Applications open for DMU's Freelancing and Entrepreneurship Awards

Have you launched your own business, developed a side hustle or started freelancing? Well, the DMU Made Freelancing and Entrepreneurship Awards may just be for you.  

Every year, the DMU Made team, in partnership with the Sir Thomas White Loans Company, organise the awards to celebrate students or recent graduates who have demonstrated entrepreneurial ambition, creativity and enjoyed success with their business idea.  

The team is looking for nominations across seven categories: 

• Creative Enterprise Award - Recognising a graduate or founder whose business journey has created lasting impact. 

• Freelance Success Award - Celebrating an inspiring freelance or self-employed career built through creativity, expertise, and resilience. 

• Social Impact Award - Celebrating ventures that have made a positive difference to society, communities, or the environment. 

• Entrepreneurial Legacy Award - Recognising a graduate or founder whose business journey has created lasting impact. 

• Startup Success Story Award - For a business that has grown from an idea into an established venture. 

• Intrapreneurship Award - Recognising individuals who have applied entrepreneurial skills within a placement or job role. - Recognising a current student or graduate showing exceptional entrepreneurial potential. 

• Emerging Entrepreneur Award 

Self-nominations are welcome! You can nominate yourself or someone else, and submit as many nominations across as many categories as you like. 

Nominating yourself, or someone else, is easy and takes just a few minutes. You can complete your nomination on the DMU Made website.  

The Freelancing and Entrepreneurship Awards are one of DMU's biggest celebrations, bringing of entrepreneurial talent together with the local business community. It's a fantastic opportunity to showcase for students to showcase their ideas, raise their profile and network with business leaders in the area.  

The evening will also feature special awards marking 20 years of the Careers Team's enterprise support, alongside the final of the annual Pitch2Win competition. 

The awards take place on the evening of Tuesday 2 February 2027 at The Venue. 

Registration for free tickets, is also open now: 

Staff, students, graduates and the local business community are all invited to attend. 

Further information will be released on DMU Made’s website.  

If you’re looking for a flavour of what the awards evening is like, a roundup of the 2026 Freelancing and Entrepreneurship Awards is on the DMU Student News website.