The University has a new team of nine undergraduate students, who have commenced internships as Enterprise Champions (eChamps) for the summer. The project aims to answer questions such as: ‘How enterprising is the University of Southampton?’ and ‘What does enterprise look like from the student perspective?’
The students are working across all eight Faculties to identify examples of enterprise activities to highlight the opportunities for enterprise skills development within and outside the curriculum. They are additionally working to help raise awareness of enterprise and intellectual property (IP) among the student community. The academic leads for the project are Dr Jadu Dash and Dr Jessica Teeling.
Funding for the eChamps has come directly from the UK Government’s Intellectual Property Office (IPO) National StudentshIP Enterprise Awards.
The team is part of the broader University of Southampton Student Champion Network, which includes iChamps (digital literacies and innovation student champions) and OPUS Champs (Opportunity Champions), who work with both staff and students to enhance student experience.
Environmental Science student and one of the eChamps, Matthew Norman, said:
“Enterprise is a mindset, a different way of thinking. It is seeing opportunity where others don’t, and having the courage to take a risk. When this internship is over, I’d just like to know that I made a difference”.
Please contact Sarah Rogers at [email protected] if you would like to know more, have ideas to share, or would like to get involved.
Follow this link for more information.