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Business start-up support

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Published: 17 September 2020

Sign that says 'Turn ideas into reality'

Have you ever wanted to run your own business? If you've got a brilliant idea for a start-up but don’t know how to make it a reality, we’re here to support you.

The Careers and Employability team at the University of Sunderland in London, tell us about some of the ways we can help you create a business that makes an impact. 

“We’re living with a difficult economic situation right now where some well-known big companies are struggling to cope. 

Although that can be intimidating, it means there are opportunities for start-ups to grow and find their places in the market. 

Now is a great time for you to develop your business skills, work on your creativity and learn about what goes into starting a company. 

The University can give you the knowledge you need to reach your goals. 

Business Enterprise Certificate (BEC) 

The Business Enterprise Certificate is a six-week course for students who want to start their own company. 

You’ll find out how to develop your business ideas including learning about: 

  • The processes that go into launching a successful start-up
  • Marketing, sales and customer service
  • Financial forecasting and competition
  • Creating your USPs
  • Writing a business plan

By the end of the programme, you’ll be able to give a presentation on your business plan to the class. 

The next course will be running from September 2020. If you want to apply, start thinking about your idea now because you’ll be asked about it on the application.

We’ll be recruiting for this course soon, so keep an eye on your emails for more information. 

Please note: The course is online for now, but we hope to bring it back to the classroom soon. 

To find out more, visit the Business Enterprise Certificate page of the Careers and Employability website.

Graduate Start-Up visa

The Graduate Start-Up Visa, allows international students to stay in the UK for up to two years so they can create a business. 

To be considered for this visa you have to have an idea that's 'innovative, robust and viable'. 

This means it has to be a good, new business plan that will create employment and people will want to invest in. 

If you’re interested, start by applying for the Business Enterprise Certificate.

That will help you with writing a plan and understanding what you need to do to have a successful application. 

For more information, visit the Graduate Start-Up Visa page of the Careers and Employability website. 

Business coaching sessions 

When you’re in the final stages of writing your business plan, we can offer you one-to-one coaching to help make it the best it can be. 

To get this support you’ll need an idea already in place and have made a start on writing the plan.¿ 

For more information, please get in touch at alice.mcdougall@sunderland.ac.uk.” 

If you want to talk to the Careers and Employability team about your business idea and how to get the skills to reach for your goals, book a one-to-one appointment with them today. 

Email the team at careers-london@sunderland.ac.uk to find out more. Find out more by following #WeAreSunLon on FacebookTwitter and Instagram.