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Successful Students See Support Service Soar From Strength to Strength
Enterprising students Damian Taylor (MA Health & Social Care) and Neil Martin (BA History) are the latest success story to emerge from BG Futures Business and Enterprise Centre at Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU). Having joined the BGU Enterprise Club just a few months ago the duo have gone from strength to strength with their growing business EarlyBird Lifestyle Support and are already working from their own premises. EarlyBird Lifestyle Support is a friendly well-being service based in Lincoln and serves the city and surrounding areas helping people with tasks such as cooking, cleaning, collecting prescriptions and medication, food shopping, trips out, escorting individuals to appointments and more. Speaking to the BGU Futures Team, Damian discussed how the support from the Centre helped him, Neil and their team reach their goals: “Being able to become residents in the BG Futures Enterprise Room has allowed us the time and space to work productively whilst in the early stages of our business. One of the main benefits is that it has allowed us to present ourselves to local authorities and other community professionals as a legitimate and professional business. The guidance and advice we have received from Becky has been incredibly important for us and invaluable. The enterprise centre is a fantastic resource for new and upcoming businesses. You may have the misconception that you have to have it all figured out with a full business plan before you receive support, this is far from the truth, you can be at the very being stages of an idea! Mixing this support with my 10 years front line and management experience in the sector, along with the Health & Social care provision at BGU, has really enabled Neil and I to create a service that brings both health care and social care together which allows us to offer holistic and bespoke person centred support with a wider understanding of social injustices and the adult social care crisis. I would encourage anyone even thinking about going into business or anyone with a concept for self-employment to come in and speak to someone. I can guarantee you won’t regret it!” Becky Goodman, Enterprise Development Manager at BG Futures, was equally full of praise for the hard work of Damian and his team: “It has been great to work with Damian and Neil over the past few months, and I am excited to see how the business grows and develops over the coming months and years Damian first contacted us following a visit I made to his MA Health and Social Care course and after meeting with both Damian and Neil it became clear that the business needed the space to grow. The duo moved into the BGU Enterprise Club room in BG Futures, and from there we have watched them grow from strength to strength, from recruiting staff, to sourcing promotional products and hope that we have made a real impact to their start up journey, and continue to do so as they take up an office of their own with us in the centre.” The Careers, Employability and Enterprise team strive to support all students during their studies to research and plan their career, and to improve their employability. The BGU Enterprise Club hosted by BG Futures also provides students with Business Start-up support and guidance, in addition to free office space*, and the opportunity to pitch for start-up funding. If you have got a vision for your own business but aren’t sure where to begin then the BG Futures team are the perfect place to start. With facilities and expert support available in their incubation centre, they’ll be able to get you on the road to success. Visit our website or contact them today to see how you can start your own adventure. Support from EarlyBird is available to anyone in Lincolnshire and the surrounding area, to find out how they can help you visit their website, or get in contact via email at info@ebls.co.uk or on 01522424161. On the 31st of August EarlyBird will be running a charity fundraiser in aid of Alzheimer’s Society. Join them from 10am at Freshney Place, Grimsby, as they attempt a ‘Coast to Coast’ 168 mile cycle. Alternatively you can donate to their efforts here. *Competitive process applies. -
Teenage Market Heads to the Coast to Encourage Enterprising Entrepreneurs
As the Lincoln Teenage Market continues to grow, the Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) based BG Futures team behind it are developing new and exciting partnerships with keen supporters. One such partnership is with the Lincolnshire Coastal Business Improvement District. A Business Improvement District (BID) is a precisely defined geographical area where the local business community has voted to invest in additional services to those provided by the local authority. By working with the Coastal BID BG Futures aims to inspire and support young entrepreneurs from across the wider county, in particular within Skegness and the surrounding area. BG Futures also aims to work with the local population to raise aspirations, and promote social mobility by providing informal careers advice and guidance, and promoting the BGU offer within the coastal community. Part of this initiative included bringing the Teenage Market to the centre of Skegness, providing entrepreneurial young people with the chance to trial new business ideas and sell creative products in Tower Gardens just off the seafront. Alongside the market BGU partnered with the local Premier Inn to raise funds for their chosen charity GOSH, while members of their team provided face painting for youngsters. Free crafts were also provided by BGU most notably by regular volunteer Jill Draycott who is a keen advocate of the market. Following the market Becky Goodman, Enterprise Development Manager, and Nikki Smith; Careers, Employability