Societies – Page 2 – Undergraduate Blog

Societies at Sheffield – Enactus

Hi! I’m Hannah, a BA Business Management student in my second year of study. In this blog, I’m going to talk about something that I’m really passionate about, which is Enactus, a society that you can be a part of at University of Sheffield.

Societies that you can get involved with at university are never ending, and range from sports clubs like cheerleading and football, to groups such as Quidditch and film making. But there’s a society I want to talk about in particular, which is known as Enactus. We are a society that is quite different from others as we’re a stand-alone organisation that doesn’t have to adhere to the usual rules of university societies, as we have our own funding.

So, what is Enactus Sheffield?

Enactus stands for ‘Entrepreneurial, Action, and Us’. It’s a non-profit social enterprise run by students, which runs a range of projects both locally and internationally to benefit communities. Our aim is to provide aid to local and international social issues through the development of new businesses. Each year, Enactus Sheffield takes part in the Enactus National Competition with 55 other teams from all over the UK. We get to present on what impact our enterprises have had over the past year, and each team is judged – in each of the last eight years we have placed in the top four teams! We have also received recognition from the former Prime Minister David Cameron and HRH Prince William, as well as winning several national awards.

Facts about Enactus:

Takes place in 36 Countries
Over 1,730 universities take part
We have 72,000+ student members
Our work has impacted 1,300,000+ people

Opportunities at Enactus:

All of the above are obviously great reasons to get involved, however you might be asking what Enactus can do for you? The opportunities that you gain when you take part in this society are huge, and range from meeting and working with a large group of diverse people, to the opportunity to develop and enhance your skills at multiple training days and weekends. You would also have the opportunity to go to Nationals, and if successful compete in The World Cup, which this year is in San Francisco! As well as that, implementing our projects take our members around the world, with members travelling to Zambia, Nigeria, Malawi and Bolivia.

Lastly, we’re part of a global network that supports the amazing work we do, with sponsor companies such as Asda, KPMG, Centrica and Accenture to name just a few. So, if you have your eye on a graduate job (which let’s face it, all of us do) then join Enactus to have access to this network of companies keen to employ you.

How I settled into University life- an international student perspective

Hello, my name is Titus Njoroge Kuhora. I am a second year BA Business Management student from Nairobi, Kenya. Coming to university is filled with a mixture of anxiety and excitement, even more so for international students. Being thousands of miles away from home in a foreign country is a daunting prospect. However, personally, all this changed when I joined the University of Sheffield. The friendly nature of the locals and the amazing support and social activities which the university has to offer helped me fit right in. I would like to talk about some of the activities I got involved in that helped me settle into university life.

Sheffield and its international nature

Coming to a foreign country as an international student, can sometimes be lonely. At these times all I wanted was someone I could talk to in Kiswahilli (Kenyan’s national language), or and I missed Ugali and Skuma (Kenyan delicacies). Thankfully, the diverse nature of the University of Sheffield allowed me to meet people from Kenya, through its East African Society. For me, being part of this society has had the greatest impact on university life. Knowing that you have people who share the same humour and viewpoints on life as you, can be very comforting.

However, the University of Sheffield also has many other societies such as the international student committee, which helped me meet other international students from around the world. With students from 125 countries, it has been a pleasure getting to understand different cultures, which is very important as the world is becoming even more globalised.

Support systems

The support systems provided both by the Management School and the University are incredible. It has been amazing to know that I have not come to a university where I am not a mere statistic, but where I am valued and supported.

Coming from so far away, there is a sense of expectation from parents that we should get the best grades possible. Such pressures can sometimes weigh us down, and make us crumble under pressure. However, with the support systems from friendly lecturers and the 301 Student Skills and Development Centre, I have been able to avoid such pressures and get the hang of university life. This support enabled me to understand what is expected academically and over time I have seen a significant improvement in my evaluative and critical thinking skills.

Coming to university is not easy. Being an international student can bring a lot of baggage (no pun intended), but hand-on-heart the University of Sheffield is an amazing place. It allows students- local or international – to express themselves, and be integrated into university life. Being in my second year of study, I have to say that I love this university and feel part of not just a student community, but a family! 😊

Running for SU Officer

By Margaret B Barrionuevo Camacho

Last February, I decided to run as International Officer candidate for the 16/17’ SU officer elections. After receiving loads of emails from university about nominations and the available positions at the Student’s Union, I booked an appointment with some of the current SU Officers in order to find more about it and also looking forward to hear their first-hand experiences. I managed to meet and talk with the International and Women SU Officers, who were very happy to share their experiences with me as well as answering all my questions (always one too many ha-ha).

