Aged 16-25? Want £1000 towards your creative Project? Read on!

Are you a creative student? Did you join us on our Going Freelance sessions 2011? (If not, don't worry we are running it again in 2012!)

Ideas Fund is offering £1000 towards YOUR creative project. Visit http://www.ideastap.com/funding now and unlock funding for your idea.

• Got a creative project that needs funding?
• Aged between 16-25?
• Based in the UK?
• Then the Ideas Fund is for you.

It’s our way of helping you to make your ideas a reality. We know how hard cash is to come by, especially in the current climate – so we’ve made the application process as easy as possible.

We can’t fund every project, but at least you don’t need a PhD in form-filling to be in with a chance.

To date, we've awarded more than £350,000 in funding to IdeasTap members.

The Ideas Fund is currently split into themed categories, although these are subject to change and more funds may be added in the future.

Ideas Fund Innovators

Open all year, with four deadlines for submissions, this Fund offers £1,000 awards for projects from any creative discipline. As the name suggests, the focus is on innovation. Got an original idea that needs a cash injection? Apply today. In the past we’ve funded everything from performances to photography collectives, visual artists to filmmakers.

Ideas Fund Green

Open every spring for six weeks, Ideas Fund Green celebrates and supports creative projects that either deal with environmental issues or are produced in an environmentally-sustainable fashion. We're passionate about green issues at IdeasTap and we believe that the arts can bring these issues to life and communicate them in an interesting, inspiring way. This fund offers awards of £5,000 and applications can come from any creative discipline.

Ideas Fund Edinburgh

Open for six weeks from October every year, the Edinburgh award provides one winning company with £20,000 and the runner up with £10,000, along with expert mentoring, to take a show to the world’s largest arts festival. This August will see the premieres of last year’s winning productions.

Ideas Fund Shorts

Open for six weeks from February every year, Shorts offers young filmmakers £5,000 to create a five-minute short film. Entries this year included documentaries, conceptual pieces, trailers for features, music videos, fashion films and animated shorts. 

If you’re not eligible for our briefs, or if you haven’t been lucky this time, there are countless other ways to raise cash for your creative projects. We’ve been talking to arts practitioners from different disciplines about their funding knowledge. Read the articles below for ideas:

• Documentary maker Katharine Round on film funding
• Kate McGrath from Fuel on theatre funding
• Nick James, founder of Mushroom Works studio space, on visual arts funding
• Our guide to crowdfunding

More coming soon...

 

MMU Enterprise Academy - Tomorrows Leaders

The third MMU Enterprise Academy workshop took place on Wednesday 11^th January. The Enterprising skill covered this month was Leadership and was led by subject expert Linda Matthews.

This extra curricular session focussed on three types of leader – Traditional, Transactional and Transformational. The students threw themselves into activities identifying the leadership style of celebrities and well known figures as well as identifying their own leadership style accompanied by a t-shire strap line that encompassed all that they had learnt about themselves.

The MMU Enterprise Academy has attracted in excess of 20 students wishing to learn more about enterprise and starting their own business.

Claire Giddens, Project Officer within the Centre for Enterprise said: ‘the overwhelming success of enterprise academy has shown that there is a strong demand for enterprise support within the University. This is the first time we have run the academy and based on the enthusiasm and engagement of the attendees we hope to make this an annual programme of workshops’.

Find out more about the NW HE Enterprise Champions and they programmes they offer please visit http://www.mmucfe.co.uk/services/providing/enterprise-champions/ or contact Laura Rimmer on 0161 247 6605 l.rimmer@mmu.ac.uk

The MMU Enterprise Academy is part of the NW HE Enterprise Champions programme of events funded by ERDF.

ESSA

Dear Student,

Before you head home for the Christmas holidays, we’d like to let you know about a fantastic initiative that is open to you. We have decided to be a part of this fantastic initiative as, not only does it give you access to prize money of £95,000, it will provide you with a great platform to showcase you and your society.

The RBS Enterprising Student Societies Accreditation (ESSA), sponsored by LinkedIn, recognises and rewards student societies for the activities they are already doing. The accreditation is free; sign up you society here www.theessa.com/sign-up-here/ and enter the competition here www.theessa.com/the-competition/ to win your share of the £95,000 prize money.

Have a fantastic Christmas holiday and see you in the New Year! 

Join us for the final MBG of 2011

Thursday 15th December

Join us for the final Monthly Business Group of the year. This month we will be holding a drop in session in Innospace for those of you who want to ask any questions, network further or just want to round off a year of informative workshops.

The NW HE Enterprise Champions Team and Innospace representatives will be on hand to answer any of your questions about mentoring, support, enterprise and starting your own business.

The room will be open for anyone to drop in from 11 am and we will be on hand until 2pm.

A small buffet will be available for those who join us. So come and share a mince pie with us and celebrate what has been a fantasic forst eyar for the Monthly Business Group

Date: Thursday 15th december

Time: 11am

Venue: Innospace (Anthony H Wilson)

MMU Enterprise Academy Off to a flying Start

MMU students choose to learn more about Entrepreneurship through a bespoke course developed by NW HE Enterprise Champions

The MMU Enterprise Academy launched on Wednesday 23^rd November which saw 25 enthusiastic students sign up to a 5 week course focussing on Enterprise.

