A new programme called Student LifeStart is aiming to push students further and boost their CVs with business challenges such as pitching app ideas to solve student money problems.
LifeStart has been developed by Virgin Money and Virgin Startup and describes itself as a “website and growing community for students to take real business challenges, evolve their professional skills and receive mentorship directly from associates who work in top UK companies.”
One current challenge includes helping Sony Pictures find new ways of gifting digital movies and making it a more purposeful experience.
The free service is attempting to help students break the cycle of being unable to get work experience to boost future career prospects, without having a significant amount of experience beforehand.
David Hall, Director of Future Generation Banking at Virgin Money said: “it’s become increasingly challenging to enter the world of work and we want to give students an opportunity to gain entrepreneurial skills and connections that will help make their CV stand out and boost their career chances.”
He added that “we’ve seen students turn their projects into start-ups or even get jobs with the companies who hosted a Challenge with us. It’s those personal successes and the ability for us to boost students’ self-esteem that we’ve found especially rewarding.”
Students and young people aged 16 and upwards from all over the UK can submit their suggestions and be in with a chance of winning cash prizes and rewards like tickets to the London Marathon.
Lowri Owen, the Enterprise Projects Manager of the University of Bangor said: “participating in a LifeStart Challenge is a great opportunity for students to learn to pitch to companies and even win great prizes.”
Current challenges and more information about how to get involved on the Student Lifestart website.
The deadline for the Sony Pictures challenge is midnight on the 29th of October.
