Date: Tuesday 02 August
Time: 17:30 – 19:30
Location: ASB Business Lounge (Level 6, West Wing of ASB building)
Dress code: Smart Casual

An intimate event, exclusive to SIFE UNSW Members! You can register your membership on the night, or join us now to attend: http://www.sifeunsw.org/we​bsite/join-us/

The aim of this workshop is to allow students to understand the process of consulting, from receiving the client brief to the final presentation.

Hugh Podmore, a UNSW Alumni, who is now the Director at Deloitte Foundation and a Strategy & Operations Consultant, will be giving the presentation.

You are encouraged to ask Hugh any questions relating to the consulting process and the various job opportunities available in the field.

Food and beverages will be provided on the night, as well as networking opportunities.

This workshop is open to all SIFE UNSW students. If you are not a SIFE UNSW member, please register here: http://www.sifeunsw.org/we​bsite/join-us/

If you have any questions, feel free to post on the event wall, alternatively you can email enquiries@sifeunsw.org

You are more than welcome to bring your friends, if they are not a SIFE UNSW member, they can sign up on the night. Space is limited, therefore it is advisable you RSVP and arrive on time.

Please see http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=196864233704648 for more information and to RSVP.

SIFE UNSW is proudly supported by Arc.

Here’s a video we presented during the SIFE National Conference 2011. Watch it to find out more about SIFE UNSW 

UNSW Students participating in the SIFE program (Students in Free Enterprise) recently placed equal third in the finals at this year’s national competition. The UNSW team presented in front of representatives from over 22 recruiters and sponsors, including: KPMG, Woolworths Ltd., Coca-Cola Amatil and HSBC.

Students in Free Enterprise is a global non-profit that encourages university students to tackle social, economic and environmental issues through entrepreneurial activity and the empowerment of affected individuals and communities. Students develop these entrepreneurial projects over a year’s course, before presenting these projects to business professionals at an inter-university National Championship, held each year in a different state capital. The winner university then represents the country at the ‘World Cup’; this year held in Kuala Lumpur.

‘It’s really unexpected’, says Khiem Tudo, President of the SIFE team at UNSW. ‘Our goal was to make the semi-finals, but we beat out the previous national champion – The University of Western Australia – for a spot in the finals’.

Currently, Students in Free Enterprise team at UNSW runs four projects. ‘Community Canvas’ is the society’s business skills project, which provides regular finance workshops to Redfern’s disadvantaged. ‘Planet Hope’ creates educational opportunities both at home and abroad; ‘EcoActive’ fosters eco-sustainable business practice. Business IT Up is a consultancy project that helps small business ‘work on their business, rather than in their business’.

‘What we’re trying to do is empower UNSW students to make change in their community’, says Vice-President Sandy Do. ‘And we’re really making a difference. In the past year, our 110 members have impacted the lives of nearly 22000 people. In Sierra Leone alone, we’ve distributed learning aids to 16000 children through our partner, Kanga Schools’.

‘We’re always looking for new clients, and also mentors to share their expertise with our students’, asserts HR Director Anthea Lai. ‘Academics, private-sector professionals. We value anyone who wants to share their knowledge’.

SIFE UNSW’s partners include Arc Student Development, Kanga Schools, Accenture, Walter-Hermann Real Estate, The Australian Red Cross. We would like to thank Dr. Martin Bliemel and Linda Glave from the CIE, and Carole Adamson from the Faculty of Science.

For more information about SIFE UNSW – including info about how you can help – please visit our website (sifeunsw.org) or connect with us on Facebook (Facebook.com/sifeunsw) or Twitter (SIFEunsw).

Location: Sydney Hilton Hotel

Date: 13th -15th July 2011

The upcoming 2011 SIFE National Conference will be an extraordinary event for our SIFE participants. Bringing together SIFE from universities all around Australia, the event foresees the collaborative efforts of SIFE projects from different universities. Each year, SIFE communities from the nation’s best universities showcase the results of their respective projects to the general SIFE community, whether it is performing market research for small businesses, providing consulting services with regards to environmentally sustainable processes, helping to promote indigenous awareness in the Australian community or lending a hand to disadvantaged members of our society. SIFE UNSW will be presenting the hard earned efforts from Business IT Up, EcoActive, Indigenous Arts and Planet Hope to the 2011 conference.

