The Enterprise Ambassador programme, run by the Student Enterprise team at LSBU, offers current students opportunities to engage in university life and gain career experience to enhance their skills and CVs.
Ambassadors are recruited at the start of each academic year from a mix of year groups and subjects.
This paid, flexible role supports the planning, development and delivery of Student Enterprise activities throughout the year. Enterprise Ambassadors are integral to the Student Enterprise team and actively contribute ideas to ensure the student voice remains at the centre of our service.
Development and Delivery
Enterprise Ambassadors promote our service to students and support with event logistics and administrative tasks. They provide insights from their courses, own student experience and those gained from interacting with their peers.
In response to participant feedback, the programme has adapted to provide an increased focus on personal and professional development opportunities for students.
Short-term event and administrative jobs are still offered, but the team has successfully established a project-based approach to Enterprise Ambassador’s work, inviting students to develop pieces of work over a period (days, weeks or months).
All projects follow a set structure:
- Written project brief containing outline information;
- Verbal briefing for context setting and team formation;
- Regular check-in meetings throughout the project to review progress;
- Evaluation meeting to capture lessons learnt.
Examples of past projects: participation in focus groups, creating video content to showcase the value of enterprise to the student experience, social media support, planning and delivering an event mini-series on entrepreneurship and sustainability.
Impacts
Impacts for Enterprise Ambassadors:
- Collaborating with students from different courses and levels;
- Obtain evidenced experience relevant for employment, self-employment or starting a business;
- Apply knowledge to real-world service design and delivery challenges faced by the Student Enterprise team; directly informing and influencing activities;
- Develop enterprise skills through individual and team work, including spotting opportunities, mobilising resources, proposing ideas and creating solutions;
- Personalised professional development support, motivating students through ownership and responsibility for achieving goals.
Impacts for the Student Enterprise team:
- Applying insights from students from a range of backgrounds and subjects to service design and delivery, ensures our activities are relevant and valuable to students;
- Able to offer an appealing role that engages students in university life beyond their courses;
- Successfully contribute to institutional goals to enhance the student experience and support graduate outcomes;
- Increased engagement of students through student-led marketing and promotional strategies, to further raise our profile;
- Effective additional resource to support the work of the team.
Impact Measurement
The Enterprise Ambassador programme employs up to 10 students for 12-24 months, fostering a qualitative and personalised approach.
At the start of their role, all Ambassadors are required to complete a Skills Map, inviting them to share their strengths, skill gaps and desired outcomes from working in the role.
The Skills Map is revisited after 3-months. The EntreComp Framework is used to help students reflect on their experience in the role so far, skills gained and areas for further growth. The conversation results in a personalised action plan, enabling students to take ownership of their own career journey through the role and beyond.
Project progress and impact are reviewed at regular check-in meetings. An evaluation session on completion captures reflections, lessons learnt and experience gained.
Entrepreneurial Organisation
The Ambassador role is an important part of our enterprising ecosystem at LSBU. Students’ ideas have shaped new initiatives, including the development of a new programme for freelancers; and encouraged engagement from more schools in the institution.
Through the programme, the Student Enterprise team are providing opportunities for students to develop enterprise skills and experience relevant for employment, self-employment or starting a business.
We have applied new thinking in enterprise education by piloting the EntreComp Framework as a reflection tool for personal and professional development. This helps us to focus on enterprising competencies and their relevance for entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs.
Next steps?
The Student Enterprise team has piloted training sessions for the Ambassadors. Run by members of our entrepreneurial community, the training has brought the team together and developed skills relevant for the ambassador role and future careers.
To foster wider community building, we will bring Ambassadors and students on other Student Enterprise programmes together for joint sessions.
Contact Name
Nina Lanzon
Contact Email Address