How Students Can Find Work Experience, Courses and Opportunities

Student Entrepreneurship: How Young People Turn Ideas Into Real Opportunities

Entrepreneurship rarely begins with a grand plan. More often, it starts with a quiet frustration. A missed opportunity. A moment where someone asks a simple question that won’t go away: why does this have to be this way?

For student entrepreneur Isabel Aukland, the question that sparked Jut Jut was surprisingly simple: why is finding the right opportunity still so hard?

Like many young people, Isabel was actively trying to build her future. She searched for work experience, summer programmes and university opportunities, doing what ambitious students do when they want to get ahead: researching, applying and staying open to anything that could stretch her.

But time and again, she found out about opportunities too late or not at all.

Not because she wasn’t looking, or because she lacked support. The issue was that opportunities were scattered across different platforms, shared in different circles, and often surfaced at the wrong moment. You could be organised, motivated and “doing everything right” and still miss out simply because you didn’t see something in time.

That reality came sharply into focus when Isabel secured a £4,000 scholarship to attend a leadership course in Jersey. The experience was transformative. But it also raised an uncomfortable realisation: if she hadn’t happened to come across that scholarship at exactly the right time, she would never have known it existed.

That’s the gap Jut Jut was built for.

Because the problem isn’t a lack of opportunity. It’s discovery. The current system relies on students trawling through endless websites, following the right accounts, hearing things through word of mouth, or getting lucky with timing. And when information is fragmented, opportunity becomes uneven, not by design but by default.

Jut Jut exists to make opportunity easier to find, easier to act on, and less dependent on chance. So that ambitious young people don’t miss life-changing programmes simply because the information didn’t reach them at the right moment.

That’s what Isabel set out to fix..

Instead of accepting that as normal, Isabel began to question it.

“I created JutJut after realising that many young people miss out on life-changing opportunities simply because they don’t know they exist. Having personally benefited from a scholarship, I became aware of how unfair it is that access so often depends on luck rather than potential. To me, entrepreneurship is one of the most powerful tools for change. It allows you to combine creativity, discipline and ambition into practical solutions. That’s exactly what I’m aiming to build through JutJut.”

JutJut was born from that mindset.

Designed specifically for young people, the app brings together opportunities such as short courses, essay competitions and work experience in one accessible place. Rather than forcing students to search across dozens of platforms, JutJut simplifies discovery and helps users act while opportunities are still open.

By reducing information barriers, JutJut supports students in uncovering pathways that might otherwise feel hidden or out of reach, particularly for those navigating decisions without clear guidance or established networks. But JutJut is not just a piece of technology.

It is a response to a problem many young people experience but struggle to articulate. The feeling that opportunities exist somewhere, just not where you can see them.

Stories like Isabel’s show why student entrepreneurship matters.

When young people are given the confidence, tools and space to act on their ideas, they often create solutions grounded in lived experience, not theory. This is exactly why supporting young founders is a core part of our work at Portobello Business Centre.

Alongside supporting small businesses and social enterprises, we are increasingly focused on helping young people see that building something of their own is not just possible, but achievable. Supporting ideas like JutJut sits alongside our wider work with young people, helping them take early ideas and turn them into something real, structured and sustainable.

That support is reflected in our Student Entrepreneurs Business Training Programme, which is now open for applications.

The programme is a short, intensive bootcamp designed to help 15–19-year-olds take their first steps into entrepreneurship.

Over one focused week, participants take part in hands-on workshops covering idea development, branding and positioning, finance fundamentals and pitching skills. The week concludes with a showcase event where students can compete for a share of £5,000 in investment.

Every participant also receives 12 months of follow-up support and mentorship from Portobello Business Centre, ensuring ideas do not stop at the end of the programme. There are no formal entry requirements. Just an idea, curiosity and a willingness to learn. If you know a young person who could benefit or if this feels like the right next step, applications are now open.

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