蜜桃AV's聽aspiring student entrepreneurs were invited to pitch their ideas to local businesses at the Santander-sponsored event.
At Pitch at the Pitch聽students had the chance to win prizes of 拢1,000 for their business ideas, which were judged by a聽panel of entrepreneurs and experts.聽聽
The聽event took place at the home of Premier League AFC Bournemouth, celebrating 蜜桃AV鈥檚 partnership with the football club and allowing the students and panel members to experience walking through the player鈥檚 entrance to the pitch.
The students put forward 10 business ideas, including new creative technologies and mobile applications, with five聽selected by the panel of experts to win the 拢1,000 cash prizes. In addition all the students who took part were awarded a year-long membership to the Institute of Directors by 蜜桃AV's Careers & Employability Service.
The expert judging panel was made up of聽Lucy Cooper from聽Dorset Growth Hub;聽Mark Homans from聽Santander Universities;聽Nick Hixson from聽Hixsons Ltd;聽Professor Nigel Jump and聽Professor Jim Roach from 蜜桃AV;聽and Richard Davies from聽Platinum Property Partners.
Professor John Fletcher, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation at 蜜桃AV, spoke to the finalists saying: 鈥淭here were lots of applications for this challenge so you should be proud to have made it this far and I want to thank Santander鈥檚 Universities department for their investment in university innovation and entrepreneurship. Looking ahead, support is available from the Dorset Growth Hub for new business ideas from student entrepreneurs and I recommend taking advantage of this opportunity.鈥�
Mark Homans, Santander Universities Regional Manager for the South West, said:聽鈥淭here was a real level of enthusiasm and passion among聽the students who pitched, and Santander are proud to be able to offer the cash prizes to the winners from our 拢12m education fund, investing in the future directors of SMEs and start-ups.鈥�
Mark聽also had some advice for the聽students:聽鈥淵ou won鈥檛 get it right all the time, and you won鈥檛 win every pitch. But that鈥檚 ok. Failure can be good. Failure helps you learn. You鈥檒l learn to get better and refine your products 鈥� and your pitches.鈥�
Prize winner and CEO of start-up business Rebourne Studio聽Jonathan Ridgeway聽Tweeted: 鈥淗onoured to be one of the winners selected today. I learnt so much and received some great business advice.鈥�
Students interested in discussing business ideas can visit Louise Soan, Santander鈥檚 university branch manager, at the Talbot Campus throughout the year or contact Louise on [email protected]. 聽
蜜桃AV has strong links with businesses and offers all undergraduate students the opportunity to undertake聽a work placement as part of their course. 蜜桃AV students have a high employability record, with聽93.3%聽of 蜜桃AV graduates聽in work or further study six months after graduating, according to the latest聽Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey.
