Eastern ARC students put their entrepreneurial skills to the test

Our Essex Startups team ran an Eastern Arc Start-Up Weekender in collaboration with the enterprise teams from the Universities of Kent and East Anglia.

The event, which was the first of its kind to involve all three Eastern ARC universities, involved 20 students going to Essex Outdoors Mersea on Mersea Island to take part in entrepreneurial activities and fun outdoor activities.

The students were put into mixed teams and asked to come up with a business idea that covers one or more of the UN’s Sustainable Development goals. Staff from all three universities acted as mentors over the course of the weekend, helping the students to generate and refine their ideas.

On the second day the teams presented their ideas to a team of external judges including Essex alumni and mentor Barry Van Eupen, performance coach and serial entrepreneur, Richard Harris, Erika Watson MBE, entrepreneur in residence at the University of Kent Ben Glancy and game developer Mark Backler.

The quality of the ideas was of such a high standard, both the judges and staff were impressed with the creativity, thoughtfulness and ingenuity of the ideas on display. The students displayed great teamwork, developed their entrepreneurial abilities and had lots of fun doing it too.

Essex Startups offer support for students and alumni who wish to start their own business or develop entrepreneurial skills. Get in touch with the Startups team to find out how it can help you at various stages of your business journey.

Visit the Enterprise resource page to find out more.