs such as Martin Penny, founder of the GHD hair irons to help undergraduates explore their business ideas.
The funding round includes investment from Leeds Alumni member Robert Barnes, founding member of Alchemy Partners as well as Mary Turner, CEO of smart home technology company AlertMe.com and board member at ASOS.com, digital advertising guru Giuliano Stiglitz, CEO of Orange Advertising Networks and technology venture investor Kelvin Au.
The business will use its new funding and angel expertise to grow its seller and shopper base, launch a new improved version of the platform in Spring 2012 and continue with its ambitious expansion targets. Says Dainter: "We’ve come a long way with the business but we have big plans, particularly with overseas markets such as the US, Canada and Australia, where eco-friendly products are extremely popular. The investment will give us a tremendous boost in this respect together with our refined marketing and IT efforts. Moreover, we now have a team of successful entrepreneurs on board whose experience and advice will be invaluable in helping us achieve our growth ambitions."
An Evening of Enterprise: The Santander Enterprise Exchange Presentation
December 2011
University House was the hub of entrepreneurial insight on Monday evening, hosted by Leeds Enterprise Centre’s students and professors.
Kier Ferris and Michael Fincham, two University of Leeds undergraduates, were joined with their research partners Leyre Zaldivar Ortiz De Zarate, and Jorge Velerdas, from Salamanca University, to present their findings from the Santander Enterprise Exchange Project.
Leeds Enterprise Centre’s Director, Professor Nigel Lockett opened the presentation evening with an introduction to the research project. The focus of the exchange was to establish differences between the family business model and entrepreneurial activity in the UK and Spain.
Salamanca University's Director of the Family Business Centre, Professor Julio Pindado, attended the presentation evening, and was joined with representatives from Santander Bank, Leeds University Business School and a host of guests from across the University.
The first phase of the research involved the students working together to conduct qualitative research through face-to-face interviews with a range of Spanish entrepreneurs in July and August. From September through to December, the students’ carried out the UK interviews and complied their research paper, a report of which will be published in due course.
The findings suggest a range of differences exist between the countries of study, which have been compiled to provide suggestions and recommendations on how each country can benefit from the entrepreneurs from each respective country.
In light of the research, Spain needs more facilities to better accommodate entrepreneurial activity while UK entrepreneurs need to implement measures to better anticipate market changes. Despite the current economic situation, the research shows entrepreneurs from both countries maintain a great level of optimism now and in the future.
The success of the exchange opportunity was shown to have been a unique life experience, uniting the European students, enriching their skills set and improving their employability.
Jorge: "These five months have been intensive but now I have improved my English language and gained a great deal of cultural awareness. But the core of the research has focused my academic skills in terms of writing an academic report and presenting it. Another thing is the networking made in Leeds, the ability to understanding different points of view: the Santander Exchange had been an experience I will never forget."
Mike: "The exchange was an enriching experience on many levels. Living and working abroad saw the development of our cultural awareness and language skills. Collaborating with my Spanish partner saw vast improvements in my communication and team working skills. While interviewing business owners from a range of sectors saw my commercial awareness and technical understanding develop immensely."
Through the course of experiencing Spanish and British culture, coupled with the experiences and skills gained, Jorge and Leyre have been awarded a Scholarship for their MBA, Keir has secured a graduate job, and Michael is currently developing his own business plan.
Leeds academic scoops best paper award at the Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship conference
November 2011
Dr Sally Jones, a lecturer at the Leeds Enterprise Centre, part of Leeds University Business School, was awarded the Best Paper prize at the 34th Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ISBE) conference. This prestigious award was sponsored by the International Small Business Journal.
Prof. Sue Marlow, Vice President Research for IBSE congratulated Dr Jones, “The competition for Best Paper was strong with top academics being shortlisted for the award.”
Prof. Nigel Lockett, Director of the Leeds Enterprise Centre, added, "We are delighted with Sally’s double award. She won Best in Track and Best Paper. Leeds was well represented at this years conference with five staff presenting papers of whom two were shortlisted for best in track award in addition to Sally’s success."
