The Manchester Enterprise Challenge combines an academic unit on enterprise with a community project and allows students to learn about enterprise while putting their skills into practice for a charity or not-for-profit organisation. Students have the opportunity to achieve the Manchester Enterprise Challenge Award – to do so, they need to pass their academic unit plus work together in a student group to deliver a project on behalf of a charity / not-for-profit organisation.
The University of Manchester are looking for projects where students can help organisations by addressing a specific business need. For example: income-generating activity; financial sustainability; business planning; marketing and promotion; volunteer recruitment and retention etc. The students taking the module are usually second year students, but sometimes third year students too. They are studying a variety of degrees (from Business to Humanities or Sciences) – but are all taking an Enterprise module as an optional unit.
How the Manchester Enterprise Challenge project works:
- As a potential project host, you will submit a brief outline of your suggested project by completing a short project proposal form
- Students will be invited to select the projects that they wish to work on
- Groups of three to six students will be matched to confirmed projects
- After being introduced by email, an initial meeting between you as the project host and your student group will be arranged. This will be facilitated by the Volunteering and Awards Team at the University
- At the initial meeting you (the project host) and your student group should agree: the actions and outputs (recommendations, presentations, digital content, printed materials, etc); how you will communicate (meetings, emails, phone calls etc); key timings (milestones and final outputs)
- The group starts work (e.g. online research, focus groups, site visits etc) with each student spending around 20 hours on the project
- The student group is expected to keep in regular communication with each other, with you, and with the Volunteering and Awards Team throughout the project
- The group will arrange a final meeting with you to present their agreed outputs to you and other relevant stakeholders
- The group will deliver their final presentation to University staff as part of their assessment, to which you as the project hosts will be invited to attend
Timescales
- January/February 2026: The University’s Volunteering and Awards Team source relevant projects Mid-February 2026: Student groups will be matched to a project (following them choosing their preferred projects to work on).
- Late February/early March – start of May 2026: Projects run at a timescale that works for you and your group.
- Start of May 2026: Final outcomes of the project (e.g. research report, marketing plan etc.) will be submitted to you by your student group.
To submit a project, complete the form here by 6th February 2026, 12pm.
If you have any questions, email Kirsty Hutchison kirsty.hutchison@manchester.ac.uk