ENTERPRISE SU - Queen's University Belfast
ENTERPRISE SU - Queen's University Belfast
ENTERPRISE SU - Queen's University Belfast
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<strong>ENTERPRISE</strong> <strong>SU</strong><br />
enterprise. volunteering. employability.<br />
Be a high flyer with<br />
Enterprise <strong>SU</strong><br />
In this weeks edition:<br />
Wednesday, 4 December<br />
‣Get experience in marketing.<br />
‣What’s the big idea?<br />
‣Gain valuable presentation skills with Money +.<br />
‣VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH.<br />
STUDENTS IN FREE <strong>ENTERPRISE</strong><br />
Could you use your talents to help start a business in a young offenders centre?<br />
We are looking for a multi-discipline group of talented students to form a team for a new<br />
project.<br />
Partnering with Advantage NI, Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) will be working in Hyde Bank<br />
young offenders institute to develop a social enterprise run entirely by the offenders themselves.<br />
SIFE’s role will be to develop the business plan and strategy for the enterprise. There will also be<br />
an opportunity to develop a new product for the enterprise.<br />
We are specifically looking for:<br />
• Students with business competencies.<br />
• Engineering students with an interest in product design.<br />
• Creative and innovative students.<br />
Joining our team will give you the fantastic opportunity to develop a real functioning business<br />
whilst drastically improving the life chances of young offenders when they leave prison.<br />
Contact: Florence Severs | QUB SIFE President | florence.severs@gmail.com<br />
Business Reporter Needed: business club<br />
Good understanding of the business environment and<br />
trends.<br />
Excellent written and communication skills.<br />
Responsibilities:<br />
❖ Run a club blog.<br />
❖ Edit content on Club Newsletter.<br />
Contact: Paulo Horta | President | phorta01@qub.ac.uk<br />
Airbus Fly Your Ideas 2013<br />
Register Your Team Now!<br />
Are you passionate about the environment?<br />
Do you have innovative ideas for a greener aviation industry?<br />
Do you want to pitch your ideas to a global aerospace leader?<br />
Here is your chance!<br />
‘Airbus Fly Your Ideas’ challenges students worldwide to<br />
develop ideas for a greener aviation industry. Now<br />
backed by UNESCO, the 2013 competition is more<br />
exciting than ever before.<br />
Fly Your Ideas is open to teams of 3 to 5 students from<br />
around the world, studying a first degree, Masters or PhD<br />
in any academic discipline, from engineering to<br />
marketing, business to science and philosophy to design.<br />
You have until November 30 2012 to register your team.<br />
The final will take place in June 2013 when the best<br />
teams will present their ideas to a panel of experts, for a<br />
chance to win €30,000.<br />
1<br />
It's time to fly your ideas!
WITHIN QUEEN’s<br />
Volunteering at Queen’s<br />
1. Study Support Group.<br />
2. Develop a Business in Romania.<br />
3. Student Volunteer of the Month.<br />
(LEFT) FAMILY FROM BRASOV COUNTY, ROMANIA;<br />
(ABOVE) VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH<br />
Study support group opportunity<br />
develop a business in romania<br />
Student Volunteer of the Month<br />
We are looking for students who can act as<br />
positive role models and encourage young<br />
people to progress into further and higher<br />
education.<br />
Volunteering for the St John Vianney Youth<br />
Club, in a study support group with children<br />
aged 5-16, will give you excellent By Trenz experience Pruca<br />
in working with young people and will also<br />
allow you to make a valuable contribution to<br />
the community.<br />
Time Commitment:<br />
1.5 – 3 hours every other Wednesday<br />
afternoon between 4 – 7pm during term<br />
time.<br />
Could you use your business skills to make<br />
a business in Romania flourish?<br />
Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) are looking<br />
Suspendisse feugiat mi sed lectus<br />
for a team of students to help commercialise<br />
aoreet nec interdum<br />
the skills of individuals living the rural area<br />
of Brasov County.<br />
Working in partnership with the NGO FAST,<br />
the project will develop a business plan and<br />
strategy, empowering families with the<br />
knowledge and skills to run a flourishing<br />
