SIFE at VU - Making a Difference in the Community

Deepa Chand, President of VU's Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE), gives us a report on their activities so far this year.

SIFE VU is a student organisation formed within the Faculty of Business and Law, part of the global SIFE network. SIFE’s mission is to empower the community through education. By joining SIFE, members develop skills and networks, and their affiliation with SIFE is positively acknowledged by employers.

With over fifty passionate and motivated members, and with the assistance of our amazing Faculty Advisors, CaAtherine Meredith and George Comodromos, SIFE VU is currently involved in delivering four projects:

1. Greening VU
   Greening VU is the biggest SIFE VU project. Greening VU focuses on reducing paper coffee cups and bottled water on VU campuses, thus reducing their carbon footprint. Initially concentrated on the Footscray Park campus, Greening VU will encourage the VU community to switch to environmentally friendly alternatives such as reusable water bottles, keep cups and water filters.
   The Greening VU team is made up of 18 keen and enthusiastic students who are currently working on research and marketing strategies, including a three-minute promotional video. The Greening VU team aims to have a pilot run of the project by the 2012 SIFE National Conference and Competition in July.
2. Cooking at the Village
   ‘Cooking at the Village’ is targeted at the students residing at the Student Village in Maribyrnong. SIFE VU research has shown that students living away from home for the first time purchased fast food on a regular basis – an option that while convenient, is unhealthy and expensive. ‘Cooking at the Village’ was devised to equip students living away from home with basic cooking skills.
   A group of SIFE members partnered with the Student Village ResLife team to organise a series of on-site cooking classes held during semester 1, 2012. The classes have been very successful, with many participants expressing their great appreciation for them.
   ‘Cooking at the Village’ aims to teach recipes that are healthy, quick and easy, and budget friendly recipes, providing students with a lifelong skill in the process.
3. Australian Business Week 2012
   This year’s Australian Business Week (ABW) competition will be held at the City Flinders campus over four consecutive Saturdays, concluding on 2 June 2012, when the winners of the competition will be awarded.
   Teams of Victorian Year 10 and Year 11 students are competing across a variety of tasks, all centered on business management. SIFE VU will be assisting in running the Australian Business Week by mentoring the teams of high school students and facilitating group discussions regarding how to fulfill the requirements of the competition.
4. SIFE Warm Up
   We all know how cold Melbourne winters can be; just imagine if you didn’t have that knitted scarf and woollen coat to keep out the chill. What if all you had at night to keep you warm was a threadbare blanket instead of your favourite doona?
   The ‘SIFE Warm Up’ project was launched on Monday, 16 April with a knitting class. Participants brought along a pair of size 5 knitting needles and a ball of 8ply wool, and the SIFE Warm Up team showed them how to knit a scarf. In 2011, the project collected over 100 items for donation to a charity in the Western suburbs, who then distributed the items to families in need.  You can help SIFE Warm Up by donating scarves, knitted hats/beanies, blankets and jumpers of all sizes. Donations can be delivered to the Biz Help Office,  Footscray Park, level 3, room G347.

SIFE VU is eagerly working on these projects in preparation for the SIFE Australia National Conference and Competition that will be held at the Grand Hyatt Melbourne on the 11th, 12th and 13th of July.

During last year’s National Conference and Competition at the Hilton Sydney, where eight SIFE VU members proudly presented our 2011 projects, the SIFE VU team awarded the ‘Spirit of SIFE Award’ in recognition of the strength of our developing projects.

In 2012, SIFE VU is looking forward to the National Conference and Competition in July, where the above four projects will be presented, with the aim of winning the title of SIFE Australia National Champion.