ADVERTORIAL
We often talk about living in an ‘Oxford bubble’ as students here. In the city of dreaming spires, it’s easy to let the problems that the Oxford community faces pass us by. After all, we’re only here for a few years. In the time you spend here, what kind of impact would you like to have on this city? Students have the power to make a real difference in Oxford, and that’s where Enactus Oxford comes in.
Enactus Oxford is a young, exciting university society that uses business techniques to solve social problems. If you give a man a fish, he’ll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he’ll eat for a lifetime. This is the approach we take at Enactus; rather than just donating money we look to tackle the root cause of the problem and improve lives for good. We operate by setting up businesses that sustain themselves and have positive social outcomes.
As our panel discussion (organised in association with OUSU’s On Your Doorstep campaign and the Homeless Action Group) on homelessness and the housing crisis demonstrated, the Oxford student community has a huge impact on the city we live in. We have the potential as students to make a real difference in Oxford.
From homelessness to gender inequality, our social enterprise projects are wide-ranging and we’re always looking for new ideas. For example, StreetView Oxford trains homeless people to give tours of Oxford, capitalising on the booming tourist industry in the centre of the city. Ox-Y-Gen runs coding workshops for female students in high school to encourage them to consider a career in the sciences. OxGives facilitates the donation and purchasing of unwanted products from students at other colleges, with the profits going to fund Enactus Oxford’s social projects.
As if that wasn’t enough, we don’t just aim to empower the beneficiaries of our projects but also the students who work on them. As applications for internships and graduate jobs open in the coming months, Enactus Oxford offers an unparalleled chance for the practical business experience that companies require. We work closely with advisors from Unilever, GlaxoSmithKline, Accenture and Enterprise, meaning we operate at the highest possible level. Enactus UK is sponsored by the likes of EY, KPMG, Amazon, RBS, Lloyds, Clifford Chance, Slaughter and May, AIG, GSK, Accenture, Centrica and Unilever (to name a few!) and offers incomparable networking opportunities. These employers all tell us the same thing: an Enactus student is the type of person they want in their company.
If you want to make a real, positive change in society while also meeting new people and developing your own skills, we’d love to hear from you. We’re looking for people from all degree backgrounds. So what are you waiting for? Apply now if you’d like to get involved with one of our projects or have an idea of your own.
Lastly, we’re having a free drinks event at Teddy Hall on Thursday 14th May – come along to find out more or just meet some new people!
