Inspired, motivated and excited about the future: A student's perspective on global entrepreneurship

Let me tell you a little bit about myself:

I currently live in Glasgow which has a population of 592,820

I am a student at the University of Strathclyde which has 15,000 undergraduate students

I am specifically part of the Business School where I am in my final year of studying for a BA Hons in Marketing and Management. There are 3171 undergraduate business school students

It was during my university exams in May of this year that I looked up from my exam paper and considered that every other person in that hall was studying for EXACTLY the same degree that I was and this led me to think about the facts above and to the realisation that I was just a number. It also made me consider; what makes me stand out from everyone else? A question increasingly relevant as graduation and long-term employment looms.

I realised that I needed to do something that would make me stand out - then I discovered the Saltire Foundation and my entrepreneurial spirit!

Over the summer I was lucky enough to become a Saltire 2012 scholar and was placed in Vets Now, a high growth Scottish business. It was during this placement and my subsequent work with the Saltire Foundation that my outlook on entrepreneurship and a career within business completely altered.

Vets Now's headquarters can only be described as a smaller Scottish version of how I imagine the Google headquarters to be run. Employees are encouraged to be actively involved in all aspects of the business, if we had business ideas we were encouraged to speak up and act upon them which is part of the reason for the organisations recent success with their online social communities, Park Bench and the Scratching Post. It was the first time in my life that I realised such diverse companies existed in Scotland, where entrepreneurial spirit was sparked and you were not made to fit a corporate stereotype.

The internship made me realise that if you have an idea and put your mind to it you really can achieve it - you just need to find a way of igniting the entrepreneur within you.

This week I have been lucky enough to take part in the events being run by the Saltire Foundation in aid of Global Entrepreneurship Week which has further given me the chance to network and listen to other inspiring entrepreneurs. Mick Jackson, Founder and Chairman of the WildHearts Charity and Adam Purvis, Director of Power of Youth to name just two.

As a result of the events above I feel inspired to become an entrepreneur in my own right, motivated to take the risks in order to achieve this and perhaps most importantly I am excited about life after university!