The 2010-11 winners
UK's most entrepreneurial students bag role with PwC
The UK’s most enterprising students have won a unique Dragon’s Den style undergraduate competition and are one step closer to securing a job with leading accountancy firm PwC, having received internship placements with the firm.
Business Champions, a live business competition run jointly by PwC and national student organisation, Bright Futures, helps proactive university students build and run a business to ultimately create profits which went to the charity, the School for Social Entrepreneurs.
The teams, of between two and four students, were given £250 of seed funding each and a PwC mentor to help them with their business planning and to develop their commercial awareness.
The winning team, BC&M technologies, was formed by Matt Manders and Baran Ceylan, two first year undergraduates from Bath University, who created a pet ID tag business. Baran said:
| “The competition has given us a great insight into working at a big company, along with the experience of working alongside a mentor. It involved some long hours but it was definitely worth it. The internship is very exciting as it will give us an opportunity to meet people in all areas of the firm and gives us the chance to prove our winning credentials.” |
The runners up from Exeter University, formed the company Ex-Bay. They created an online shopping website for students to buy and sell a wide range of goods such as sports equipment and tickets. The four team members won a place on the firm’s three-day summer academy. Commenting on their achievement Liam Ward-Proud said:
| “This is the first time we’ve done anything like this but it was phenomenal. It’s difficult to get a job these days, but with this scheme it’s a way to develop your attractiveness to employers and get that vital early engagement.” |
Simon Reichwald, Director, Bright Futures, said:
| “Business Champions was created to give students the opportunity to improve their commercial awareness in a real, live business competition. It gives students a totally different way of securing a job and an opportunity to prove their motivation and initiative, while letting prospective employers see their employability skills first-hand. It is a massive belief of mine that there are smarter ways of recruiting top talent than the traditional application process. “The level of detail, planning and execution the winning teams displayed proves there are some tremendously talented students out there. They were phenomenal in what they achieved.” |
Sonja Stockton, PwC director of recruitment, said:
| “This provides a real platform for students to learn, develop and hone business and commercial skills whilst still at university. Having direct access to the skills and talents of PwC staff gives students a unique opportunity to gain mentoring from a top employer, the forum to show their skills and the chance to ensure they stand out to secure a job on graduation. “It’s a sustainable approach to developing the employability of students and benefits UK plc and charity.” |
Charlotte Young, chair and founding member of the School for Social Entrepreneurs, said:
| “A very big change has been happening in corporate social responsibility over the past few years. Initially, a few organisations were superficially showing they were socially responsible, but now savvy organisations like PwC have recognised that corporate social responsibility has the capacity to bring lasting mutual benefits. “The ability to take a long-term view of your organisation in the context of the wider society makes CSR a sensible thing to do.” |
