We are pleased to announce that we are once again running our Swans Den competition in partnership with the University of Lincoln’s Students’ Union & Unloc.
Swan’s Den gives students an opportunity to pitch a business idea for the chance to be awarded a grant of up to £5,000. This process will allow you to gain employability skills such as commercial awareness, organisation and communication.
Support for successful applicants this year will be provided by Unloc, a leading education non-profit founded in 2013 by award-winning young leaders and advocates Hayden Taylor and Ben Dowling. They inspire and empower young people in schools, colleges, and organisations to be changemakers through bespoke and innovative programmes in entrepreneurship, leadership, career pathways, and student voice.
Reece Leggett, Student Enterprise Manager, The University of Lincoln said:
“I’m delighted that we are once again launching Swans Den for our students. Last year’s competition saw the launch of excellent businesses and provided a much-needed boost of funding to innovative products. This year, we are pleased to partner not only with the University of Lincoln’s Students’ Union but also with Unloc, who will deliver invaluable support and expertise to successful finalists before their pitch.”
Zuzanna Romanska, Lead Officer and VP Wellbeing & Community, University of Lincoln Students’ Union commented:
“We are excited to welcome back Swans Den. This is a great opportunity for students to compete and showcase their businesses, whilst getting some funding along the way. Together with Student Enterprise and Unloc, we aim to provide support and expertise to empower our students as they embark on their entrepreneurial journey.”
Unloc’s Managing Director Hayden Taylor said:
“We’re thrilled to be working with the University of Lincoln as a delivery partner on this exciting new project. Swans Den will provide students in the Lincoln area with the opportunity to take their ideas forward, win funding to make it a reality, and experience our Enterprise programme. They’ll develop their skills and commercial awareness and empower themselves with key practical abilities and business knowledge that will help them on their career journey, both during the course and with mentoring support afterwards should they wish. It’s a fantastic opportunity and we’re incredibly excited to see what ideas and concepts the young people of Lincoln have up their sleeves!”
Details of the competition are below;
CRITERIA:
- You will need to be a University of Lincoln student and member of the University of Lincoln Students’ Union.
- You can apply as a team as long as one of you takes the managerial role.
- You will need to fill out an application form which can be accessed here – https://forms.office.com/e/S18u4XH7ma
- You are legally entitled to set up a trading enterprise in the UK and that there are no restrictions in place (i.e. visa/court restrictions etc).
- You must not be actively trading or registered with HMRC prior to the competition closing date.
DEADLINE:
Deadline for applications to be completed is 09/02/2024 by 11pm.
Full information and criteria can be found in the application pack, please contact studententerprise@lincoln.ac.uk for further details.
We hope to see as many of our student entrepreneurs enter, and good luck to all applicants!