business.<br />
If you would like more information please<br />
don’t hesitate to get in contact:<br />
Do you know a committed volunteer who<br />
deserves recognition?<br />
A Queen’s <strong>University</strong> recognition programme<br />
for students who are committed<br />
volunteers.Please note that nominations can<br />
be made for an individual or a group of<br />
students.<br />
To have your nominee(s) be considered for<br />
QUB Student Volunteer of the Month, please<br />
determine if your candidate(s) meets the<br />
criteria which can be found on the link bellow.<br />
Download your application here. Send<br />
completed form to volunteer@qub.ac.uk<br />
Download your application HERE<br />
Deadline: 10 December 2012.<br />
Send your completed form to Aidan Hughes<br />
su.vpcommunity@qub.ac.uk | 028 9097 1050<br />
Michael Fox | Vice-President |<br />
michael11fox@gmail.com<br />
2<br />
To get involved in the volunteer Academy email: SIGN ME UP to volunteer@qub.ac.uk
DECEMBER 2012 <br />
U P D A T E <br />
V O L U N T E E R<br />
3<br />
OF THE MONTH<br />
What inspired you to get involved in volunteering?<br />
I was first inspired to volunteer by all the people<br />
around me who dedicate so much time and energy<br />
to the different causes they believe in. I guess<br />
initially I was inspired by my parents and my<br />
secondary school, who always placed a strong<br />
emphasis on giving back to the community and<br />
helping others, even in small ways. I began<br />
volunteering at fifteen in the local Cancer Research<br />
Shop in town two afternoons a week and on<br />
Saturday mornings. As I was too young to work at<br />
this stage, volunteering gave me the opportunity to<br />
meet new people and gain experience of the work<br />
place and until this day it was one of the most<br />
uplifting places I have worked in. From then on, I<br />
think I had caught the "bug" for volunteering and it<br />
has yet to leave!<br />
What does your volunteering involve? Tell us about what you<br />
do.<br />
At the minute, as I am in my final year of university, I<br />
am not doing as much volunteering as I would like,<br />
or have done in the past. I am the joint President of<br />
the Saint Vincent De Paul Society in <strong>University</strong>. This<br />
involves organising meetings, developing<br />
partnerships, fundraising activities and also leading,<br />
at a university level, Saint Vincent De Paul initiatives<br />
such as the hamper, shoe box and coat appeals.<br />
I am also a Volunteer Ambassador for Volunteer<br />
Now. This involves promoting volunteering on<br />
Una Burns<br />
behalf of the organisation among young people for<br />
example through speaking at volunteer and careers<br />
fairs, sharing my volunteer story, working with the<br />
Youth Team in Volunteer Now to enhance and<br />
improve the website and Facebook page. I also sign<br />
off and support the members in our society working<br />
towards achieving their awards of excellence.<br />
What skills or qualities are required for a volunteering role?<br />
I would pick out five main qualities: passion and<br />
commitment, energy, integrity and the willingness to<br />
sacrifice!<br />
I think you have to have passion for the cause. You<br />
need to believe that your volunteering makes a<br />
difference and the organisation you volunteer for is<br />
honest and has integrity. To make a real difference,<br />
to make a change, you need to be committed to the<br />
cause. Whether you are unloading boxes from a<br />
truck in the middle of summer or shoveling snow for<br />
the elderly, you need to have enthusiasm and drive<br />
for what you are doing.<br />
Volunteering can take a lot of energy. When I was in<br />
Thailand teaching English, numerous people were<br />
getting stomach sicknesses; the work was physically<br />
exhausting, and the intense heat and humidity did<br />
not help the situation. However, I was amazed and<br />
encouraged by the unrelenting energy the group<br />
put forth each day. It was one of the most<br />
encouraging and exciting things to see. It really<br />
showed how much the group believed in what they<br />
were doing and the importance they placed on it.<br />
One of the most helpful things I’ve seen in our<br />
volunteers is integrity. When people are sincere in<br />
their every day life it enriches their volunteer work in<br />
a way that speaks louder than words.<br />