and Enterprise Adviser at BGU praised the event for what it could do for the wider area: “Taking the Lincoln Teenage Market on tour to Skegness has been a particular highlight of our summer series of markets, and it has been great to partner with The Coastal Bid team on this to take the Market to the coast. Seeing new stallholders showcase their entrepreneurial talents, and our existing stallholders thrive in a new location backed by The Coastal Bid, local mayor, town council, and local businesses gives all of the BG Futures team an immense sense of pride“ The Teenage Market offers budding traders, business owners and performers the chance to trial their entrepreneurial ideas in a realistic and supportive environment. If you’d like to find out more about the Lincoln Teenage Market or perhaps get involved as a trader or performer at the next event, please contact the Teenage Market team at: teenagemarket@bishopg.ac.uk. You can also follow Lincoln Teenage Market on Facebook -
Students tackle food waste and social problems in ‘Make Your Mark’ challenge
Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) students recently had the chance to devise solutions to the global issue of food waste as part of the ‘Make Your Mark’ challenge. Sponsored and hosted by the Centre for Enhancement of Learning and Teaching (CELT), and supported by BG Futures, the ‘Make Your Mark’ challenge asked the students to think of improvements that could be made at BGU to help limit food waste. While the University’s BG Lincoln Ltd. team have made great strides in this area, they still face the difficulty of balancing these efforts with customer demand for a varied menu as John Hodson, Operations Manager at BG Lincoln Ltd., explains: “Over the past 3 years we have reduced our in-house waste by 28%, resulting in savings of around £14,000 in total. To achieve this, we have focused on an efficient menu, cooking within managed periods of time to meet projected demand, however, we are aware that students desire an expansion to the menu choice.” With this in mind students were asked to think about how about the menu choice could be expanded upon in catering outlets at BGU whilst improving waste control further. They were also asked to reflect on the sustainability of any of these initiatives and whether they could be developed/run as a social enterprise venture. The group of students who took part generated a raft of ideas from different portion sizes and a “lite bites” menu, to generating compost and introducing of ‘doggy bags’ to helping the disadvantaged through food bank donations. Amongst all these fantastic concepts, the winning solution suggested the development of an online app which releases a pre-bookable, weekly food plan. Devised by student Kim Lucia Spielmanns, who won £150 for her idea, the app would allow a higher percentage of food to be pre-booked by staff and students. Speaking at the event she explained her motivation: “Even though our in-house sustainability has greatly improved, I wanted to focus on a solution which could reduce our carbon footprint and better manage the volume control institutionally. My app idea means that more meal tickets can be pre-bought which can better inform buying decisions.” Two runner-up students also won a £20 Amazon voucher for their overall contributions. All the suggestions put forth by the students have been disseminated to the relevant BGU staff and will be built upon further in the New Year. John Hodson is keen to work with students further to ensure their voice is central to the menu offer and their ideas are incorporated into future plans and will be setting up dedicated focus groups in the New Year. Linette Wallace, CELT co-ordinator, led the event and has plans to expand its impact beyond BGU: “I am pleased that this event was so well received by our students and I believe there is a growing need for a pool of social entrepreneurial talent. Next academic year, we hope to be able to run this type of challenge with a group of local secondary schools and will be sending out invitations in the New Year.” For further information on the activities being carried out by the CELT team email CELT@bishopg.ac.uk If you'd like your school to be involved in future Make Your Mark challenges, fill out the below form and a member of our Outreach Team will be in touch with more information. -
“Amazing” Carers’ Initiatives Earn “Well Deserved” Awards for BGU
Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) is delighted to announce that its Health and Social Care team and wider community have successfully been accredited with the Lincolnshire Carers Quality Awards for providing outstanding support for Carers at the University. -
Enterprise Team Keeping Career Support 'Open for Business'
In true enterprising fashion, the team have adapted to the Campus closure and introduced activities to enhance the existing enterprise agenda. -
Clap for carers: How two BGU students are helping the most vulnerable during Covid-19