Encouraged by their involvement with their roles and their passion to make change happen, I decided to take the challenge and hopefully become the 2017-18’ International Officer. On the first week of February, I and my fellow candidates, attended a ‘Candidate Training session’ which covered all the aspects from running a campaign to recruiting friends to be part of our campaign team. It was a very intense and long (4 hour) session which made me realize the challenge I got myself into! Reality hit me, I had so many questions and so little time to get everything ready. What would be my slogan? How could I design my posters? Who could edit my campaign video? Would I be able to make lecture shout-outs in front of hundreds of strangers? Luckily, I received help from my friends, who supported me throughout the campaign which lasted about 2 weeks! The whole experience was very intense and tiring but I enjoyed every single moment. I stretched myself and got out of my comfort zone by doing public speaking in big lecture rooms; especially the ones in the Diamond, those are massive and scary! I also retook my ‘artistic career’- ha-ha. I had to be creative, from creating a slogan to painting t-shirts and banners; my fingers were multicolored for weeks!

Election results were announced on the 9^th of March, where I came second out of the four SU International Officer candidates. Even though I didn’t win, I was so grateful to the 1200+ people who trusted and voted for me. And also very thankful for the whole experience itself, I got to make new friends, challenge myself, and feel supported by my mates. Definitely an invaluable experience, where every candidate was a winner. Many little achievements I am proud of such as; speaking in front of several (uncountable) big lectures, learning to use the green screen and feeling confident to stop and approach anyone, anytime, anywhere. Being a SU Officer candidate is demanding and challenging I assure you, you will feel great after completing it!

Women in Business

By Margaret Barrionuevo Camacho

Hello everyone, this is my first time writing for the blog! My name is Margaret (Gigi) and I am currently on my final year of International Business Management at the University of Sheffield. In this, my first post, I would love tell you about one of my favourite societies at university; Women in Business (WIB). This is a brand NEW society, founded by Olivia Lynch, who was the 2016-2017 society President and one of the most driven and determined persons I have ever met. After months of planning and working along with the SU, Liv finally achieved her dream to create a society which not only aimed to empower women but also to provide them with support to enter a career in Finance, Business or Commercial Law.

I joined the Women in Business society in September 2016 when I attended their very first event which consisted on a skills workshop in collaboration with EY. During this session, I did not only get the chance to meet other society members but I also discovered more about my own strenghts and weaknesses and how to tackle the latter. Furthermore, I got to meet the committee members and see how passionate they were about helping us to develop professionally. This is the reason why, later on, I decided to run to be on the WIB committee. In October 2016, the society announced 2 available positions on the committee; activities officer and publicity officer. I ran for ‘activities officer’ and after writing and sharing my manifesto with other society members, I achieved to get into the committee.

My role as an ‘activities officer’ has consisted on building partnerships with recruiters from various companies such as PwC and Enterprise Rent a Car (ERAC) as well as planning and delivering events aimed at helping our society members to develop their professional skills and career aspirations. These events have included: LinkedIn master session (PWC), Commercial awareness session with DLA Piper, MOCK assessment centres and even a visit and networking event at Slaughter and May in London!

The society is fully committed to help every member to achieve its full potential, however, it also aims to promote integration and friendship between our society members. As a result, we have organized various socials which have included: pub quiz, Bollywood dancing class and an evening of free pizza at Bloo88 (yummy)!

During its first year, the Women in Business society has achieved to gather more than 120 members, organize a wide variety of events and also holding 3 nominations for the 2017 Activities Awards: (1) Academic society of the year, (2) New society of the year and (3) Most enterprising society.

What are you waiting for joining WIB NEXT year? I totally recommend it and I can’t stress enough how much I have learnt out of the different workshops, a society that definitely cares about you and your development!

This picture was taken after our first AGM, where the new committee members were elected! Old committee on the low row; Olivia Lynch (President) is the third from left to right, and I am next to her on the white blouse.

