Nurturing the next generation of business talent

The University of Southampton is nurturing the next generation of entrepreneurs through a number of enterprise and entrepreneurship opportunities at its 2007 Enterprise Week.

The annual celebration of enterprise and innovation event takes place this week (12 – 16 November) with undergraduates and postgraduates being encouraged to adopt more business-like characteristics. Events include a competition to find the best new business idea, opportunities to run a virtual business for a day, and a Dragons’ Den-style contest to win initial business funding from a panel of experts.

This year’s theme is how enterprising students can enrich their communities and bring new ideas into organisations.

The University’s Enterprise Education Officer Natalie Norton comments: "It’s not just about starting your own business. Employers always want to take on enterprising young people who have good ideas and can put them into action. Becoming involved in enterprise at university is a good start."

Fish on Toast, the University’s student entrepreneurs’ society will be involved in many of the events over Enterprise Week. Spokesman Chris Taylor says: ‘We’re very popular with students because of our weekly meetings and guest speakers from all over the country. They encourage entrepreneurial thinking and excellent graduate skills among our members.’