Volunteering is just that sacrificing of one’s time,<br />
energy and services without expecting anything in<br />
return. In today’s world, sacrificing your time is<br />
frequently extremely challenging but I think it is at<br />
this point when we have to examine what we are<br />
doing, is it worth our time and effort? Because<br />
when we realize what’s important, living for ourselves<br />
is often not so appealing.<br />
What do you enjoy most about volunteering and what has<br />
been your highlight?<br />
The most rewarding thing about volunteering for me<br />
is how something that may be so small and may<br />
seem insignificant, can make such a difference in<br />
another persons life! I have met some amazing and<br />
inspirational people through volunteering and it<br />
continues to surprise, challenge and excite me. It is<br />
hard to say what has been my “one highlight” but it<br />
would probably have to be my experience with<br />
SERVE in Thailand last year. I went to Thailand for six<br />
weeks to teach English to women of all ages who<br />
were living in a severely corrupt and challenging<br />
society. The commitment, perseverance, courage<br />
and stamina of the women I met while I was there,<br />
living in extremely difficult situations, opened my<br />
eyes hugely to the difference a team of eleven can<br />
do. A project, which I began as an “English teacher”<br />
quickly became a once in a lifetime opportunity with<br />
some of the most unbelievable people, whom to this<br />
day I have such admiration and respect for.<br />
What advice would you pass onto someone who would like to<br />
volunteer?<br />
Firstly, find a cause you are passionate about and<br />
that means something to you and take a risk! And, at<br />
my own risk of sounding too cheesy a friend gave<br />
me a quote and I couldn’t think of a more<br />
appropriate ending:<br />
“It's never too late or, too early to be whoever you<br />
want to be. There's no time limit, stop whenever you<br />
want. You can change or stay the same, there are no<br />
rules. We can make the best or the worst of it. I<br />
hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see<br />
things that startle you. I hope you feel things you<br />
never felt before. I hope you meet people with a<br />
different point of view. I hope you live a life you're<br />
proud of. If you find that you're not, I hope you have<br />
the strength to start all over again”.<br />
To nominate a committed volunteer from queen’s click here.
The Final task in the QUB Apprentice 2012 was the biggest test either Judith or<br />
Sean would face yet. Their task was to help in the branding of the new Simon<br />
Community charity shop on Botanic Avenue, while increasing donations over the<br />
course of the week and running the actual shop itself for one day.<br />
Sean<br />
You’re<br />
Hired!<br />
‘Team Judith’ - Judith headed into the final task as odd’s on<br />
favorite to win. Having won four out of four tasks so far<br />
who would bet against her. When selecting her team Judith<br />
chose Paul, John and Philip. Having worked with Paul in<br />
almost all the previous tasks he was an obvious choice and by the end, boy was she<br />
glad of that pick. Early on in the task Judith got in touch with a friend who was a<br />
Graphic Designer, to design logos and leaflets, while making plans for Wednesday when<br />
she would run the store. Unfortunately after organising the branding Judith became ill.<br />
At this point it was her team leadership which came to the fore, nominating Paul as<br />
her stand in leader, a role that Paul excelled at. Paul ran the shop like it was his own,<br />
helped by both John and Philip as well as family and friends. The team managed great<br />
sales on the day coming up with innovative competitions and ideas to raise even more<br />
money. Despite being very sick and being unable to attend the store during the week Judith was able to<br />
orchestrate a total of almost £5,000. This was very impressive for a store which, on an average day takes around<br />
£50.<br />
‘Team Sean’ - Where do you even start with Sean! What a week the ‘big dawg’<br />
had, from featuring in The Sun newspaper to auctioning off an old tweed jacket to UTV<br />
sports presenter Adrian Logan. The final task was Sean’s opportunity to use his<br />
extensive network which he talked about throughout the process. He certainly<br />
