The University of Southampton organises a whole programme of events to encourage everyone to be more enterprising, whether looking to start a new business or working for someone else.

Events include residential boot camps, business simulation workshops, 'apprentice' style challenges and you can also see listings to external events which might be of interest. If you want, you can book a business surgery to discuss your business ideas on a Wednesday afternoon.

To find out more go to the Student Enterprise at Southampton University website.

NEWS: The SIFE Southampton Team headed by our 2008 Fish on Toast Vice President Tom Saunders, just won BEST ROOKIE TEAM IN THE SOUTH at the National Championships coming runner up to the eventual winners! That means they're off to Berlin in October to compete internationally!

SIFE (Students in Free Enterprise) Southampton is a new student-owned social enterprise at the University of Southampton. This means that we earn a profit through several business activities and then re-invest the profits in projects that benefit society. Our team include students from the southampton University, who are reading a variety of subjects at a variety of levels. SIFE Southampton currently has several projects, inlclude the following:

The Madagascar project - Our project leader - Priscilla Guercina and her team, have set up a micro-lending scheme that aims to enable poor families in Madagascar to start up small businesses, such as a chicken farm. SIFE Southampton are organising the scheme, providing the initial investment and then providing support to these families. The long-term goal is to make the project self-sustaining so that we can move on to a new geographical area.

The Consultancy project - In this commercial project, the the consultancy team - headed by Pooja Patel, have set up a website health check service and a facebook consultancy. The consultancy team have received a large contract from business link to provide website health checks to small local businesses, while the facebook consultancy has several contracts with different organisations, including Price Waterhouse Coopers.

The Sierra Leone project - This project is a partnership with a local charity called the Saint Georges Foundation. James Stewardson and his team have set up a clothing embroidery business, which supports a long-term project in Sierra Leone. The team aim to provide training in IT skills to chidren in the Saint Georges Foundation shelter for homeless children as well as a rice growing operation with small villages.

Green and Clever - Our newest project has been set up by James Pipe. He is currently organising a launch event on 6th March which is hosted by Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills: John Denham, on the subect "Innovation and the Environment". Following this event, Green and Clever will provide an innovative one-day environmental audit for local businesses.

Interested?
Our team is constantly growing and we now have 25 members. SIFE Southampton enables students to develop vital "real life" skills, confidence and passion that are essential in the employment market. The challenges involved in SIFE Southampton therefore require students to be the most committed and active students at the University. We require students to submit an application for a particular role within the team. If you are interested in joining our team and want to find out which roles you can get involved with then please contact Shivani Patel on s.patel@sifesouthampton.co.uk to find out more.

Profitunity is an exclusive business competition. The Prince's Trust and leading professional services firm Ernst and Young offer undergraduate students the chance to become entrepreneurs. By participating, students get to:

• Make a real difference - put their talents to the test in support of disadvantaged young people across the UK
• Develop skills - build on existing skills and acquire new ones
• Understand business - teams have regular contact with business experts providing advice and guidance
• Have the chance to win money - the winning team receives £3,000+

Pick up some more info on The Prince's Trust Website