4 Venture / KEELE MANAGEMENT SCHOOL
Dancer , Footballer , Entrepreneur …
A multi-talented KMS student
Elliott Lancaster , currently a final year Accounting and Finance student , explained how he has made the most of every opportunity at Keele !
“ I remember arriving at Keele as though it was yesterday , a community that embraced me and presented a multitude of opportunities for students to get involved in .
In my first year , I became a Student Ambassador , an active volunteer and also established the ‘ Rotaract ’ Society . The society I created provided students with a wide range of volunteering opportunities including the Rough Sleep-Out which was promoted on the BBC News website , coincidentally ; I was on a placement with the BBC Open Doors Programme at the time !
As Secretary of the Dance Society I somehow managed to win the Keele Charity Lip Sync Battle with my friends Katie , Sarah and Charlie and as Secretary , Mascot and occasional goalie for the Neil Baldwin Football Club played against Cambridge University , the Members of Parliament Football Club and Port Vale .
Studying the Entrepreneurship module inspired me to set up my own business ‘ Utter Rubbish ’ for which I secured over £ 30,000 from the ‘ Environment Now ’ Scheme funded by the National Lottery , O2 and the European Regional Development Fund . ‘ Utter Rubbish ’ tackles environmental issues through a website and ‘ app ’ displaying local council services collection data , skip hire companies and a national fly-tipping prevention online reporting service . The business currently has signed agreements with Newcastle-under-Lyme and East Staffordshire Councils .
Utter Rubbish Ltd has also been able to offer internship positions to Keele students through the KRISP programme ( www . keele . ac . uk / business / keeleresearchandinnovation supportprogramme ). The student interns produced promotional videos and enhanced the company ’ s social media presence . This contributed to significant business growth which we hope to build on by offering more placements for Keele students next year .
As a Keele StAR ( Student Voice Representative ) I represented the views of my fellow students to academic staff . For my work as both a School and a Faculty StAR I was awarded Faculty StAR of the Year and the ‘ Outstanding Contribution Award ’. I also became President of the Accounting and Finance Society working with professional accreditation bodies such as the ICAEW , ACCA and CIMA helping students to explore their potential career options . Building on my own interest in entrepreneurship , I founded the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Society to help students wishing to start their own business by delivering skills workshops and hosting guest speakers on topics such as sustainability , creativity , funding , food and fitness . With the support of Santander and the Keele University Enterprise Centre we have also been able to offer a £ 10,000 enterprise grants scheme to encourage student development .
Finally , there are many other exciting opportunities on the horizon , I have just been shortlisted for the Morgan Innovation and Technology Prize with Santander , I have been asked to examine first and second year Entrepreneurship presentations , organise the BeMore Entrepreneurship event and even to host the Musical Theatre Show !
I strongly recommend that you get involved with the exciting opportunities that Keele has to offer , you will meet some amazing people and see where it leads you .”