Enactus MQ is a student group of like-minded individuals united in a mission for social change. With 40 active members, the Macquarie University team is just one of the 1730 University teams from 36 countries worldwide.

The Enactus Regionals Showcase is an annual event which marks the start of the competition season where Enactus student teams from universities across the state compete against one another. The Regionals Showcase was a one-day event that allowed the individual teams from Macquarie University, as well as UTS, UNSW and University of Sydney an opportunity to showcase the impact of their Social Enterprise Projects, and have them evaluated by business and academic judges.

Hosted by Macquarie Business School in their city campus, the event started with a careers workshop led by Randstad and focused on how to boost students’ employability and credibility as job applicants. A design thinking workshop held by MGSM Alumnus, Orlando Savage provided insight on how to effectively employ creative problem-solving skills to generate more innovative ideas.

Each team then presented their projects through and was evaluated based on how well they incorporated business concepts to improve the quality of life and standard of living for people in need.

The three social enterprise projects Enactus MQ showcased this year were Women’s Creative Hub (WCH), Nhuubala Yugal Education Centre (NYEC), and Aqua-Squared which all contribute towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The feedback received for their projects was insightful and very helpful in highlighting key areas they need to refine and improve, preparing the team for the national competition that is set to begin on 5 July.

Projects are judged on the question “Which Enactus team most effectively demonstrated entrepreneurial leadership to drive business and innovation for sustainable positive impact to benefit people, planet and prosperity within the last year?”

To improve their efforts, the Enactus MQ team is open to monetary and non-monetary support from businesses, foundations and experts who can potentially become partners/sponsors for their many causes across enterprises.

"I was proud to see Macquarie students warmly welcome, excitedly engage, and intellectually interact with their peers from the other Sydney universities,” said Dr Prashan Karunaratne, Faculty Advisor of Enactus MQ when asked about his experience of the Regionals event.

“I was also proud to note that the team from Macquarie was the only one to deliver a fully unscripted presentation, from the heart, about innovatively utilising entrepreneurship and business principles to reach and influence the world, sustainably."
The Regional Showcase has provided Enactus MQ with valuable feedback which will support them in strengthening their projects going into the National Competition.

"Having worked on the presentation for the Regionals Showcase event last year, I’m amazed by the progress our team has made since then,” said Sarah Mendoza, Bachelor of Media and Marketing student and Marketing Director for Enactus MQ.

“In spite of a global pandemic our team has done so much in the last 12 months, all to create a better impact for our beneficiaries. It really represents the kind of students Macquarie University and Enactus Australia are shaping."

Learn more about Enactus MQ.

Words by: Taneisha Wong, Enactus MQ
Photo credit: Nicholas Mok, Enactus MQ