Enterprise Scholarships for 2016/17

Sixteen students will be awarded the £3,000 enterprise scholarship this year. Over 150 applicants covering every University faculty applied for this scholarship which is offered by alumni donors every year.

The Spark team, who provides support to students interested in starting their own business, was in charge of carefully selecting 26 applicants to present the ideas. The panel team included Kairen Skelley, Brian Baillie and Sarah Underwood. After careful consideration, the panel decided on the final 16 students.

The enterprise scholars

The successful applicants are all at different stages with some of them already trading and others developing an idea. There is a wide variety of businesses, from product development, event management and media production companies to a jewellery designer, a radio station and a social enterprise.

The scholarship

The closing date for applications for the enterprise scholarships was the 31st October. In order to be eligible for this scholarship, applicants had to be current students at the University and were selected based upon a number of criteria including their previous experience in enterprise and any entrepreneurial achievements.

What’s next?

The scholars will be attending an intensive two day residential boot camp, learning various aspects of enterprise including Finance, Intellectual Property, Networking and Marketing, before deciding how best to use the money. They will then meet a Spark business adviser in early 2017 to discuss the best options. After that, they will be required to submit a business plan and a spending plan to Spark which will be checked and if authorised, funds will be sent to the scholar to assist in the growth of their business.