Students Take a Break from the Books and Battle it out in Enterprise Challenge

Teams from ten of the top universities in the UK are fighting for first place in the second graduate recruitment competition launched today by Ernst & Young.

The contest, Profitunity!, is designed to raise money for The Princeís Trust as the undergraduate teams are challenged to identify, design and deliver a fundraising strategy over a five month period.

Out of the 124 students participating, the winning team ñ judged to raise money in the most innovative way ñ will be awarded 3,000 at a ceremony in April 2008. All money raised will be donated to The Princeís Trust.

The teams from Bath, Bristol, Cambridge, Durham, Edinburgh, London School of Economics (LSE), Nottingham, Oxford, Southampton and Warwick universities will be provided with 500 and an Ernst & Young mentor who will help them develop their business acumen.

In its first year (2006) Profitunity! raised 28,000 for the charity. As a result of this success the competition has been extended from 16 student teams to 25, an increase of 56 per cent.

Peter Matthews, Sponsoring Partner, Ernst & Young, said: ìProfitunity! enables us to engage with a graduate audience in a completely different way. We are empowering students to raise awareness of and money for The Princeís Trust, whilst demonstrating their entrepreneurial skills.î

ìThe competition encourages students to really stretch their minds in the creative, business world and as a result we have seen ventures such as midnight cheese toastie stalls, cocktail river boat parties, internet based weekly lotteries, and a fashion show,î he added.

Last yearís winners, Wrapped Up (of LSE), raised over 13,000 at a fashion show, after-party and surrounding initiatives. Keunyoung Oh, the team leader, said: ìThrough fun-filled events which stirred up enthusiasm amongst a completely alternative student population, we reached people at both the LSE level and beyond, to the University of London network and Londoners in general, successfully lifting the profile of The Princeís Trust.î

Profitunity! is a vital part of a series of fundraisers for the Princeís Trust and helps towards the 1million the trust has to raise every week.

Julian Barrell, director of Fundraising at The Princeís Trust, explained: ìThe Princeís Trust had not previously worked with undergraduates so Profitunity! has enabled us to tell our story to some of the future business leaders of the UK. It also helps us raise a significant sum of money to help change young lives and give the chance to young people who may not have had the opportunity to go to university themselves.î