The Main Intern: TASK 1 RESULTS

The Intern has begun! Interns across 5 teams are competing to win an internship of their choice at Centrica or Enterprise-rent-a-car this summer, an opportunity not to be missed!

Yesterday the 5 teams hurried to the Enterprise Zone bright and early to begin their first task. The teams had 10 hours to attempt to create as much value as possible from a party popper and a playing card, in a trading up challenge.

To cut a long day short, the teams collectively swapped 4 party poppers and 4 playing cards, and ended up with cooking books, an all saints leather jacket, a superdry hoody, cuddly toys, firetrap shoes, and kitchen apparatus amongst other items, as seen in the photos below. Quite a haul this year!

Congratulations to TEAM ENVISAGE who ingeniously sold donated vodka revolution posters to students in the first year accommodation village, and made a total of £140 in 10 hours... (money that was then spilt all over the floor by the finance director later that evening).

Together the teams totalled £316.47 of revenue, which is a great start to the competition. See you all at the next task!

Meet The Execs: Kirsty Macdiarmid

This week we speak to Kirsty, the HR Director, who has A LOT to say...

Name and Course:

Kirsty MacDiarmid, 3rd year Business Management

What made you interested in HR?

I love meeting and getting to know different people which has always been my main source of enjoyment and when I took a module in HR in 2nd year it went from there really. The module helped me to form the view that people are the strongest asset of any company. This people focus got me interested in HR and to be instrumental in helping companies demonstrate a commitment to their people allowing them to reach new levels of competitiveness is what I want to do in my career and have already seen in practice at Enactus Sheffield!

Describe your routine before a night out?

Well how long have you got? (Joking) Getting ready for a night out can literally start the day before for me! I like to take my time getting ready, whack on some tunes and chill out! Which means I pretty much am always last out of the girls to be ready much to their annoyance! But I would like to point out I can get ready for Uni in 5 minutes so it really depends on the occasion!

What are you excited for?

At the moment I am absolutely buzzing to go to Amsterdam tonight! This is my third year going on the Management Society Invasion trip and it’s always so much fun and great to see a bit of Europe to! This year will probably be even more special as it’s my final year and I’m starting to get a bit Sentimental!

As an admin exec, do you miss working directly on a project?

Yes and No! I was lucky enough to join Enactus in my first year and be an original member of the HOPE City hearts project. It has been amazing to watch the project grow over the years and last year being project leader I learnt so much about myself as well as meeting some of the most inspirational women I would never otherwise have had the chance to meet. They really helped me put my life into perspective and getting to know them all individually whilst being a part of their recovery is an indescribable privilege. I still get emotional thinking about the change in some of the women and look back on the memories fondly! That is probably what I miss the most about working directly on a project but I look at my role now as equally important. It’s my job to find new people who get to work with these women and equally gain as much out of the experience as I did! Seeing the new members of HOPE and all teams enjoying their project whilst pushing them to improve is so rewarding, it doesn’t really get much better than that!

How many cushions do you have in your room?

I haven’t really counted but I do have quite a few! Secret passion to be an interior designer maybe?

Favourite Enactus evening snack?

Easy… Sweet and salty popcorn from Tesco! It’s a top favorite of a lot of the execs. I also sometimes bring along dinner as 3-8 can be quite a long one!

If money were no object what would you do with your future?

Wow! Hmm, I’ve never really thought about that really but I would have to do something that kept me busy as I constantly have to be on the go. Probably travelling the world meeting new people and helping wherever I can with whatever money I had. Resources are just not shared equally in the world and if you could be a part of improving the balance your life would be worthwhile. That definitely reminds me of the Queen B song ‘I was here’! Cheesy as it is you really are remembered not for what you have but for making a positive difference in another person’s life!

Why do you think people should be a part of the executive team?  

I cannot encourage people enough to get involved further in our Enactus team and join the execs! It’s an incredible experience to be involved in the strategic decisions of the company and increase your own skills dramatically! It’s a huge step up in responsibility but is massively fun and has been the highlight of my Uni experience. If anyone is thinking about it but is not sure just send me an email or come and have a chat at Enactus evening 

Eng Soc and Psych Soc INTERN FINAL!

Last week saw the culmination of all the amazing work done by our Psych Eng Intern teams! A group of hugely talented hopefuls fought it out in order to impress the judges with their enterprising skills.

The ‘trading up’ task saw a bizarre range of knick knacks being handed around the students of Sheffield. Starting with a single party popper, the interns managed to trade their way to an impressive haul, including Paperchase Iphone cases, beautiful earrings, bottles of champagne and matching glasses!

Products from the Enactus projects Homemade, Hope and Watermade were next in line for the interns. The four teams made over £1000 profit through their innovative marketing of jewellery and jam. Watermade and Hope bracelets found their way onto wrists around Sheffield thanks to the innovative marketing strategies of teams like Endeavour, and Team Spectrum exercised their baking skills with the sales of delicious Homemade jam puffs.

The final task required all the teams to come together to present their long term marketing strategy, had they been allowed to continue their Intern journey further! Team Helpful Treets gave an inventive and exciting presentation, and Team Strive came as previous underdogs to demonstrate how well they could work as a team. Ultimately, it was Team Spectrum which impressed the judges from TeachFirst with their exciting ideas, who went on to the best overall score.

Now the competition is over, the interns can sit  back, scoff a plate of jam puffs, and wait to hear from judges. The best six individuals will go forward to the interview stage for an internship with Teachfirst! Good luck and well done to everyone who competed.

In other Intern news, the MAIN INTERN begins today! We will keep you updated....

