Ngee Ann Polytechnic organised a Student Entrepreneurship Day for the first time to highlight the strong support system available to promote entrepreneurship among its students.

Various activities were lined up for the event, held at the polytechnic on Friday, 11 May from 12-6pm.

Mr Joseph Seet, the Manager of Entrepreneurs-Connect@NP ( EC@NP ), the campus' one-stop resource centre for entrepreneurship, said the event provided an opportunity to highlight the comprehensive range of support schemes to the students, especially the freshmen.

"Our purpose is to acquaint them with the free consultancy services provided by EC@NP , where they can expect the professional guidance needed to set up businesses, such as drafting proper business plans and conducting product/market feasibility studies," said Mr Seet.

Elaborating on the schemes, he added: "For example, under the EnterpriZe! Scheme to turn business ideas into reality, NP provides co-funding of 70 per cent, up to a maximum of $3,000 per project. Students will fund the remaining 30 per cent. We also collaborate with the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (ASME) to provide networking opportunities and mentoring for our student entrepreneurs."

 
Highlights of the Student Entrepreneurship Day include:
* A chance for students to experience first-hand the challenge of selling products. Prizes were awarded to those with the highest sales every hour from 12-4pm.
* An Entrepreneur Trail competition, which is styled after TV's popular Amazing Race. At the checkpoints, students participated in fun activities to raise their awareness on how NP can help them to start up businesses.
* The official launch of the Cheers-NP Student Entrepreneurship Scheme gave students the opportunity to gain first-hand exposure to the retail business by working with Cheers Holdings at the campus' outlet.
* A seminar entitled eBay - the Platform to Entrepreneurial Success highlighted how the students can build their fortune through this online global business portal.