Rosie Davis BSc Biomedical Sciences, 2016
Undergraduate student
I chose to study Biomedical Science at Southampton because I was very impressed by the facilities and I liked the feel of the campus. The state of the art biological science laboratories have enabled me to have high quality practicals and I was able to learn a variety of experimental techniques for my third year project. I also chose Southampton based on its location and airport, which allows me to fly home easily to the Channel Islands.
In 2015, with the help of staff and students, we designed three innovative solutions which helped over 41,000 people in Kenya to improve their livelihoods. I have been involved in developing the soap from day one and it has been a wonderful chance to use knowledge from my degree in a practical way, all the while improving the lives of people in the communities we work in.
The best thing about studying here is the huge number of opportunities open to students. There are loads of chances to widen your knowledge outside of your degree by taking curriculum innovation modules or you can get involved in hundreds of student groups, from sports and music to volunteering or social enterprise! The teaching staff are at the top of their fields which means we are taught new and exciting applications of our topics in research. I get on well with my tutors and they are always there to help, guide study and give extra support. University life is incredibly busy and knowing there are many different support services is great too. You can talk to your personal tutor, head of your degree programme, the student union's advice centre, enabling services or Nightline and get support on everything from degree work to homesickness.
Outside of my degree, I am a member of Enactus Southampton; a worldwide not-for-profit organisation which connects students, academics and business leaders who use entrepreneurial action to transform lives sustainably. The Enactus teams work in 36 countries on over 1,750 university campuses to create social enterprises and projects that tackle global issues such as homelessness.
At Enactus Southampton, we have 11 projects which are a mixture of social and commercial ventures. Our commercial projects generate money on campus which can be invested in our social enterprises that run in the local Southampton area and in 4 African countries. I have been involved in an international project called SanEco, which aims to tackle poor sanitation across Africa. In 2015, with the help of staff and students, we designed three innovative solutions which helped over 41,000 people in Kenya to improve their livelihoods. The first is a waste composting toilet which separates the two types of human waste into completely safe liquid and solid fertilisers which are sold to local farmers and triple crop yields. The second is 100% reusable sanitary towels which are 98% cheaper than the commercial products the women in our communities struggled to afford. The third is our 100% natural soap made from waste avocados and bananas and using a recipe we created. I have been involved in developing the soap from day one and it has been a wonderful chance to use knowledge from my degree in a practical way, all the while improving the lives of people in the communities we work in.
This year I was involved in Enactus Southampton's journey to try for the 2015 Enactus World Cup. After being crowned national champions out of 56 UK teams, we spent the summer working on our projects and our presentation. In October 2015, my team travelled to Johannesburg, South Africa to compete against the 35 other national champions. After 3 days of nerve wracking competition, we made it to the final 4 teams and we presented in front of over 4,000 people! I will never forget that presentation and the atmosphere in the room which was electric. To then find out we had been crowned world champions was amazing! Representing our university and country to become the first winners from the UK is something I will never forget. Enactus has been an incredibly rewarding experience and I have developed many skills which will be of benefit in the world of work.
My advice to students is to get full immersed in student life at university and take the opportunities that will come your way. Sometimes it feels scary to say ‘yes’, particularly the first time, but trust me, once you do say ‘yes’ the opportunities will keep on coming and you will find yourself doing things you never thought possible.
With Enactus I have won the following awards:
Enactus World Cup Champions 2015, Enactus UK National Champions 2015, Outstanding Student Team Award at 2015 Sustainability Action Awards at the university, Best Student Enterprise at 2015 SETsquared awards, Rising Star at the 2014 Enactus Southampton Awards and we also got to present at the House of Lords following our win at the 2015 National Enactus Championships.