AIESEC- leadership with impact

By Megan Seaman, BA International Business Management

So, what is AIESEC I hear you ask? It stands for the Association Internationals des Etudiants en Sciences Et Commericales, but that still doesn’t really tell you a lot, even if you are fluent in French. Watch this video for ‘why we do what we do’ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDJQOJCFPng)

AIESEC is one of the best kept secrets at universities. It operates at universities across 125 countries, making it the largest youth-led organisation in the world. I heard about AIESEC during my year abroad in Vienna, and when I arrived back in Sheffield in September, still armed with the untamed desire to be surrounded by international students, getting involved with AIESEC, whose core value is ‘living diversity’ was a great way to do this!

AIESEC encourages people who were ‘born to lead’. It functions, much like any other business, but is run entirely by university students meaning that there is a real ‘hands on’ approach because your managers are your peers and board meetings are conducted in seminar rooms at university.

AIESEC exists in order to allow thousands of young people to experience the unknown. It does this by sending them on global volunteering projects and internships which fit nicely into the summer holidays, or for graduates and professionals who want to work abroad for a year. Partnered with the United Nations, all the projects target the UN sustainable development goals meaning they don’t just benefit students, they reach thousands of communities in need as well.

In just three months as Sales Team Leader at AIESEC Sheffield I have learnt so many invaluable skills which relate to my degree and look great on your CV; how to motivate my team to reach our targets, communicate with people from international organisations in order to generate new ideas, and how to recruitment new AIESEC participants.

The biggest thing that AIESEC has taught me is that YOU are the driver of your future. At university there is going to be a lot of new, exciting opportunities and it is your job to get involved with as many as you can, “never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

Work-life balance

By Frances Kendall, BA International Business Management

I’m a third year studying International Business Management and last year I lived in Denmark attending Copenhagen Business School. Suffice to say, coming back to Sheffield for this academic year has been a big shock after living independently abroad!

There are many people who tell you that the point of university is simply to get a degree, but I think university is about much more than that. In my eyes, at least, it’s a lifestyle and a learning curve combined, not purely a means to a future career.

Work-life balance is, therefore, something I have definitely learnt to appreciate more than ever this year. Third year unsurprisingly spells more work and responsibilities, but also provides more opportunities to take part in the multitude of activities which Sheffield University has to offer.

In Denmark, they place a huge amount of emphasis on flexible working hours which researchers have found contributes substantially to it being consistently rated the ‘Happiest Nation in the World’ by its inhabitants. Thus, I am hoping to pass on some of the lessons I learnt abroad and have tried to implement here in Sheffield!

Plan your time and prioritise. As long as you know the amount of time you have available, you can keep track of the days and hours left until your next deadline. This means you can afford to do the all activities you want without having to ‘pull an all-nighter’!
Do not feel guilty (if you have planned right)! When others around you are working, you shouldn’t feel bad if you want to take a break to have a coffee or a day off in the Peaks. Some people take longer to work than others and this shouldn’t put you off.
Always allow an extra half an hour to do things. I always find that things take longer than I expect. The last thing you need is to be stressing about getting to a lecture or meeting on time, on top of everything else, so just prepare for it! The Sheffield hills may take a little longer to climb when you are tired or you might come across a friend and want to have a chat, either way it’ll all take time.
Enjoy the little things. Personally I think that little treats or regular breaks is the way to go when aiming for happiness and balance. I can’t deal with being overloaded and then having to take a while to recover. It’s better to not get to that stage in the first place – prevention not cure is key!
Don’t be afraid to do things independently. Many students come to university after having participating in activities with their friends from home which they have known for years. Coming to university and trying something on your own can be daunting. Don’t worry! You will make friends whilst there and everyone is in the same boat, even if they might not look like it or tell you so! I joined the Lacrosse team and have made so many friends this way. Take that step and it will help so much in keeping that balance between social and work life in check.

I really hope these five pieces of advice are helpful, both for prospective students looking to get an insight into student life, and for those current students nervous about giving something new a try. Finding that balance will help you to become a more rounded individual and enjoy the years you have at university so much more!

What is Enactus?

