For Students & Graduates

Student entrepreneurs pitch their ideas

Projects, Competitions and Advice

If you have an idea about how to make a living as a creative entrepreneur or you'd like to set up business, the new UCA Business & Community School is here to help you.

We're working with a range of organisations, both locally and nationally on supporting your ambitions to make a living in the creative sector. Over the next year, we'll be running workshops within the academic Schools at Epsom and Farnham and, if you are a current final year student, when you've finished your studies we'll invite you onto our graduate support programme (creative advantage) .

We'll be posting initiatives and projects up here for you to consider whilst you study - extra-curricula projects that will help you to build up your confidence and develop your portfolio/showreel. Here are three current initiatives designed for you:

Get Your Idea on TV! We've teamed up with Top 30 Independent TV Producer, etv Media Group, to create a portal for staff & students of UCA to submit ideas for TV programmes. Whatever subject you study or research, the Development Team at etv are looking for great ideas. Visit the i-gen portal [opens new window]

Social entrepreneurs. Take part in the national grant award scheme, Dare To Be Different, to get your idea off the ground. Take a closer look at how to enter the scheme on the Dare To Be Different website. If you think you have an idea worth exploring, email Philip Ely to notify us of your interest. If there are enough of you interested, a workshop, facilitated by the Business & Community School, will be arranged in early 2010.

Become an entern ! 'Enternships' are internships for entrepreneurs. We met up with Enternships founder Rajeeb Day recently at the launch of the Dare To Be Different awards and he's looking forward to seeing more creative arts students taking part in entrepreneurial enternships. Find out more on the Enternships website.

Do you have UCA friends who are as enterprising as you? Why not create your own club? The National Consortium of University Entrepreneurs is a national organisation that supports and represents university enterprise societies and student entrepreneurs to drive the growth of entrepreneurship across the UK. It was set up by a student entrepreneur with backing from Doug Richard, from Dragons Den and they support student groups on setting up their own enterprise societies and clubs.