We are delighted to share the news that Luke Netherclift, a recent GSD and Business Studies graduate, was one of the winners of Warwick’s Outstanding Student Contribution Awards (OSCAs)!

Why Luke?

Luke was nominated by staff and students in the GSD Department, and staff across the University, for the following reasons:

A social entrepreneur

During his time at Warwick, Luke has established himself as a passionate social entrepreneur, committed to promoting business for good.

In his first year, after winning Warwick’s Innovation Hub Challenge, Luke co-founded The People’s Backpack, a social enterprise aiming to tackle stigma around refugees and empowering them through their journey. Luke also worked with Food Intercept, a social enterprise developing creative solutions to reduce food waste.

More recently, Luke co-founded The Human Entrepreneur, a student-led start-up aimed at empowering early-stage entrepreneurs through education, community, and mentoring. The start-up was created to address inequalities in opportunities for early-stage entrepreneurs. It runs a podcast on essential topics for young and aspiring entrepreneurs, as well as interactive workshops on several issues. The start-up also offers a mentoring platform, supporting young entrepreneurs around the globe through a network of like-minded individuals.

Since graduating, Luke has been focusing his time on co-founding a new company, Let's Level Up. They are an ed-tech start-up reimagining education to equip individuals with skills to thrive in their work.

An Innovation Fellow

In his second year, Luke was appointed as an Innovation Fellow at Warwick Enterprise. Through this role, Luke has supported other students’ creativity and innovation, developing young entrepreneurs’ ideas on campus and beyond. Luke has been involved in a whole host of activities within this role, including:

"I nominated Luke because of his endless examples of leadership. He has done so much as a student, entrepreneur, mentor, volunteer, and a very empathetic and compassionate member of the Warwick learning community. It was a privilege to witness and support his growth over the last three years. I learnt so much from him on several occasions. I am delighted and not at all surprised he received multiple nominations and has been awarded this year's OSCA. "

Bo Kelestyn, Senior Teaching Fellow, Chemistry

An excellent student

Across his three years at Warwick, Luke has proved to be an excellent student, embodying the University’s objective to embed learning experience in real-world impact. Luke’s dissertation focused on the barriers and enablers to entrepreneurial activities among UK university students.

"Luke is creative, thoughtful, critical (though always constructively so), and in every way a pleasure to work with."

Dr Lewis Beer, International Partnerships Officer

Find out more about the 2021 OSCA winners here.