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LSBU celebrates enterprise and entrepreneurship
Students, graduates, staff and the local community gather to celebrate London South Bank University’s enterprising achievements at Celebrate EnterpriseLondon South Bank University (LSBU) celebrated enterprise with a Pop-Up Market and the Celebrate Enterprise Awards, whilst crowning the winners of the 2017 Make It Happen competition.
Make It Happen is a competition for LSBU students and recent graduates who have the ambition, creativity and drive to succeed as entrepreneurs or freelancers. LSBU gives them the chance to win up to £2,000 and on-going support to take their enterprise to the next level.
The Pop-Up Market, based at LSBU’s award-winning Clarence Centre for Enterprise and Innovation, gave students and graduates the opportunity to showcase their innovative businesses and projects. Cakes and sweet treats were provided by LSBU’s National Bakery School; alongside handmade jewellery, beauty products and oxygen-infused drinks.
Adam Papaphilippopoulos, a partner at Reluctantly Brave, began the Celebrate Enterprise Awards evening with a keynote speech about authenticity in business. The winners of the Make It Happen competition were announced and students received a Certificate in Enterprise for attending enterprise events throughout the year. Student advisors in our Business Solutions Centre were also recognised for their support to local businesses.
Winners from the Make It Happen competition were:
- Freelance category: Still I Rise - Sandra Hibbert (Criminology with Psychology) won £1,000, Institute of Directors (IoD) membership and six months of office space to help her grow her freelance career.
- Idea category: Wake Up Gigs – Sarada Chunduri-Shoesmith (Integrated Care) won £1,000, IoD membership and six months of office space to help turn her idea into a viable business.
- Start-up category: Code and Wander - Chris Underdown (Music and Sonic Media) with business partners Alessia Sannazzaro and Liam McCabe won £2,000 to invest in their business, IoD membership and 12 months of office space.
Gurpreet Jagpal, Director of Research, Enterprise and Innovation at LSBU, said: “It’s always very inspiring to see our students and graduates taking risks and growing their creativity to develop their businesses, start-ups and freelance careers. Celebrate Enterprise is a great opportunity to bring our students, graduates, staff and local community together to celebrate the University’s entrepreneurial spirit. Congratulations to all the winners!”
On winning the start-up category, Chris Underdown, Music and Sonic Media graduate from the School of Arts and Creative Industries, said:
“It felt like all the hard work that we had achieved in such a short period of time really paid off. Now we can call ourselves an award-winning digital agency! We can also situate Code and Wander in the Clarence Centre for longer to grow and scale the business. We have lots of exciting projects coming up which we can’t wait to launch!”
Sarada Chunduri-Shoesmith, Integrated Care final year student in the School of Health and Social Care, and winner of the idea category, said: “I was completely shocked when I found out I had won. I spotted the competition on the last day of teaching in my Integrated Care course and applied as I thought what have I got to lose? Winning the idea category has allowed me to realise my year-long dream that I can really make something of Wake Up Gigs; offering parents unique time to themselves and with their children.”
On the support received from the Student Enterprise team, Chris added: “The Student Enterprise Team have been with me every step of the way on my entrepreneurial journey and I don’t think our progress or success would have been achieved without them!”