Case Study: Find out about Andreea’s journey with IKEEP!
The Intrapreneurial Knowledge Exchange Enterprise Pathway (IKEEP) begins with fully funded training to equip you with the skills to drive innovation and bring fresh thinking to businesses.
Once you’ve completed your intrapreneurial training, you can apply for a project placement and get the opportunity to take your new skills and help a business solve an innovative challenge.

Andreea Patrunjel, a postgraduate student, studying an MSc in Computer Science at the University of Bristol, took part in the IKEEP programme. She completed IKEEP’s online Intrapreneurial training and went on to apply for and take part in the 4-week project placement. She was matched with a Bristol start-up, Groundwaves, a company which have pioneered some of the most powerful haptic technology, and applied it in a footwear product, fusing the worlds of fashion and technology.
We caught up with Andreea to hear more about her experience with IKEEP…
Case Study: Senmag Robotics’s experience with IKEEP
What is IKEEP?
The IKEEP Programme consists of high-quality knowledge exchange opportunities, providing fresh perspectives and skills to enable regional businesses to grow while honing the talent of future graduates.
Students involved will have participated in online training in a range of business areas such as managing innovation, business model development and project management. Student teams are ready to be placed within a company to develop business model solutions, improve market awareness and more!
Senmag Robotics’s Experience with IKEEP
Senmag Robotics took part in the IKEEP Programme this year. The student team, matched to this business, carried out market research to evaluate the most suitable markets and potential customers/early adopters for their product. They were also involved in the company’s website design, implementing improvements using HTML and CSS.

Senmag Robotics is a Bristol-based start-up and New Enterprise Competition finalist producing affordable haptic feedback technology, which allows a user to physically interact with computer simulations, making environments and objects in AR/VR feel solid.
Spyros Lavetiz is the CEO and Co-founder of Senmag Robotics and has recently completed his final year of a master’s degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Bristol.
We spoke to Spyros to find out more about his experience with IKEEP…
Bright Network Internship Experience UK: A First-Hand Account
The Bright Network Internship Experience is a free virtual internship which is open to everyone over the age of 18.

The scheme provides school leavers, current university students, and recent graduates with a valuable insight into one of 8 key sectors of the UK job market, giving participants the opportunity to connect with and learn from a range of leading employers.
Handily, there are an unlimited number of online places available on each of the 8 different internship paths available, and since every experience is fully online, they can be completed from anywhere in the world.
Whichever pathway you choose, your experience can be completed either as a three-day ‘live’ course, or in an ‘on demand’ format, which you can complete at your own pace. This means it’s really easy to fit the experience around your other commitments over the summer.
Get a UK Job: A Timeline for International Students
Getting to know a new labour market and how to navigate it can be difficult! That’s why we’ve put together this handy timeline for international students looking to find a job in the UK.
The New Enterprise Competition winners!
The New Enterprise Competition drew to a close last week and the winner of the Growth stage was Kaedim, winning £10,000 and 12 months incubation at SETSquared.
Kaedim, launched in 2019 by Computer Science with Innovation students Konstantina Psoma and Roman Bromidge, is an Artificial Intelligence (AI) start-up which turns sketches into 3D models. Their degree based at the Centre of Innovation and Entrepreneurship alongside the help of the Basecamp Enterprise Team, allowed them to develop their idea, enhance their entrepreneurial skills and draw on a pool of expert industry mentors.
Below: The Basecamp Team (virtually, of course) announce the good news to Kaedim
Over the course of the year, the Basecamp Enterprise Team received over 100 applications to take part in the Ideation, Development and Growth stages of the New Enterprise Competition. Winning the competition gives students, graduates and staff the opportunity to win prize money and unlock support packages to help develop and grow their start-up ideas- whether it be a business, charity or social enterprise!
Here’s what Kaedim had to say about winning this years’ top prizes:
#10YearsOfPLUS: A decade of devotion to employability.
We are getting a little nostalgic as we draw closer to the end of the PLUS Award’s 10th anniversary year (just under 6 weeks to go!)
We are so proud of all the achievers, past and present. The PLUS Award has certainly grown and evolved in the past decade; In its pilot year, 165 students achieved the PLUS Award, since then over 5,000 students have achieved it. Another 800 have finished so far this year, persevering to bag their Award despite changing circumstances! (more…)
#10YearsOfPLUS: Your UG Education Officer shares her Award experience.
More than 5000 students past and present have achieved the PLUS Award in the last decade. One of which is your currently elected UG Education Officer Hillary Gyebi-Ababio who used work experience as a Telethon Fundraiser and a society committee position, among other things, to gain the Award alongside her Social Policy degree. This is what she says about her experience.
“Taking part in the Bristol PLUS Award made me a stronger candidate for my career. I honed my skills in organisation, communication and most importantly for myself, leadership. It enabled me to feel confident in realising my potential in the future career I hope to have.
Focks Socks – Ideas Stage, New Enterprise Competition winner 2017-18
Basecamp Enterprise Team caught up with winner of Ideas Stage, New Enterprise Competition and Bristol University alumni Ash Guest. Ash founded the start-up business Focks Socks and has continued to develop her start-up since its
beginnings in 2017. Here’s what Ash had
to say about her start-up journey:
Who are you?
My name is Ash and I’ve just started a Masters in Human Rights Law, after completing my undergrad in law at UoB a couple of years ago. (more…)
My Internship Experience at HSBC
Joe Baldwin, a Chemistry student at Bristol, shares his experience as a Commercial Banking Summer Intern at HSBC.
My time as an HSBC Intern started as I expect it does for many, concerned about possibility of not having a job to go to after graduation. My search for an internship wasn’t about finding the perfect internship, as I didn’t know what this would be. I wanted to get a flavour of the jobs available to chemists – one that doesn’t involve lab coats and safety goggles. (more…)