By Nathan Allaby

You probably haven’t heard of Enactus before, and neither had I. Although Enactus is actually an absolutely massive nonprofit social enterprise, operating in 36 different countries and over 1700 universities worldwide. The organisation creates a platform for entrepreneurial students to create community development projects both locally and internationally. In addition to these projects, regional, national and international competitions are run annually, in which Enactus teams from around the world showcase their work to a board of corporate executives. Enactus Sheffield has a fantastic track record in these competitions, taking second place at nationals for the past 9 years and winning in 2010 and 2014.

What you will do in Enactus Sheffield

There are two broad types of projects at Enactus Sheffield. Social Projects are those that aim to improve the lives of those in need in a sustainable and effective way, whilst Commercial Projects are separate businesses run in order to fund the Social Projects. At the moment I am working in a commercial programme called “The One Project,” where we sell mineral water to local cafes and establish marketing campaigns to increase awareness of water sanitation issues in parts of Africa. This involves meeting once a week on Wednesday afternoons, where our team members share their independent progress during the week and also discuss different selling strategy ideas collaboratively.

Outcomes and Skills

This project has significantly developed my confidence and presentation skills as I was given the opportunity to meet with potential clients and pitch our product. In addition to this, it is rare to be able to have full control over the running of a business but to also have a support network available at the same time. At the moment, I am in the sales team of “The One Project”, however there are also great promotion prospects, and starting second year I hope to be leading my own smaller project. There are also many positions available on the committee including roles such as Financial Director and Head of Media Relations. Therefore, whatever your particular skill set is, you’ll be able to find a role that you can enjoy and excel in.

Becoming part of a society

By Claudia Sorescu

Societies are a key part of life at our Union, and it’s pretty amazing how there’s a society for everything, from tea appreciation to board games. But why spend your entire experience in your favourite society as a regular member, when you can take control of it yourself and set its existence into legend?
For most societies, you have to be a regular member for one year until you can join its leading committee, and then you can run in an election for a number of positions, like President, Secretary, or Treasurer. Obviously, they all have their responsibilities, but are immensely fun, and being genuinely responsible for a society (that’s probably already doing something you’re already really interested in!) is a great feeling.

Most of my committee work this year goes into one called One World. Though it’s not entirely your typical society, it works in a similar way, and our passion is all about the massive international community at our university. We open our events to all students who wish to come, rather than keep track of memberships like most societies, and let everyone celebrate different cultures and languages with us. We hold big celebrations for all the major cultures at the university, from Hannukah to the Chinese New Year, as well as other kinds of socialising and cultural events, or just silly stuff like treasure hunts, Easter Egg hunts and our infamous Global Food Crawl (yes, like pub crawling, but with food- your mum would be proud)

My official role within One World is Social Secretary, which is one of the core roles any society must have. A Social Sec has to make sure the committee members are happy, work well together, and attend team-building events (anything from proper training to nights out together or just grabbing a pizza in one of the Union’s restaurants).
Our weekly Café event is all about socialising and meeting people from other cultures-great way to make friends. Every once in a while a nat ional society takes over and we theme the event to showcase their country’s culture.

The coolest part about being in a committee though, in my opinion, is going from simply joining events to organizing them. I really enjoy event management – brainstorming ideas, seeing your plans come to reality as your team puts everything together, the whole atmosphere that’s special to a team with a goal in mind – and there’s nothing as rewarding as a successful event and a bunch of happy guests at the end of a day of hard work- and the whole experience is great for our CVs too!
I learn something new from around the world all the time – a custom, a proverb, small phrases or habits, anything goes – and that is something that really defined my time at university and made it special, so it makes me happy to get other students to experience that feeling through One World. You should give it a try!

