University of Birmingham wins 2 awards for innovation AND enterprise

We've just received good news! We've been successful at The Midlands Business Awards 2016, winning Midlands University of the Year in not one but two categories!

University of Birmingham student wins top Santander prize

The hunt for the UK's most entrepreneurial student for 2016 is over, and guess what, it's a University of Birmingham student!  Michael McLeod won £15,000 in the "Important day-to-day Products and Services" category at the Santander Universities Entrepreneurship Awards ceremony in London on June 30.

Michael McLeod, Founder of UniGreenScheme commented: “Winning was a massive surprise and a big boost for the whole team. These awards will enable us to enter a new phase of growth, get more universities on board and ultimately prevent more equipment from going to waste.” (photo credit Santander: Michael McLeod pictured with fiance, Kayleigh Woolfall).

See the full story of Michael's success here

Find out how you can B-Enterprising by visiting our website.

Taking my head out from under my lab book

By and large a PhD is a qualification for an academic career, yet according to a 2014 report by CFE Research over half of STEM PhDs go on to find work outside higher education. Often this is an active decision to transfer into new careers or simply move away from growing job insecurity, long hours and lower salary potential. Unfortunately, however, for many the choice is made for them. There are now more PhDs being trained than ever. This combined with factors such as senior scientists that are holding positions for increasingly longer periods leads to a bottleneck at the top. There simply aren’t enough academic jobs for the number of PhDs. In fact according to a recent Royal Society report, fewer than 1 in 200 UK STEM PhDs will go on to receive a professorship.

The E in Zoe is for Enterprising!

Ever thought about how to juggle enterprise into your normal life? Meet aspiring lawyer Zoe Chan - she is the Secretary of the Gilbert and Sullivan Society, the Vice President of BakeSoc, in the publicity committee of UoB Pro Bono Group and is a part of the Mooting student Committee, a part of CEPLER (the careers for law department), and she has a couple of internships under her belt as well! 

Zoe raising money for Macmillan Cancer Support,
as a part of BakeSoc, during Adopt A Charity Week!

My Summer in MDS

My Summer in MDS - Ella's Story:

Many students across the country are currently trying to sort and find internships for the summer to gain new experiences and further their CV's. But it's important to note, gaining an internship won't necessarily put you leaps and bounds above the rest. It's important to use your initiative and create your own opportunities which is exactly what Ella Bracewell will be doing this Summer.

UoB's Hackathon

This week (6-10^th June), Computer Science students will be participating in a ‘Hackathon’. ‘ServiceNow’, the Enterprise Cloud Company, will be providing a program to students during this week educating them on this cutting-edge technology. 

James Eder reveals his secrets to success during Working Wonders

Alumni of the year James Eder walked into the lecture theatre and even before introducing himself, asked the audience for a volunteer.  One hand went up and the student in question was immediately invited to the front of the room and given a present, a free book as it happened.  The morale of the story? If you are presented with an opportunity then take it!  Welcome to Secrets to Success, a Working Wonders event designed to inspire students during their academic and graduate career.  

James Eder talked about his success during his career and talked about how he set up his now famous student discount brand, Student Beans.  “Be prepared to hear the word no and when you hear it don’t give up”.