A TEAM of Leeds Trinity University business students have received national awards for their achievements as social activists and entrepreneurs.

The Leeds Trinity Enactus Society, led by final-year business students Aimee Exley, Alistair Cummins, Freya Hopkins and Meredith Stephenson, headed to the Enactus UK National Expo in London, where they won the Newcomer of the Year award.

Aimee also won the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Vice President for Engagement Partner Competition, in recognition of her outstanding outreach work and organisation around the team’s projects.

The society received the awards following the development of two innovative and successful social enterprise projects, one focusing on improving the mental health of school children following the COVID-19 pandemic and the other aiming to tackle fuel poverty amongst the elderly.

Since the Leeds Trinity society was set up in September 2021, members have had opportunities to pitch ideas, develop business cases and network with a range of organisations and employers, gaining invaluable employability skills.

Last year the group were selected to visit the Enactus UK headquarters in Nottingham where they received individual coaching and support from industry experts including Enactus UK CEO Andrew Bacon.

Aimee, who is Vice President for Engagement for the local society said: “I am honoured to receive this award. It has been a pleasure to represent Leeds Trinity University and it's really nice to be recognised for all the hard work that I’ve put in for Enactus.”

Meredith said: “Since setting up our Enactus team at Leeds Trinity, I have watched, and been a part of, our team growing and succeeding, and I could not be prouder of how far we have come. It has been an honour to represent the university and I am so excited to be part of our award-winning team.”

Jess added: "I have really enjoyed being part of Enactus this year, I’ve made lots of new friends and have some great memories. I’ve gained many new skills from this experience such as teamwork which will be very valuable for me in the future."

Dr Katie Lupton, Lead in International Academic Partnerships and Programme Leader for International Business at Leeds Trinity University, said: “I am so proud of the achievements our Enactus team have made. Their dedication and hard work has seen them develop two social enterprise projects and be awarded funding from organisations including Enterprise, ASDA and BIC. I have no doubt that their employability skills have improved and that through their networking and wider experiences they will have significant advantage over other applicants when applying for graduate roles.

Enactus UK is a university programme that supports students and young people to engage in social action and social enterprise. It operates in more than 60 universities throughout the UK.