University lecturer receives award in recognition of charity work

A University of Chester lecturer’s commitment and passion in contributing to the work of a charity for young people has been recognised with a gold-standard award.

Lisa Conway, Senior Lecturer in Business and Management and Senior University Teaching Fellow, has been chosen to receive a Young Enterprise Gold Award.

Young Enterprise is a national charity which helps young people to learn the vital skills needed to earn and look after their money, to develop an enterprising mindset, succeed in the changing world of work and make a valuable contribution to their communities and wider society.

Each year, the charity’s leaders seek to recognise the contribution of its volunteers, presenting Gold Awards to those who have supported the organisation significantly.

Lisa is currently the Chair of the Young Enterprise Local Volunteer Board for Cheshire and Warrington, and is due to retire from the position at the end of the academic year, after five years in the role. As Chair, Lisa has steered the team of volunteers, from the public and private sector, to support the work of Young Enterprise, whether through engagement of new schools and colleges to participate in Young Enterprise programmes, or by bringing in new partners and stakeholders to volunteer and fund the vital enterprise, employability and financial education.

Lisa said: “I am extremely honoured to receive this award. I’ve really enjoyed being part of the Cheshire and Warrington team, working alongside highly committed and skilled colleagues, and it’s been wonderful to see so many young people excel with the charity’s support.”

She continued: “I’d also like to congratulate the very deserving Hems de Winter who is a fellow member of the Cheshire and Warrington board, and has also received an award for his inspiring work with schools, colleges and universities taking part in Young Enterprise activities.”

Anthony Brown, Young Enterprise North West Regional Manager, added: “We’re really grateful to Lisa - she’s been a wonderful asset to Young Enterprise. To create the greatest impact and improve local young people’s life chances, it requires a host of partners to jointly bring their expertise and passion together; Lisa’s drive and passion has helped raise further awareness of our organisation and connected us further, enabling us to support more young people across Cheshire and Warrington.”

With Lisa’s guidance, the Cheshire and Warrington Young Enterprise area has flourished in recent years.

Lisa has organised the hosting of the charity’s key annual area celebration event at the University of Chester Business School and supported the development of joint projects

with Higher Horizons+, the UniConnect higher education outreach project, alongside bringing on board new partners, such as Cheshire Oaks, Encirc and others, as a supporter, and recruiting student volunteers from the University to support the development of businesses and employability skills in local schools and colleges. As she moves on, Lisa has ensured that colleagues from Chester Business School will continue their support for this very worthwhile cause.

In addition, one team from the Cheshire and Warrington area - ‘Calma’ from Abbey Gate College in Chester - recently won the North West final of the Young Enterprise Company Programme and went on to be one of 12 teams competing nationally at Young Enterprise’s Company of the Year Awards. This event is the grand finale of the 2021 Company Programme, with the teams representing more than 7,500 young people, from hundreds of schools across the UK who participated in this year’s programme.

For further information about Young Enterprise, please visit:

www.young-enterprise.org.uk.

Pictured - Lisa Conway, Senior Lecturer in Business and Management at the University of Chester, with her Young Enterprise Gold Award.