Joining a society

By Saad Khawaja

One of the best things on offer at The University of Sheffield is the most prized Student’s Union, which has been voted number 1 in the UK on numerous occasions. The University of Sheffield’s Students’ Union is home to well over 300 societies and committees, so I hope that you’re able to find one (or a few!) that suit the way you want to spend your free time. Societies are groups of students who enjoy a common interest. Most Sheffield students are involved in societies or sports teams because they’re the best way to make friends, try new things (or carry on your passions) and guarantee a worthwhile expe rience. You can join societies or sports teams at any time throughout the year, so all you need to do is get in touch with the concerned authorities and get on board!
There is also a chance to start a new society if something which interests you is not on offer at the Students’ Union. The Students’ Union has excellent support and facilities to help students see their ideas come alive and be as successful as possible! There is also a chance to join a committee of your interest and get involved in actually running a society. Committee members are the core team of people who run a society or working/representative committee. You lead, you decide, you publicise, you stress (occasionally), you have fun (always), and of course you make Sheffield Students’ Union ‘number one’ in the UK! As a committee member you may also be able to get your role recognized in the extra-curricular section of your HEAR (Higher Education Achievement Report). Such experiences give you a good chance to write something about in your CV, and also show to prospective employers when applying for graduate jobs and summer internships that you have actually managed a group of people and decided upon things whilst being part of an executive committee.
I have personally been involved as a Events Officer for Pakistan Society at The University of Sheffield. This experience was very worthwhile and taught me how to effectively deal with a group of people whilst maintaining consideration of the culture and beliefs of the society, catering to different interests that the society members may have. I was also involved with constantly updating the members of the society’s events via newsletters, ensuring that they stay interested in the society.

Such experiences with societies and sports teams provide you with a chance to not just work on real-life things, but also make new friends and meet new people from around the world in the process. I think societies and sports teams are definitely one of the most fun things I’ve been involved with since coming to Sheffield, and I would highly encourage you to do so as well if you do decide to come to Sheffield!

Life outside the classroom

By Anamil Kochar

When I first came to Sheffield, I was excited and wondered what Sheffield had in store for me. I had no idea what to expect. The number of activities one could get involved in at Sheffield astonished me, and right then, I knew I would make the most of my time in Sheffield.
There are more than 300 sports clubs and societies in Sheffield suiting diverse tastes. You can get involved in national or cultural societies, departmental and academic societies or any creative and special interest society like Bird Watching and Debating society.
If you are interested in fundraising, you can get involved in RAG (Raising and Giving) or Bummit. These societies hold a lot of fundraising events from bake sales and food crawls to high rush adrenaline events such as Bungee Jumping and Arts Tower to charity hitchhikes across UK (Baby Bummit) and one across Europe, that happens during Easter (Big Bummit). I have taken part in Bungee Jumping and the Big Bummit Charity Hitchhike to Romania and it was one of the best experiences of my life. Last year, RAG and Bummit managed to raise over £200,000 for charity!
Apart from this, Sheffield also has a number of volunteering societies if you are interested in regular volunteering. Sheffield University Conservation volunteers run conservation and ecological related events in Sheffield and the Peak District. Sheffield volunteering also offers volunteering in teaching centres, day care’s, hospitals, churches and almost any area you can think of.

If interested in Journalism and Media related societies, there is Forge. Forge is a student run group and offers services like Forge Radio, Forge TV and Forge Press. You can get involved in this, and be an editor for the local newspaper, a radio jockey, or a television host apart from being hosts for various sports matches, elections etc.
Being an international student, I wanted to travel around UK as much as possible, and the student’s Union City day trip idea was excellent. It allowed me to travel to Newcastle and various Christmas markets in between breaks from studies. Being cheap and affordable, it provides us the perfect way to experience different cities.
‘Give it a Go’ is another set of activities offered by the university. It is exactly what the name suggests and offers a unique opportunity to try new things, meet new people, or learn a different skill or sport. I have enjoyed taking part in archery and scuba diving. It is a good way to know where your heart lies and follow it.
University of Sheffield Enterprises offers various activities, and challenges for budding entrepreneurs such as the module making ideas happen, the university business challenge, skills building sessions and a skills of work certificate. By taking part in UBC, and making ideas happen, I have learnt the abc of entrepreneurship, brainstorming and thinking out of the box.
Taking part in all these activities does not impact studies and it is very easy to balance studies with extra-curricular activities if you manage your schedule well and maintain a calendar.
In Sheffield, you are strongly encouraged to get involved in extracurricular activities, these are not only fun but also look great on your CV and help students stand out from the crowd in the real world. By participating and contributing in various activities and events, I have learnt a lot and made myself personally and professionally more presentable, which is very important for employment and to succeed in life in general. Improved interactions with the team, ideation, people skills and taking up responsibility are just some of the direct benefits I see.
Sheffield Graduate Award is recognized by employers because of its commitment to personal development. This award showcases one’s extra-curricular achievement by recognizing valuable skills and experience gained at the university outside of the degree. Participating in all these activities also helps you as a student move a step closer to the Sheffield Graduate Award.