Nominations for Best in Track were additionally announced at the awards dinner to Dr Sarah Underwood and Julia Clarke for the Social Enterprise track and Dr Richard Tunstall for the Science and Technology track, with collaborators Prof. Luke Pittaway (Georgia Southern, USA) and Prof. David Brooksbank (Cardiff Metropolitan). Dr Richard Tunstall was also elected as a new Board member of ISBE for the next three years.
For more information, see Sally's article at Emerald at www.emeraldinsight.com.
For more information about the ISBE 2011 Conference, watch the short video on the ISBE's website.
Leeds Enterprise Centre featured in the Yorkshire Post
November 2011
Professor Nigel Lockett, Director of the centre, writes in the Yorkshire Post on the enterprise skills that LEC is embedding into the undergraduate curriculum for University of Leeds students; and urges company bosses to take note of the enthusiasm, enterprise and education that today's graduates can bring to the employment market.
Read the full article.
Guest entrepreneur delights student audience...
October 2011
LEC's first entrepreneur guest speaker event of the year was a great success. Omar Hamdi, Managing Director of Honeypot Digital and University of Leeds graduate, explained how he started his first enterprise while still a student at Leeds. Omar's interactive talk provoked a number of questions from students studying LEC enterprise electives about his creative way of developing ideas and being innovative. After the talk Omar had time to talk to a small crowd which gathered to take home some personal suggestions about creating successful enterprise.
LEC finds new home and new staff.
September 2011
We are delighted to welcome three new members of staff to our team. Dr. Sally Jones and Dr. Richard Tunstall will both be teaching on our enterprise modules and Georgia Bright will be providing administrative support in our office. Please see our Staff page for more about them.
We are now based at 23 Lyddon Terrace, please see our Contact Us page for full details.
SSEN Event: 'Bridging the social investment gap'
July 2011
For more details, please visit the Third Sector Research Centre (TSRC) website at www.tsrc.ac.uk
SIFE Win National 'Community Engagement' Award
April 2011
The University of Leeds (SIFE team) has won the SIFE National Community Engagement Award. The award is given by Volunteering England to the institution, from among all SIFE universities, which has best demonstrated its commitment to student volunteering and community engagement during the academic year. This year our SIFE team have completed a number of projects, including establishing two mushroom farms in Ghana and working with youth offenders in Leeds to help them back into work or education.
The SIFE Leeds academic advisor, Dr Sarah Underwood is "thrilled that they [the SIFE team] have been rewarded for all their hard work and that the University of Leeds has been recognised for supporting student volunteering opportunities across the board."
Professor Vivien Jones (Pro Vice Chancellor for Student Education) commented on LEC's continuing support of SIFE: "The development of this work by the Enterprise Centre will hopefully provide many further exciting opportunities for our students and also contribute to partnership and community engagement in the future".
The award: The Winners
To find out more about SIFE Leeds, follow the link above or email sifeleeds@hotmail.com
LUBS2015 Volunteering & Enterprise Students Receive Award of a Lifetime
March 2011
Two students have won an all expenses paid trip (sponsored by the UoL FairTrade steering group) to visit the FairTrade coffee plantations in South Africa following their work on LUBS2015. The 'Volunteering & Enterprise' module, run by LEC, saw two teams of students develop their entrepreneurial skills in planning and executing a series of projects which raised awareness of FairTrade in Leeds University and in the local region. The module has resulted in the formation of a FairTrade society, a FairTrade curriculum enhancement booklet and a FairTrade fashion show (in conjunction with FairTrade Leeds).
Professor Susan Marlow is appointed as Visiting Professor.
March 2011
LEC featured in LUBS Network magazine
February 2011
The Leeds University Business School (LUBS) Alumni Network Magazine (Issue 6) highlights the role of LEC in enterprise.
LEC hosts new ISBE Social and Sustainable Enterprise Network
January 2011
Leeds Enterprise Centre hosts the first meeting of the Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ISBE) special interest group on Social and Sustainable Enterprise Network (SSEN) on 19th January 2011. Dr Sarah Underwood will chair the network.
LEC appoints first director
October 2010
Professor Nigel Lockett has been appointed Professor of Enterprise at the Leeds University Business School and Director of the Leeds Enterprise Centre at the University of Leeds. Visit the University of Leeds website for more details.
