Self-employment Week: Monday 19 - Thursday, 22 February 2024

Join the Masood Entrepreneurship Centre (MEC), in collaboration with UoM Careers, for Self-employment Week (Monday 19 to Thursday, 22 February 2024). This action-packed week aims to provide insightful resources, workshops, and networking opportunities for our students.

The week-long event is specifically curated with a focus on students who are:

• Eager to explore their career opportunities in the realm of self-employment and entrepreneurship. We aim to provide them with a comprehensive understanding of their potential career paths.
• Possessing an idea or concept but are unsure of the next steps. We aim to provide guidance and resources to help shape their ideas into an actionable next step.
• Interested in learning directly from successful freelancers and individuals who are currently navigating the world of self-employment. We aim to offer interactive sessions where students can gain first-hand advice and insights.
• Keen on delving into the intricacies of what a social enterprise is and how to be a socially impactful entrepreneur.
• Looking to improve their networking skills. We understand the importance of a strong network in the entrepreneurial world, and we aim to equip our students with the skills and confidence to build meaningful professional relationships.

During the week, there are several events to get involved in:

Monday 19 February 

Intro to starting a business - 13:00-14:00 (The Atrium, University Place)

This workshop is designed to equip you with the foundational knowledge and skills needed to embark on your entrepreneurial journey, whether you're interested in starting a side hustle, managing an existing one, or simply gaining insights into the inner workings of businesses to enhance your career skills.

Tuesday 20 February

Meet the Freelancers - 13:00-14:00 (The Atrium, University Place) 

This session will allow you to learn from and network with current freelancers in the world of marketing, TV, translation, photography, journalism and more. You will have the opportunity to explore how freelancers access work opportunities, how they organise and prioritise their workloads, as well as gaining an insight into the benefits and constraints of working in this way.

Wednesday 21 February 

How To Be a Socially Impactful Entrepreneur? - 13:00-14:00 (The Atrium, University Place) 

This hour-long workshop, delivered by Leigh Wharton, Director of Bubble Enterprises, teaches you all you need to know about what it means to be a socially impactful entrepreneur, not just when working for yourself but also throughout your career.

Thursday 22 February 

Networking for beginners - 13:00-14:00 (The Atrium, University Place) 

In this hour-long session, we will look at how you can quickly and easily start networking without too much pressure. We will consider the best tools to use to start networking, places it can be useful to approach from a networking standpoint and how to make it work for you.

You can register for events using the hyperlinks embedded in the event titles above. Alternatively, to read more about the week and register for events, head over to the Careers page here.