The Main Intern: INTRO MEETING- TUES 25TH 5PM- ARTS TOWER 5

Meet The Execs: Mat Davies

Mat is project director of the intern project, which is launching this week. 
To win a paid internship with a company, including Centrica and Enterprise Rent-A-Car, sign up at http://theinternsheffield.wordpress.com/ 
Meanwhile, Mat allows us into his mind...

Name and course?

My name’s Matt Davies and I’m a second year Accounting & Finance student.

What was it been like coming into an established exec team without knowing anyone?

Weird! Really weird! At first I was quite like not involved and quiet. But Grantham and all that made me get really close to everyone and now I love everyone and have some really great friends on the team.

Describe your fashion style.

Are you trying to get me to say weird again? I enjoy it! Say what you will.

Eng Intern, Psych intern, Geog intern, Intern. DISCUSS.

Yeah Interns. Theres loads. Is bigger better than ever, it actually is. But my teams are amazing! If you’re reading this and haven’t got anything sorted for summer sign up and you could win an Internship with some amazing companies and raise lots of money for the projects so do it! We’ve been planning some really interesting tasks and the company internships up for grabs are incredible this year.

Have you got the funk?

I have A funk. Whether its THE funk, I’m don’t know. I’ll get back to you.

What was the last thing you ate?

I have tonsillitis and I cant swallow so it was this “mean green” juice drink my mum sent up for me. It sounds gross but its not as gruesome as you might think.

Describe the perfect intern.

Someone with whose driven and has a great work ethic but also has a decent personality and isn’t afraid to have fun because if you can’t enjoy yourself when you’re doing it then you wont perform as well. I’m waiting to meet dream intern. I’m holding out for someone special. Ghandi?

Outside of Enactus Sheffield, what is your favourite Enactus project world-wide?

I think its called B-Seminars, by a Team in Puerto Rico its similar to the intern in that it works with students to develop entrepreneurial skills.

Do you have a secret skill?

If I told you I’d have to kill you.

An Introduction To The Yearly Enactus Competition

Right now everyone is getting ready for nationals. But not everyone is sure what nationals are and why we do them. 

Nationals is the annual competition which teams all come together and present what they have they done over the last year and to showcase how their projects have progressed The competition takes place in London, over a weekend period. This allows those who chose to go a chance to see what the other teams have been up to and what being part of Enactus UK, as a whole, actually means. Whilst the professional side of nationals is being experienced there is the other side which includes team bonding and generally having a laugh with everyone. 
The competition itself means creating a presentation which shows best what Enactus Sheffield has been done and how the  projects have made an impact on people’s lives. During the presentation business leaders will act as judges and assess and rank the presentations, on the ecstatic’s of the presentation, those presentation, and what they have actually done. This events encourage creativity and lead to strong programs which leads in more lives being improved.

However, it is important to remember that it is not just the UK that take part in nationals. Nationals happens in 36 countries, over a period of 16 weeks. The winner of each national goes on to the next stage of the competition, where they compete to be the best Enactus team in the whole world.
When we compete to change lives, we all win.

Good luck to all teams competing!

Enactus Evening

Every year, Enactus Sheffield uses a rotational trainee scheme to identify who will replace the roles of those leaving. Members have the opportunity to shadow members of the executive team to see what kind of roles they will enjoy. Last week Nataliee shadowed the PR and Media role so I got her to write a bit about the shadowing experience for this blog!

"I started shadowing members of the executive team on 4th December and its been an interesting experience. The main times I have been shadowing is Enactus evening, the executive team are always about between 3 and 8, and the groups are coming and going. Enactus evening is a serious time but it is all fun everyone loves their project and what they are doing! The main issue in at the moment what outfit should the team where for the upcoming competition.

Shadowing has showed me different roles everyone has done! Even when they are discussing something serious it is done in a fun way... who doesn't like spider diagrams!! Shadowing for me has shown me things I can do without realising and helped me have some input in other projects, that I didn't even think I would have any ideas for!"

Thank you Nataliee!

Last week the Enactus quiz boys, Paddy, Eugene, Jonny and Mat were being tested for the PWC quiz final (after winning the regional quiz before christmas) as seen here practising in the action shot below.

QUIZ TIME 1) What year was harry potter and the order of phoenix released on dvd? 2) Who won the first X factor? 3) When did Sheffield last win nationals?

We are very proud to announce our quiz boys came THIRD nationally, being beaten by Oxford and Bath.

Oh and... the answers to the quiz:
1) 2007 2) Steve Brookstein 3) 2010

Meet The Execs: Jo Wyld

With her exams and dissertation done, PR & Media Director Jo Wyld has time for an interview about her experience being an exec!

Name and course?

My name is Jo and I study human Geography.

Tell us about your hometown.

I near Cambridge on a farm in a very sleepy village. My dad is a farmer so my neighbours are the pheasants and geese in the fields. It is beautiful and peaceful but very quiet and full of country folk who wear a lot of green and wellies. It is actually near where Jamie Oliver lives, I went to the same school as him.

What do you do in your spare time?

Yoga on my iPad ap. Winning.

Most stressful moment of Enactus so far?

Working on the presentation for nationals... I don't think I want to go in to it. I cant face the memory.

Describe, in detail, your day.

Get up, have porridge go to the library, have soup and a pear, go to an Enactus meeting, go home and drink tea with my housemates. Go to the shop next door and buy biscuits for tea. Go to bed.

What is it like being in the exec team?

Challenging but I love it, I love everybody in the team.

Where do you go out in Sheffield?

Penelope's is my fave. It's a bit different from many others nights in Sheffield, always some new band or something interesting. Watermade even hosted a Samba night there once.

What was the last live event you attended?

I think it was a swing night at a warehouse called DLS.

What is my favourite Enactus team face?

James Kirk's (from HomeMade) crying face. Looking forward to seeing it again soon.