NACUE Varsity Pitch is back again for it’s 9th year and here’s why you should apply, now more than ever!

Last year we had a whopping 300+ applications, shortlisted to seven fantastic startups Twipes, Savi Technology, Intore, HausBots, Aircard, BombPetite and Motus Innovation competing at our finals. The impressive robotic gaming hand company Motus Innovation ended up wowing the judges with their fantastic pitch and claiming the Grand Prize of £10,000.

Fabulous sponsors Tata are once again embarking on another adventure with us, as we launch Varsity Pitch 2018, one of the UK’s flagship enterprise events, celebrating and showcasing the entrepreneurial flair of young businesses from students and graduates, something NACUE has been doing for nearly a decade now!

We have put together four reasons why you should apply for this year’s competition:

1) Double your chances and apply for 2 categories

What does this really mean? Well, it’s simple. It doubles your chance to impress different sets of online judges so as to be shortlisted to pitch at the semifinals but it could also be in both categories too. Motus Innovation, last year’s winner, was shortlisted and pitched in both the Genuine Innovation and the Digital & Technical category selected to go through to the finals in the Digital & Technical category.

2) Online People’s Vote

Share your pitch with your community and encourage them to vote online for your company when it goes live but only for 1 week, so get prepared! The highest voted for business is then fast-tracked to the LIVE Finals in November 2018. Can you beat last year's category winners who amassed over 31,000 votes?

3) Ideas Category with new prize package

Got an early stage game changing business? A new product or service? For the first time in Varsity Pitch history, we are offering a cool cash prize of £500 for the business which goes through to the finals.

4) Bootcamp

Shortlisted through to the finals? Join us at a one day Bootcamp, receiving 1:2:1 mentoring from outstanding mentors, for you and a business colleague. An impressive lineup of industry experts will ensure you are more than prepared for the Grand Finals. Training to ensure you deliver the best possible business pitch, constructive financial advice for your business not just generic stuff, an in depth review of your business plan plus much more, will mean that even if you don't win our competition you still have the means to take yourselves further. A truly unique opportunity. Here’s what one of last year’s finalists said about Bootcamp:

“Bootcamp was an amazing experience. We got to meet leading experts who helped us improve and specify exactly what we needed to do in our business plan” – Savi Technology

If we haven’t tempted you yet to apply then check out last year’s competition highlights here.

Unsure how to do a 60 - seconds video pitch? Use your smartphone and see how here.

Give your business the kickstart that it deserves by taking this amazing opportunity to showcase your business to some of the biggest companies in the UK.

Any current student at a UK university or college, as well as anyone who graduated after 2013, can enter but the competition closes on Friday 27th July (Midday).

So get applying!! To apply simply click here.

 

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  1. Our Impact
  2. Our Mission
  3. Our model

We've achieved a great deal in a short number of years, though there's much more too do in supporting our mission of 'Powering the Enterprise Generation'.

32,000

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Event attendees

20,505

Followers

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Powering the Enterprising Generation

Our mission is to support the development of education and student engagement throughout college and universities by championing student enterprise societies and peer-to-peer learning. NACUE started from an extraordinary movement in student entrepreneurship, providing young individuals with a platform to be experimental, creative and inspiring in their approach to enterprise and entrepreneurship, encouraging a bottom-up approach to inspiring the next generation.


Today, we see over 200 enterprise societies, powered by peer-to-peer groups, who are championing the success of young people throughout their interactive programmes by forging collaborative relationships with their institutions to provide greater experience and development opportunities for their peers. Establishing regional links with locals SME’s who are keen to open their doors to emerging talented, proactive and enthusiastic graduates perpetuates this.


Our work is dedicated to supporting the development and encouragement of entrepreneurship amongst young individuals and forms the sole purpose of NACUE. To learn more about NACUE and the services we produce, click here.

As a not-for-profit, we raise charitable donations that allow us to widen the opportunities available to young people in relation to enterprise and entrepreneurship, strengthening student engagement, the quality of education and connecting and representing student enterprise societies and student entrepreneurs worldwide.

NACUE is a charitable organisation that supports 32,000 students and young people every year. As funding becomes harder to obtain, we rely on the generous support of donors to ensure our programs can continue to change the lives and aspirations of the younger generation.


A donation of any size goes a long way to furthering our work and really is greatly appreciated. Every gift matters in aiding our mission of ‘Powering the Enterprising Generation' but we mainly rely upon the generosity of our members and alumni to do this. By making a single or regular donation you can make a big difference. To learn more about how you can donate, please follow the links below.



 

Large national network

NACUE are delighted to have supported a huge number of student-led societies over the years. You can see the number of established student-led societies on an interactive map below

 

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University
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Who we work with

Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs are at the very core of NACUE, everything we do is to better the startup and self employment ecosystem. We believe that entrepreneurs will shape the future, and we bolster this through our events, our network and our advocacy.

Students

NACUE works with students in Colleges and Universities right across the UK, helping support them in their entrepreneurial goals and connect them with like minded peers.

Educators

NACUE works collaboratively with educators and academics in supporting the development of entrepreneurial mindsets in young people.

Our events

Our events offer the young people we work with the opportunity to connect with our wider network, the experts and seasoned entrepreneurs in our community and the chance to be inspired to take the leap of faith into entrepreneurship. These events are attended by students and graduates from universities and colleges up and down the UK, as well as students from across Europe. Student Societies take centre stage at our events, alongside innovators, game changers and trail blazers of the UK startup ecosystem.

The difference we make

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