Award scheme for student societies

A new scheme has been launched to reward students with entrepreneurial talent.

The Enterprising Students Societies Accreditation (ESSA) sees RBS and Find Invest Grow (FIG) stump up £95,000 of prize funds to reward students who run the most effective student societies.

The idea behind the competition is to encourage business skills among students. A spokesperson for the competition said:

"To compete in this environment, students will need to differentiate themselves. Employers are going to be looking for them to have gone that step further. They will be looking for certifications and accreditations that will separate the applications. They are also looking for enterprising streaks in candidates. Students with a track record of successful planning and management will have a competitive edge.

"Starting a business is becoming a rising trend for graduates looking to crystallise business ideas they formed at university, or to address
the difficulties of finding employment. This scheme is vital in helping them focus on and develop the skills needed."

There are three different categories accredited societies can compete in. The bronze award offers £10,000 pounds to the society with the most viewed video on Youtube, the silver award offers £20,000 to the best fundraising event or £10,000 to the best series of events and the gold award offers £25,000 to the most enterprising society, £20,000 for entrepreneurial use of funds and £10,000 for best events.

Students who think their society is worthy of a prize can enter on the ESSA website, the competition is open UK wide to over 100 universities.