grabbed that opportunity with both hands. As he already alluded to early on, Sean<br />
looked for publicity opportunities and getting the word out and while his actual brand<br />
was not as strong as Judith’s, he made sure that the entire UK and Ireland would know<br />
about him. On the actual day Sean aided by Siobhan, Louise and Tony took over the<br />
shop and made over £2500 in just seven hours of trading. Throughout the rest of the<br />
week he ran different initiatives to get members of the general public to donate clothes, videos, antiques, generally<br />
anything of value and in one case even brand new laptops, taking Sean’s total for the week rose to a very<br />
‘dandable’ £10,000 an incredible amount of money.<br />
<br />
Mr Aidan Hughes (VP Community) introduced the candidates and summarised the previous tasks highs and lows.<br />
Back stage Mr Jim Eastwood was starting to build his case on both Judith & Sean. As they both entered the<br />
boardroom, it was down to business for both Judith and Sean. Aided by Ms Nuala McAdams (VP Education) and<br />
your’s truly, Jim started to go through each task with both candidates. Early on it became clear that Sean had not<br />
been on a winning team right up-until he switched over onto Judith’s team in week 3. Judith’s impeccable record<br />
shone through as she comfortably took questions from Jim around her leadership, communication and teamwork<br />
skills. Sean however, didn’t let Judith have it all her own way. Sean did not let Jim forget the large part he played in<br />
week 3 when the candidates had to give the Halloween tour. Sean in his own words, planned, sold the tickets and<br />
gave the tour. With constant debate between the candidates, it was over to Aidan Hughes to reveal the results<br />
from the final task.<br />
The candidates, panel and audience learned of the amazing amount of money both candidates raised. After asking<br />
some more questions Jim, Nuala and I retired backstage to deliberate over what we had heard and who would<br />
eventually win. When we emerged, Jim emphasized the incredibly hard decision it was, but in the end it was Sean’s<br />
final performance. His want and need for the prize impressed Jim and the ‘You’re Hired’ was directed at Sean.<br />
<br />
In the end it was an incredibly hard decision for Jim to make. Believe me, I was there and I am sure Nuala would<br />
agree. Whilst I am obviously delighted for Sean, I feel very sorry for Judith. Judith has a strong CV, strong<br />
experience and a real track record of success in the competition. Although she did lose the final task she did win 4<br />
out of 5 overall as she was placed number one by all the judges in the interviews. On the other hand Sean is<br />
everything the apprentice competition represents. A grafter who simply never gave up. Like him or not, in the<br />
boardroom never once did Sean say a bad word about Judith a favour which Judith did not repay it has to be said,<br />
something which Jim saw as an admirable quality in Sean.<br />
Was Jim correct? Well, that is a loaded question, one which I am not going to answer. Deloitte and Simon<br />
Community if you ask me are the real winners, while the Simon Community got almost £15,000 overall, Deloitte<br />
obviously got Sean for his prize and I believe have also looked to getting Judith in for a placement. Judith and Sean<br />
represented two extremely good candidates who reached the final from a total of eight great candidates over the<br />
weeks, congratulations to them all. The real question is - was this years finalists better than last years? Don’t ask<br />
silly questions. Of course they’re not!<br />
‘You’re Hired’ were the words from day one<br />
Sean McNally wanted to hear. On Wednesday<br />
night he got his wish. In week one Sean told<br />
Jim he would see him in the final and Sean did<br />
not disappoint. A show man through and<br />
through, total comedy gold, Sean is a people<br />
person who uses his network very well. Sean<br />
believes business can be done on the strength<br />
of a handshake and is a very honest individual<br />
who does not mince his words. In the<br />
boardroom Jim warmed to Sean’s personality<br />
and liked how he did not once criticize his<br />
competition. Although Sean came under fire<br />
for his “Athletes foot” (I think he meant<br />
Achilles heel) in the form of his elevator pitch<br />
and how he often was reluctant to take<br />
