Students from the Outer Hebrides taking part in this year’s summer STEP programme have discovered who the Most Enterprising Student is.
It concludes the STEP Summer Placement Programme which has seen 44 university students gain industry experience with businesses and organisations across the Highlands and Islands.
The winning student for the Outer Hebrides was Anne Dickie who took up a placement
with Equateq Ltd – a family owned production and research facility able to make super-
She is currently studying a BSc (Hons) in Biological Science. Runner-
The students taking part showcased their projects and delivered short presentations on how their placements have benefited the businesses they have been working with. Regional finals were also held in Inverness and Lerwick.
For all Highlands and Islands based placements HIE provided 50 per cent of the students’ allowance through strategic assistance by the European Regional Development Fund.
The scheme aims to match undergraduates with the related businesses for an eight-
The businesses benefit from an additional member of staff who carries out a specific project, while the students gain invaluable industry experience related to their studies.
The STEP programme has been running in the Outer Hebrides for 16 years. Donnie Smith is the STEP agent based in Lews Castle College in the Outer Hebrides.
He said: “All the reports and presentations were of a high standard and both the students and the companies felt it had been a highly successful programme and would recommend it to future students and organisations.”
The winning student received a cheque for £250 and the runner up £100.
Most enterprising student 7/9/10
Anne Dickie and Ruth Macdonald