News

BUCKINGHAM ENTERPRISE DAY

Tuesday 2 December 2008 (Photo Gallery added 4 December)

Leonie Thorogood shakes hands with Sean Obedih

Mrs Leonie Thorogood, wife of the High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire, makes the presentation to Sean Obedih

On 19 November, the University of Buckingham Business School held Buckingham Enterprise Day in liaison with the Make Your Mark and Young Enterprise organisations and the Aylesbury Vale Enterprise Hub.

Current BSc Business Enterprise students set up stands in the Business School promoting their products and services. In addition there was an Ideas Wall competition, won by Don Ndiweni from Surrey, whose idea was a tearless onion cutter. Buckingham Business Club, Bucks Fizz, Business Link and a range of local businesses also had stands. Guest speakers from the business world, including alumnus Chris Smith, gave a lively presentation on the experience of starting up and running businesses. The directors of the Aylesbury Vale Enterprise Hub and owners of companies operating from the Hub presented details of their business activities.

The high profile event of the day was the final of the SEGRO Business Enterprise Scholarship competition to find the student with the best business idea. Presentations were made to the "Buckingham Angels", an all-women venture capital panel which consisted of Jane Tapsell (Dean of the Business School), Liz Horler (Group Financial Controller, SEGRO plc), Jan Sharman (Chief Executive, Young Enterprise South East) and Sophia Bergqvist (Managing Director, Quintadelarosa Ltd). The winner of the competition was Sean Obedih, who was awarded a 2-year scholarship (worth over £16,000) to study for a BSc Business Enterprise honours degree at the University. Sean will be starting his degree in January 2009.

More photos of the day are available in the Enterprise Day Photo Gallery.

Buckingham Enterprise Day was a huge success and we have another £16,000+ scholarship, this time kindly presented by Aylesbury Vale District Council. This is open to any student who lives in the AVDC area. Buckingham Enterprise Day will become a permanent fixture in our calendar, with next year's event planned to be in March or April 2009. For further information please contact Nigel Adams at the University.

Report by Katie Balaam, Nigel Adams and the Web Team