management roles, his final performance and<br />
personality won it for him. Congratulations<br />
Sean.<br />
Judith, while I am sure was very disappointed<br />
to miss out by such small margins at the very<br />
last hurdle should be going away as a<br />
champion. Although the competition has only<br />
being running now two years, not only was<br />
Judith the only first year student to reach the<br />
final, she was the only competitor never to<br />
lose a task on her way to the apprentice<br />
Final. Even though Judith spent much of the<br />
final task very ill, she managed to raise £5,000!<br />
Jim was impressed by Judith’s ambition, team<br />
leadership abilities, organization and passion<br />
especially at the age of 18. In the words of Dr.<br />
Trefor Campbell CBE (one of the dragons at<br />
the interviews), I agree that Judith is a<br />
“diamond, which will just grow and grow.”<br />
I think I speak for everyone who followed the<br />
process in saying we look forward to seeing<br />
what Judith & Sean do next.<br />
Owen McMeel,<br />
2011 QUB<br />
Apprentice Winner<br />
Each week I report<br />
on the biggest<br />
blunders, moments<br />
of genius as well of<br />
course hearing from<br />
each candidate as<br />
they get fired. I will<br />
also post your<br />
comments, tweets<br />
and reactions each<br />
week.<br />
GET INVOLVED:<br />
4<br />
thequbapprentice YourQUB<strong>SU</strong> @mcmeel1 #qubapprentice2012
AB InBev Best Beer Competition<br />
Create a new beer for your university and win a prize fund of €4,000!<br />
This is an opportunity to showcase your team working skills and<br />
creativity whilst working towards the chance of winning some fantastic<br />
prizes. It also adds a practical dimension to your studies and the allimportant<br />
commercial awareness so many employers seek.<br />
To enter get together a team of 2-4 students and design a new beer<br />
for your university. Once you've applied you'll have until the entry<br />
deadline of 13 February 2013 to submit a project plan and the eight<br />
best project plans from each country (the UK and Belgium) will be<br />
selected to participate in a regional heat in March 2013 with €3,000 to<br />
be won.<br />
The Grand Final will be held in Belgium and will take place on 30 April<br />
2013. The winning team will be declared and winning €2,500 for<br />
themselves and a further €1,500 for charity<br />
To find out more click HERE<br />
AN ENTREPRENEURIAL STORY<br />
queens graduate makes <strong>Belfast</strong> enterprise academy experience count<br />
WH Ere has always been involved in design and inspiring others. After leaving university with a degree in Architecture and a<br />
Masters degree, he became disillusioned with the lack of opportunity and vision to be found here. He has a vision to inspire<br />
others by building a successful and unique clothing line, that is set apart from competitors.<br />
got a novel and exciting business idea?<br />
Enter ‘whats the big idea?’ for your chance to win!<br />
clICK HERE to find out more<br />
This unique clothing range first popped up in Portstewart during the Irish Open golf competition, in an abandoned shop. He<br />
arrived, had a party, sold t-shirts, and disappeared. The designs are exclusive to WH Ere and a certain mystery surrounds<br />
how to attain the clothes...<br />
WH Ere currently has a stall located near to Lavery’s Beer tent in the <strong>Belfast</strong> Christmas market.<br />
Mon - Wed 10am- 8pm<br />
Thurs - Sat 10am - 10pm<br />
Sun 1pm - 6pm<br />
Do you want to develop your presentation skills?<br />
Do you want to gain confidence speaking in front of groups?<br />
Join ‘Money +’ and develop valuable skills while helping to deliver financial literacy<br />
workshops to schools around <strong>Belfast</strong>.<br />
All participation is degree plus accredited.<br />
For more details contact: Joanne Boyle | joanneemmaboyle123@msn.com<br />
CONTACT <strong>ENTERPRISE</strong> <strong>SU</strong><br />
Queen’s <strong>University</strong> <strong>Belfast</strong><br />
Students’ Union<br />
<strong>University</strong> Road<br />
<strong>Belfast</strong><br />
Telephone: 02890 973106<br />
Email: enterprisesu@qub.ac.uk<br />
Forward this email on to anyone you think would like it.<br />
To sign up, simply email ‘mail me’ with your name, student number,<br />
course and year of graduation to enterprisesu@qub.ac.uk<br />
5