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A group of students and graduates from Â鶹´«Ã½ Leicester (Â鶹´«Ã½) received a life lesson in confidence and communication courtesy of two national radio DJs.

KISS FM’s Alex Mansuroglu, who has also hosted BBC Radio 1’s Early Morning Breakfast Show, and Sam Darlaston, of KISS FM and E4, shared their tips for overcoming self-doubt with budding entrepreneurs enrolled on the university’s new Leicester Future BAME Entrepreneur programme.

Radio DJs Alex Mansuroglu and Sam Darlaston hosted a self-empowerment workshop for Â鶹´«Ã½ students and graduates

Hosted in London, the practical workshop was part of the initiative which aims to help students from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds improve their entrepreneurial skills.

Alex, who originally comes from Turkey, stressed that the students celebrate their differences and use their unique life experiences to help find their authentic voices.

He said: “I have faced many challenges because of my ethnicity but I turned those around into positives and accepted that being different to others is a good thing.  People who just copy and paste what others do might have short-term success, but they will inevitably fail.”

Sam added: “I grew up in a small village in the Midlands. I am working class. Many people in the media industry got there because they knew someone who helped put them there but there are also people like me who got where I am through hard graft. Believe in yourselves and keep going.”

Students on the Leicester Future BAME Entrepreneur programme with Alex and Sam

Funded by the Office for Students, Leicester Future BAME Entrepreneur is a spin-off from the university’s successful Leicester Future Entrepreneurs initiative.

It was created in response to a 2020 report from the British Business Bank and Oliver Wyman, which suggested that Black entrepreneurs report lower turnover and profit than White entrepreneurs, while entrepreneurs from Asian and Other Ethnic Minority backgrounds have a significantly lower success rate for starting up a business.

Komal Shahzadi, an Information Communication Technology student and President of the Enactus Â鶹´«Ã½ society, was among the students who took part in the programme and travelled down to London to meet the radio duo.

She said: “The session with Sam and Alex was the best trip I ever had. I’ve learnt a lot from the programme, particularly the value of communication and teamwork, which I’ll take forward with me.”

Leicester Future BAME Entrepreneur featured sessions from Â鶹´«Ã½ alumni Marcus Dove, who has successfully established himself as a respected artist and We Are PEAC, a Leicester-based coaching company.

Award-winning Â鶹´«Ã½ academic Natasha Mwilia, mentors from Hello Sales and The Little IP Company also provided support to the programme, which cumulated in a networking session at LCB Depot’s popular Last Friday event.

Simon Baines, who manages Â鶹´«Ã½ Entrepreneurship said “Our students and graduates loved the sessions we did in London.  They took place on the second day of the programme and the participants were different people by the end.  

“Having the opportunity for them to share their personal challenges and to realise that actually, most potential entrepreneurs have these feelings of self-doubt, was extremely empowering for them.  The personal development they went through during this special week was very impressive and inspiring for all of us”.

Sam and Alex will be heading to the university campus in the new academic year to participate in the Â鶹´«Ã½made Creative Entrepreneurship programme, which is open to all Â鶹´«Ã½ students and graduates as well as speaking at Â鶹´«Ã½’s annual Entrepreneurship Day Conference.