Battle of the graduate entrepreneurs at regional awards final
The region’s top emerging entrepreneurs gathered at York St
John University on Friday to compete for a £1,500 prize at an
enterprise awards show.
The Graduate Entrepreneurship (GE) Awards,
which coincided with York Business Week and Global Entrepreneur
Week, saw ten of the region’s most innovative graduates and
students congregate at York St John to compete in a Dragons’
Den-style competition. Their task was to impress an expert
judging panel by delivering a business pitch and then successfully
defending their business model and plan during a gruelling question
and answer session.
After a demanding contest the winner was
announced as Lucy Nuttall from Sheffield Hallam
University, who captivated the panel with her business model for
her company, Frontline Forensics.
In addition to battling it out during the
competition, the event gave competitors the opportunity to meet
business experts from across the region, to receive advice, to
network and to participate in the celebration of entrepreneurial
talent in the region.
The GE awards hosted by York St John
University are just part of an array of support initiatives
available through the Graduate Entrepreneurship (GE) Project. This
project, coordinated by the University of Huddersfield and
co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), brings
together the ten higher education institutions (HEIs) in Yorkshire
and Humber to support student and graduate entrepreneurship, in
order to benefit the region’s economy.
The ten finalists, each representing one of
the ten higher education institutions across Yorkshire and the
Humber, had been put forward to represent their respective
institutions, after being nominated or selected by their
universities. York St John University’s entrant was former BA
(Hons) Product Design student Heather Alstead, who graduated from
the University last year with a first class degree. She was
put forward to the awards after impressing University staff with
her projections and plans for her design business based in York
(Heather Alstead Design) which she established earlier this
year. Since its launch, her innovative designs have already
garnered the interest of several independent and high street
retailers. Heather’s business plans have been supported by
York St John’s business incubation initiative, DesignWorks, which
provides professional services to start-up designers in the
region. She has also been backed by the Faculty of Arts’
Creative Business team which offers mentoring, assistance and
advice on business development and enterprise in the creative
industries.
Louise Bermingham, Graduate Entrepreneurship
Project Manager commented:
“The standard of applications received for
this competition was incredibly high. The judges had a tough
job choosing their winner but I have no doubt that all applicants
will go on to create great businesses that will in turn benefit the
Yorkshire and UK economy.
The GE Project was recently awarded the
Enterprise Champions accolade at the third annual National
Enterprise Educator Awards. Formerly supported by the regional
development agency, Yorkshire Forward, the project is now supported
financially by the EU through the 2007-2013 Yorkshire and The
Humber ERDF programme.
For more information on the Graduate
Entrepreneurship Project, please visit http://graduateentrepreneurship.co.uk/
For more information about how to set up a
business or develop a competitive advantage in an employment market
whilst studying in a creative subject at York St John University,
please contact Creative Business on E: creativebusiness@yorksj.ac.uk
For further information please contact
Amy Hall, PR & Communications Officer, on T:
01904 876466 or E: a.hall@yorksj.ac.uk
