On Friday 31 October, we held our in-person Hatch:IT competition.
This is a once-yearly initiative from Basecamp Enterprise, where students can work on real-world sustainability and environmental business issues and be in for a chance of winning a cash prize between £150 to £300!
Basecamp Enterprise is a team of start-up specialists that work in the Careers Service here at the University of Bristol. We are here to develop your entreprenurial skills through a range of events and programmes, alongside supporting students and recent graduates who want to start their own business.
Working individually or in groups, students attended our 4-hour ‘Hatchathon’ event. Hatch:IT gave students a great opportunity to develop their intrapreneurial and entrepreneurial mindsets.
We were joined by our two provocateurs: Robert Cowling from the Flood Forecasting Centre, and Lucy Hellier from the Avon Wildlife Trust.
The session enabled participants to generate ideas, talk to the provocateurs, and get to understand their chosen issue to solve.
Robert asked students to think of an innovative solution for collecting fast data after on-the-ground floods. This gave students an opportunity to think of highly technical ideas, but also to think of more prosocial ideas.
Lucy posed the Avon Wildlife Trust’s issue with engaging young students who come for primary school residentials. This had more marketing and creative avenues to be explored.
The session also enabled the development of some key employability skills on their My Skills profile:
- Academic skills
- How to think beyond my discipline, How to express my ideas
- Knowledge handling skills
- How to develop ideas and solve problems, How to think creatively and innovatively
- Work well with others
- Work well as part of a team, Communicate confidently and appropriately in a range of settings
- Work well across communities
- Engage positively with global issues
- Ready for the future
- Confident in using digital tools, Ready to adapt to changing and challenging environments
We can’t wait to see what our participants come up with! Winners will be announced at the beginning of December. Keep an eye on our Basecamp Enterprise LinkedIn for updates.
Want to take part in more of our upcoming enterprise activities?
You can sign up to our newsletter as either a current student or a recent graduate to stay in the loop, and keep an eye on our enterprise events on mycareer.
Starting up your own business?
- Check out our guides under ‘Starting a business and self-employment‘
- Apply to New Enterprise: DEVELOPMENT by Friday 2 January 2026
- Apply to New Enterprise: GROWTH by Friday 27 February 2026
- Have more questions? Email us at basecamp@bristol.ac.uk