The winning SIFE group will progress onto the SIFE World Cup, where SIFE communities from universities in 39 countries showcase their work (similar to the National Conference) and compete for the glamorous title of SIFE World Cup Champion. However, the most valuable aspect of these competitions is the opportunity to network, with over “1,500 student, academic, and business leaders” from across the world. SIFE student members may be able to establish excellent networks with business and academic leaders, which may greatly enhance their future career prospects in the diverse and intense society of today. Of course, it is up to the student themselves whether they will take up this opportunity!

We wish our competing team all the best with the SIFE National Conference and SIFE World Cup!

On Tuesday 7 July 2011, the SIFE conference participants rendezvoused at university to complete a group photo shoot and a series of individual photo shoots. Additionally, our video and music editing team compiled and revealed an elaborate and purposeful introduction video for our SIFE conference presentation. Executive members focussed on refining and practising their presentations for the conference. The final presentations were marvellous, presenting an enthusiastic and informative review of the work completed by SIFE members. SIFE UNSW appreciates all SIFE members for all their persistent efforts.

Much of the social and economic problems of the Redfern-Waterloo area have their roots in unemployment. 42% of youths aged 18-25 are unemployed within the area, a proportion which is significantly higher than the national 18% figure. Young people in particular often face difficulties in finding employment due to family problems, a lack of suitable qualifications, or a shortage of information regarding potential work opportunities.

As part of the Learning, Employment and Enterprise Action Group (LEEAG), SIFE UNSW partnered with various non-profit organisations to consult with young people in the area, surveying them on possible career options they may be interested in and on changes that they would like to see in their community.

Community Canvas also worked alongside the Factory Centre in Redfern and organised a series of classes to provide education on how to better manage their day-to-day household finances. To implement these skills and provide a hands-on experience, SIFE UNSW ran a second project to promote and build the local community-based RedWater Markets.

Working in partnership with Kanga Schools, a Sydney based charity, SIFE UNSW has improved the fundamental literacy and numeracy skills of primary school children in Sierra Leone.

They have also partnered with the Australian Red Cross to help young single mothers aged between 12-24 who have been left homeless and are in need of financial independence.

Planet Hope has improved the fundamental literacy and numeracy skills of primary school children in Sierra Leone by developing, producing and shipping 4000 reusable laminated learning aids. They cover key basic learning areas gathered from extensive consultation with Australian primary school teachers and Sierra Leoneans.

Through a partnership with the Australian Red Cross, Planet Hope has empowered young mothers to be financially independent through a series of engaging workshops. The workshops thoroughly explored employment issues, included constructing resumes and cover letters and job interviews preparation. The workshops also covered financial management, which focused on helping young mothers to develop and adhere to a budget.

SIFE UNSW has worked closely with three major clients: Walter Hermann Real Estate, which requested for an energy assessment of a residential apartment in Rockdale; the global consulting firm, Accenture; and Randwick City Council.

Team members have created and implemented a three-point audit on energy and water usage for the Rockdale complex and Accenture by conducting an initial scope, collecting audit evidence and providing recommendations for sustainable practices in achieving energy efficiencies. Initial estimates based on the Rockdale site assessment shows that the building’s CO2 emissions can be economically cut by up to 30% through the use of simple controls and technologies.

EcoActive also identified areas within Accenture where the tenants could use their resources more efficiently, even though the firm’s building was installed with cutting edge technology. SIFE UNSW’s solutions for Accenture will be focused on promoting simple sustainable practices in the workplace and inspiring employees to work more coherently with the building.

Project members are still in discussion with Randwick Council’s sustainability team regarding the details of an assessment which will take place in late 2011.

SIFE UNSW assisted a number of businesses such as: Tania’s Chocolate Pizza, a one-woman operation that makes, sells, and delivers chocolate pizzas; Tribal Tea, a tea business that sells a range of healthy tea blends; and The Other Shop, a boutique online fashion store that retails specialized designer clothing.

Business IT Up members were successful in raising a greater awareness of their clients’ small businesses through the Internet. Their e-commerce stores, both modified and developed from scratch, received over 53,600 hits. This led to an average increase in client revenue for the three businesses by 27% over 6 months. The team also created and updated Facebook pages for each business to increase brand awareness – the number of active users of pre-existing client pages increased by over 60%.

Market evaluation reports were also thoroughly developed for all three businesses. These reports examined the competitive environment these businesses operated in and suggested possible changes to their business models and operations.