As the United Kingdom continues to grapple with ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic care providers across the country have been adapting their procedures to ensure that vulnerable people receive the support they need. EarlyBird Lifestyle Support is one of these hard-working groups and they’ve been sharing how the pandemic has impacted their work. Created and run by Bishop Grosseteste University students Damian Taylor (MA Health & Social Care) and Neil Martin (MA Education with TESOL) Earlybird prides itself on being a friendly well-being service supporting people throughout the city of Lincoln and surrounding areas with tasks such as cooking, cleaning, collecting prescriptions and medication, food shopping, trips out, escorting individuals to appointments and more. Damian discusses the changes the pandemic, and associated lockdown, has brought and how the team at Earlybird have adapted to it: “We work with many of groups left most vulnerable to COVID-19, primarily our older clients but also younger individuals suffering from mental health or other disability related problems. We wore a lot of protection anyway, but we’ve had to increase our use of PPE. It’s been so difficult to find supplies for reasonable prices though. We are also finding that many of our clients find the staff wearing the full PPE quite intimidating and try our best not to scare them off. Ultimately our team works to promote independence for vulnerable people, allowing them to lead their choice of lifestyle. That choice can be so easily lost at times like this and I’m proud to think we’re helping people to keep some level of freedom. I’d like to thank all our staff for their hard work during this time. Their enthusiasm and professionalism haven’t dropped once. They’re truly the backbone to the business, and we wouldn’t be where we are today without them.” Support from EarlyBird is available to anyone in Lincolnshire and the surrounding area, to find out how they can help you visit their website, or get in contact via email at info@ebls.co.uk or on 01522424161. Damian and Neil are the one of the many success stories to emerge from the BG Futures Business and Enterprise Centre at Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU). If you have got a vision for your own business but aren’t sure where to begin then the BG Futures team are the perfect place to start. With facilities and expert support available in their incubation centre, they’ll be able to get you on the road to success. Visit our website or contact them today to see how you can start your own adventure. -
BGU Community to Help Virtual TEDx Event Explore “Ideas in Isolation”
On the day that should have been TEDxBrayfordPool 2020 the team will be hosting a series of discussions with TEDxBrayfordPool alumni and team members around “Ideas in Isolation”. Join the first virtual TEDxBrayfordPool live on Facebook Live and Zoom webinar at 11am, 1pm, 3pm and 5pm for four, hour long interactive discussions based on the TEDxSalon format. Current and formers members of the BGU community form a large part of the event including: Business (Team Entrpereneurship) Coach Andy Farenden is curating the eventLecturer Lyndsay Muir is speakingBusiness (Team Entrepreneurship) student and SU Officer Owen Lewis is speakingAndrew Whitehouse, who delivers short courses at BGU, is speakingFormer BGU lecturer, Elinor Vettarino, will be speakingFormer BG Futures resident, Lizzie Jordan, will be speakingJo Tolley, alumni, will also be speaking at the eventAttendees can find full information on the day’s line up and register to take part by either joining on the “TEDxBrayfordPool” Facebook page or https://tedxbrayfordpool.eventbrite.com -
Golden Ticket Award sees Enactus BGU Lincoln succeed at Regional Finals
Earlier this month Bishop Grosseteste University’s (BGU) Enactus team headed to the head offices of Arla Foods in Leeds to compete in the regional Enactus finals. Enactus aims to support young people to engage in youth social action, and youth social enterprise. Their mission in the UK is to be recognised as a leader in developing a national network of socially minded young leaders of the future who transform communities and society through real life social action and environmentally responsible enterprise. At the regional finals team members Jessica Vernon and Courtney Simmons presented a TESOL focussed project centred around providing opportunities for English speaking practice to people that have English as a second language in disadvantaged communities while second year Geographers Mark Wright and Ellie Cordon presented a project focussed around disaster risk reduction in Fiji. The team’s passion, ideas, knowledge and project plan received high praise from the judges and the BGU team were highly commended by representatives from Asda, Arla and Enactus. The team were awarded a golden ticket on the day and will now progress to the Rookie League in April to showcase their projects to universities and organisations from across the UK. Enactus BGU Lincoln is supported by BG Futures, the careers, employability and enterprise team at BGU, and university advisers Nikki Smith and Becky Goodman, who is also the Programme Leader for Business and Enterprise, both of whom were incredibly proud of Enactus BGU’s success. Speaking following the finals Nikki said: “We are extremely proud of what the team have achieved in such a short space of time and look forward to supporting the team at the rookie League that will be held virtually in April. The team have worked exceptionally hard and that did not go unnoticed by the judges at the regionals.” Becky shared Nikki’s praise and expressed her excitement at the potential for the team: “It was great to see the team showcase a selection of their projects at the regionals, and it would be amazing to see more students from across the university getting involved with Enactus BGU Lincoln as they take the next step on this journey.” To find out more about joining Enactus email enactus@bishopg.ac.uk for more information. -
How collaboration across Bishop Grosseteste University is supporting students to adapt in uncertain times
