Enterprise resources for students

• Enterprising Mind of the Year Award

  Enterprise and Entrepreneurial Education, in collaboration with the St Andrews Students' Association and Student Experience, offers an annual prize for the student who has displayed significant enterprise in their studies. 

   An enterprising mind is broadly defined as creating value in the form of novel ideas or fresh applications or adventurous methods or thinking outside of the box. This can be evidenced by work directly within a module itself or indirectly through related cultural, social, economic or practical activities which are clearly linked closely to a module you have studied.  

  The annual Enterprising Mind of the Year Award is open to both undergraduate and postgraduate taught students. 

  Please email enterprising@st-andrews.ac.uk if you have any further questions. For more information on how to be our next Enterprising Mind of the Year, check out the Enterprising Mind of the Year page! 

• Pecha Kucha Evening

  Are you looking for more opportunities to engage in public speaking at the University level?  

  Consider speaking at our Pecha Kucha Evenings! 

  Enterprise and Entrepreneurial Education is proud to host bi-annual Pecha Kucha Evenings, where students and staff alike can present a Pecha Kucha presentation on that evening’s theme.  

  In the past, our evenings have featured student and staff speakers presenting on themes such as, ‘Fun & Games: Lessons from Childhood’ and ‘Learning from Failure’.  

  What is a ‘Pecha Kucha’ Presentation? 

  A ‘Pecha Kucha’ presentation is a unique and quick style of presenting that was designed to engage your audience as much as possible!  

  Developed in 2003 in Tokyo, Japan by Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham at an international architecture conference, the Pecha Kucha presentation is what show and tell always dreamed of becoming. Pecha Kucha is actually Japanese for ‘chit chat’! 

  The Pecha Kucha 20 X 20 presentation is formatted in twenty slides, twenty seconds each for a total of roughly six minutes per presentation. Beyond the rapid pace of the presentation, there’s a twist!  

  Each slide should contain only one image, no text – this means that the main storyteller will be you, rather than the physical presentation.  

  St Andrews is proud to be one of more than 1200 Pecha Kucha cities worldwide. You can find more information Pecha Kucha on their webpage or come see a Pecha Kucha Evening yourself! 

• Pecha Kucha Workshop

  Regardless if you are planning to speak at one of our bi-annual Pecha Kucha Evenings, we welcome all students to participate in our Pecha Kucha workshops!  

  By attending any one of our scheduled Pecha Kucha workshops, you will not only learn how to create and share your own Pecha Kucha presentation, but you will also gain further public speaking skills. 

  We run Pecha Kucha workshops at least twice a semester, and we are particularly keen to expand our Pecha Kucha workshops to societies or student groups who are seeking public speaking support or training. 

• St Andrew Research Internship Scheme (StARIS)

  Are you keen to further develop your enterprise capabilities and research skills as an undergraduate student, while getting paid?  

  Then the St Andrews Research Internship Scheme (StARIS), formerly known as the Undergraduate Research Assistantship Scheme (URAS) may be of interest to you! 

  The St Andrews Research Internship Scheme (StARIS) is aimed at giving undergraduate students the opportunity to enhance their learning experience by working on academic research projects with University faculty members.  

  Each School is allocated funding to spend on research assistants and are encouraged to employ at least 3 interns. Schools are responsible for selection, administration, supervision, training and any ethical or safety clearances of their own assistants.  

  As a research assistant, you will be able to:  

  • Develop your Graduate Attributes and Enterprise Capabilities. 
  • Take on academic research-based work, i.e. work that is related to either a research or a teaching project that is currently on-going or in advanced planning stages in your School 
  • Work directly with a member of staff and/or other undergraduate students within their School to collaboratively complete the tasks outlined within their work contract 

  For further inquiries about the St Andrews Research Internship Scheme, please contact staris@st-andrews.ac.uk.  

   As a note, StARIS projects are often announced on a rolling basis by the Director of Research (Undergraduate) within your own School. If you are keen to know if any project are available in your School, please get in touch with your Director of Research, Director of Teaching, or Head of School.  

• Summer Teams Enterprise Programme (STEP)

  STEP is one of our most popular programmes! 

  The Summer Teams Enterprise Programme is an opportunity for undergraduate students to invest seven weeks in participating in a completely remote skills development programme.  

  STEP offers a range of real-life projects designed and supported by University staff for students to work on. As a project participant, students will gain virtual team-work experience in a group of diverse students, contribute to the University’s learning and teaching through working on impactful outputs, and get this experience listed on their Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR) transcript. 

   The goal of the Summer Teams Enterprise Programme is to provide all undergraduate students with the opportunity to not only gain valuable skills through real-world application but allow students the chance to find community and create a positive impact on the future of the University of St Andrews.  