The sessions are based around the I-plan model which was developed by the NW HE Enterprise Champions. Each session is interactive and covers different aspects of Entrepreneurship: Innovation, Pitching, Leadership, Action and Negotiation.

The first session was led by Haydn Insley from the Fab Lab based in Ancoats. The students learnt to look at innovation from all angles, including how ‘not to be’ innovative before building a Faberge egg holder out of any materials that they could find. A very regal design received commendation from Haydn and the Enterprise Champions team amongst some extremely witty presentations.

It was fantastic to see so many students volunteer to take part in this course and we cannot wait for the next session. MMU’s very own Jeff McCarthy will be showing the students the difference between the good, the bad and the ugly pitches seen in the business world on Wednesday 7^th December. They will also be given the task of developing a pitch about our incubator – Innospace. This will be a great introduction for them into the start up business world, and who knows, we may pick up some marketing tips.

To find out more about the course and the project please visit http://www.mmucfe.co.uk/services/providing/enterprise-champions/

If any students would still like to attend the remaining four sessions please e-mail l.rimmer@mmu.ac.uk

The NW HE Enterprise Champions project is ERDF and is therefore subject to specific eligibility requirements. 

Enterprise Academy Q & A

1.         What can I expect to gain from attending this programme?

Enterprise Academy is a programme of five interactive workshops targeted at third year students and alumni to raise their awareness of enterprise and making self- employment a viable option in current job market.  Led by the MMU Enterprise Champion team attendees will work with a team of industry specialists to give them access to the latest knowledge, networks, information and skills necessary to achieve their goals.

2.         I’m not sure what I want to do when I leave university so how will Enterprise Academy help me?

That does not matter.  Enterprise Academy will provide you with essential knowledge and skills that will enable you to become an enterprising graduate.  All graduates need to develop additional skills to ensure they stand out from the competition.  You will be supported to shape out your emerging ideas for the future or even come up with new ideas with skilled people who will give you the support you need.  If you don’t have a business idea, don’t worry come along and learn about how to build your personal brand.

3.         Why is this programme important for me as a student?

Studying for a degree is a fantastic experience but having additional skills, knowledge and experience will ensure you stand out from the crowd. Enterprise Academy will equip you with practical knowledge that you can apply to your own field of study.  It is increasingly important to be able to demonstrate that you can be an enterprising person able to innovate and lead.  Enterprise Academy will develop you to achieve this.

4.         I am really busy with my course, how can I fit this in?

The Enterprise Academy workshops take place once a month on a Wednesday afternoon from 1pm to 4pm which is the time for taking part in electives.  Enterprise Academy is perfect to complete in addition to your degree course as it will enable you to develop additional and essential skills, knowledge and experience to enhance your future prospects.

5.         What kind of support and direction can I hope to get in terms of becoming a better enterpriser?

Enterprise Academy is built around a brand new learning framework called I-plan.  I-plan focuses on developing five essential entrepreneurial skills.  Each interactive session will enable you to know more about each topic, try out each skill and apply it to your own situation.  All you have to do is sign up.

6.         Who is coordinating the event?

The North West Enterprise Champions team have designed, written and planned Enterprise Academy. We have helped over 1,000 MMU students to become more enterprising or launch their own business since 2008 (and we are passionate about it!).  we have helped over 50 North West students, graduates and alumni to start their own business.  We run a catalogue of workshops and courses as you can see here

7.         How do I know if Enterprise Academy is right for me?

Every new graduate needs more than a good degree to succeed after graduation. Employers are increasingly expecting their new recruits to have a working knowledge of how organisations work, be they big businesses, small businesses or social enterprises in both the public and private sectors. Enterprise Academy is designed specifically to equip you with those essential skills, knowledge and experience. You will meet new people and it will be fun too!

8.         What kind of experience do the coordinators of the event have in this area?

The coordinators have a collective experience of over 50 years in helping people like you to develop their enterprise knowledge, skills and experience.  We are also experienced at helping graduates to start their own business. We can’t wait to meet you and learn about your ideas for the future.

9.         Is this really completely free? Where’s the catch?

Yes. Enterprise Academy is completely free to attend but the value is priceless. Not only that you will receive a certificate of completion so you can celebrate your achievement and demonstrate your enterprising skills.

10.       How do I sign up?

It’s simple. All you have to do is http://enterpriseacademy.eventbrite.com  

Last Chance to Apply for your place on the Enterprise Academy Programme!

We are now inviting the last round of applications for the Enterprise Academy and with just 20 places left you need to act quickly!

How? Simple!

First: Check you are available 1pm – 4pm on the following dates:

Wednesday 23rd November 2011
Wednesday 7th December 2011
Wednesday 11th January 2012
Wednesday 8th February 2012
Wednesday 14th March 2012

Second: Register your interest:

http://enterpriseacademy.eventbrite.com 

Fingers and Toes crossed that you are successful! Find out more about the programme here

We are an ERDF funded project which does mean that we can only accept students and graduates that fit a certain criteria. Please apply and we can help assess your eligibility. In the event that you are not eligible we will sign post you onto a suitable alternative