By Cassie Rainey - BG Futures Administrator Covid-19 has transformed the world we live in, pushing us to adapt to a ‘new normal’. One aspect of this ‘new normal’ is the way in which graduates will have to navigate their transitions into the labour market. At Bishop Grosseteste University, the support of academic and professional support teams is more vital than ever to students and graduates. Last month, the Primary and Early Years ITE team and the BG Futures: Careers, Employability and Enterprise team collaborated to deliver a virtual session for students across programmes on the format and logistics of online interviews. The sessions incorporated information on best practice, tips for different video calling platforms and guidance on possible interview questions. The sessions included a Q&A from a recruitment industry expert and BG Futures tenant with questions put forward by students. Sarah Howe, Senior Lecturer on the PGCE Primary programme said: “The Covid – 19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the job application process for some of our students and trainees. Lecturers in the Primary and Early Years ITE Programmes turned to the Careers, Employability & Enterprise team at BG Futures to ensure that support offered at our institution, met the needs of our students and trainees. Several on-line workshops and personal tutorials have taken place with encouraging feedback.” Emma McCarthy, Co-Director of McCarthy Adams Recruitment Specialists, a tenant within the Business & Enterprise Centre in BG Futures, was on hand to provide expert tips to succeeding in online interviews and assisted with a video Q&A for the session. Andy Wright, Careers, Employability & Enterprise Coordinator at BG Futures commented: “This has been a great partnership between teaching staff, BG Futures, students and one of our own tenant businesses. We’ve been very excited to extend our reach to those students who are not able to access face-to-face support at this time, and we have been delighted with the results.” George Rhodes, BA (Hons) Primary Education student, who used this session to help prepare for an upcoming online job interview commented: “After being recommended by a fellow student, I joined an online interview support session which not only provided invaluable advice but also built up my self-confidence. I was successful in my interview, running against 90 other candidates, and I believe without attending the session with Andrew this may not have been the case.” Sarah Moseley, Enterprise Development Manager, said: “The BG Futures Business and Enterprise Centre offers 14 leasable office spaces for start-ups and is home to our Student Enterprise Club. With an emphasis on making a positive impact, we strive to attract tenants who will work collaboratively, to improve the lives of our students, bridging theory and practice. We are extremely thankful for Emma McCarthy’s time and input with this session” You can find out more about BG Futures here. You can explore our Primary and Early Years programmes here. -
Student Podcast Explores the Narratives and Cultural Impact of Video Games
Second year student Josh Sykes has launched a new podcast exploring the narratives of video games. Created as part of his work studying English Literature at Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU), the podcast offers listeners the chance to join Josh as he, and guests, discuss how settings and stories are shaped along with how games can offer explorations of topics such as war and mental health. Despite having no previous experience creating podcasts Josh explains what drew him to the project: “The English@Work module presented a unique opportunity to explore my own interests and hobbies whilst at the same time allowing me to discover how these interests can be applied to workplace scenarios. For me, I have a deep interest in the world of videogames including the way settings and stories are shaped to the way in which games can engage with the player through explorations of topics such as war and mental health. Thus, through the English@Work module, I could explore these topics in a greater detail whilst also illustrating how I can take the topic of videogames and apply it to any workplace situation. At the start of this project I was new to the world of podcast and audio production but through the progression of it I was able to develop a good level of knowledge in editing and recording of audio files whilst also developing a critical eye for what was best placed in the podcast. The experience of creating the podcast has been enjoyable and I am pleased with the final outcome and the feedback received has been positive, but I am also pleased that I chose to do the podcast project as it allowed me to meet a variety of people from experts on videogames to audio professionals as well as develop a variety of skills that I did not possess at the start of the project.” You can listen to the first episode of the podcast, where Josh is joined Esther MacCallum-Stewart, an Associate Professor at Staffordshire University and an expert in narratives in games, by clicking here. English@Work is a second-year module that focuses specifically on employability and opportunities to apply subject-specific skills and knowledge and develop an enhanced awareness of the transferability of those skills through project-based learning. In partnership with BG Futures team, and this module embeds students’ understanding of their transferable communication skills and information literacies in specific, employability contexts. Dr Claudia Capancioni, Programme Leader for English at BGU, praised both Josh and his peers for how they have embraced their projects despite wider international complications: “The sudden and unprecedented circumstances caused by Covid-19 had an immediate impact on the projects our students worked on this academic year but our students' reaction and resilience have given us fantastic stories of achievement. Colleagues from across BGU who have worked with the students, including our BG Futures team and Nikki Smith, Lecturer in Business, have been incredibly impressed with their efforts and particularly how successfully they have adapted and transformed their projects demonstrating incredible resourcefulness, and creativity.” For more information on how you can become apart of BGU’s learning community, visit our website, or speak to a member of our Enquiries Team.
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