  If you are curious about applying for STEP, why not watch our STEP 2024 Spotlight Video featuring interviews and testimonials from participants, coaches, and sponsors within the STEP 2024 cohort?  

  For more information on STEP, please email step@st-andrews.ac.uk or visit the Summer Teams Enterprise Programme webpage! 

   

• Vertically Integrated Projects (VIPs)

  What are Vertically Intergrated Projects (VIP)? 

  Vertically Integrated Project (VIP) is an ongoing, credit-bearing undergraduate research module led by an academic supervisor and made up of a team of students from any level of study (the vertical aspect).  

  The team of students can come from different subject areas with diverse backgrounds and skills across both arts and science. The VIP programme in St Andrews, established in 2020 with 5 projects, now represents 12 interdisciplinary projects with more than a 125+ enrolled students across the Arts, Humanities and Sciences.  

  Vertically Integrated Project Modules provide undergraduate students the opportunity to develop their academic skills while collaborating on interdepartmental topics not available within their typical degree pathway.  

  The current list of available VIP Modules is available to review and apply for before the beginning of the next academic term, 2024 – 2025.  

  If participating in a VIP Module sounds interesting to you, please head to the VIP webpage for more information and support.  

  VIP Conference  

  The VIP Conference is hosted annually to showcase the incredible interdisciplinary and collaborative work of our current VIP cohort!  

  This conference, often taking place in the Candlemas term, offers current VIP module students the opportunity to discuss their ongoing work with current staff members, other VIP module students undergoing different projects, and prospective VIP module students at the University.
  We envision this day as an opportunity to reflect on the exciting interdisciplinary research and collaborations that VIP hopes to facilitate in the future. 

• Other Enterprise Resources in IELLI

  Enterprise and Entrepreneurial Education is just one department within the University of St Andrews International Education and Lifelong Learning Institute (IELLI). 

  IELLI offers a range of courses and events which support enterprise and entrepreneurship and is an excellent resource if you are looking to develop your transferable skills, but don’t know where to start! 

  Please head over to the website or contact ceed@st-andrews.ac.uk for further information.   

• Usefulness of Failure Blog

  As part of our efforts to break down the stigma surrounding the topic of failure, we run ‘The Usefulness of Failure’ blog! 

   Failure is part of everyday life, and we believe that it should be celebrated, not shamed. This blog features reflections from students, staff and alumni on how their failures have helped them to navigate life and develop their skills.  

  Want to share your stories of failure, reflection, and learning with our ‘The Usefulness of Failure’ blog?  

  Contact enterprising@st-andrews.ac.uk for further information on how to be featured in our next issue! 

   Beyond the resources we offer at Enterprise and Entrepreneurial Education, there are a multitude of resources available at the University of St Andrews to improve your transferable skills. 

• Other Enterprise Resources at the University of St Andrews

  Careers Centre 

  The Careers Centre provides information about student enterprise events and advice , business start-ups, and gives advice on starting a business.  

  Entrepreneurship Centre 

  The Entrepreneurship Centre is a diverse and innovative space that finds and nurtures the entrepreneurial spirit in students, academics and staff from every academic school, course, and stage of development. 

  Through our programmes, we provide the tools, contacts, and confidence to enable participants to explore the full entrepreneurial journey, turn their research and expertise into a societal benefit and grow their ideas into successful and sustainable businesses. 

  Technology Transfer Centre  

  The Technology Transfer Centre (TTC) helps researchers achieve impact from their research through supporting enterprise and entrepreneurship for staff and students.  

  For more information, contact ttcconnect@st-andrews.ac.uk. 

  Enactus St Andrews

  Enactus is an international entrepreneurial club in which teams design and implement social enterprises to help specified beneficiaries. The St. Andrews branch currently operates 4 social enterprises. Students can buy membership for a small fee and participate in social enterprise projects. 

  For more information, contact EnactusStA@st-andrews.ac.uk 

  Santander Universities Entrepreneurship Awards  

  The University of St Andrews is one of the UK Universities with an agreement with Santander bank. Students can apply for the Santander Universities Entrepreneurship Award.   

  Saltire Scholarships

  The Saltire Scholars Programme is Entrepreneurial Scotland's flagship programme designed to find, grow and connect students with the ambition and potential of becoming future leaders for Scotland.

  Open to full-time undergraduate penultimate and final year students from all 16 of Scotland's universities, the programme puts students on a year-long transformational development journey, culminating in an 8-12 week funded summer internship with host companies from all over the world.

  On this journey, students undergo a robust recruitment process, empowering personal development workshops and work on real commercial projects with their host company.

  Through this, students unlock their full potential, foster an entrepreneurial mindset, and feel empowered to drive growth and impact as they navigate their future careers.

  Find out more on the Entrepreneurial Scotland website.