Freelance Connect: Creative Industry talks & networking

Thu, Jan 14, 2027, 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Join us at this free event at Phoenix Cinema & Art Centre, home to some of Leicester's best Creative Industries startups. You'll hear from inspiration guest speakers including entrepreneurial students and alumni, and there will be time to informally network and make brand new connections.

The cafe will be open for you to purchase drinks, and food can be purchased afterwards from the cafe.

Freelance Connect events are also open to the public, to help you establish new contacts, locally.

These events are organised by DMU Made, De Montfort University's student and graduate enterprise team.

Head over to MyGateway to book now.

DMU Made 20th Anniversary Freelancing and Entrepreneurship Awards: Tickets

Secure you free tickets for this huge awards event on 2 February, 2027. Sponsored by The Sir Thomas White Loan Charity, we’ll be celebrating entrepreneurial talent, alongside special guests and live performances.

Get your tickets now: https://my-gateway.dmu.ac.uk/leap/event.html?id=2791&service=Careers+Service

DMU Made Workshops

The DMU Made Team are offering a series of weekly 30-minute workshops designed to provide you with useful, introductory knowledge and practical tips to help you start and grow your business.

Topics covered will include:

Registering your business
Making the most of social media for your business
Getting the best out of Canva
And much more!

You can sign up for the workshops through MyGateway.

The workshops will run on a repeating monthly schedule, so if you miss a session, don't worry – there will be another opportunity to attend the following month.

As an added benefit, you will receive a copy of the presentation slides after completing each workshop, so you can refer back to the information whenever you need it.

Upcoming November Workshop Links

Please see below for the links to the upcoming workshops taking place in November:

Events - De Montfort University Tuesday 10 November: How the Leicester Community Can Support You – DMU Made Workshop

Events - De Montfort University Wednesday 11 November: 10 Ways to use Instagram for your business - DMU Made Workshop

Events - De Montfort University Thursday 12 November: How to register as a Sole Trader / Register a business - DMU Made Workshop

Events - De Montfort University Tuesday 17 November: Do's and Don'ts of using AI in your business - DMU Made Workshop

Events - De Montfort University Wednesday 18 November: How DMU Made can support your freelancing/business venture - DMU Made Workshop

Events - De Montfort University Thursday 19 November: How to pitch a business idea - DMU Made Workshop

We look forward to seeing you there!
The DMU Made Team

Win a share of £3000! DMU Made / ESBF Competition 2026

Join the DMU Made Engineers and Scientists in Business (ESBF) Competition 2026 and work in a team to develop an innovative idea to address a real-world challenge.

This two-part programme will see participants work together in teams* to solve a sustainability problem utilising entrepreneurial skills, with up to £3000 in prize money available for the best ideas. *each team must have a member from the Faculty of Technology, Arts and Culture, however students from other faculties may participate.

Teams must be between 4 and 10 persons, either come as a team or create one during the first session.

Participants must attend both sessions - please ensure when booking, you register for both.

Register Now for the Free Future Freelancers Programme 2026.

Interested in working as a freelancer, either alongside your studies or when you graduate?  Maybe you want to make money alongside your studies instead of taking on a part-time job, or perhaps you want to know what's involved in being your own boss in future.

On this free programme, you'll learn skills, make new connections and friends, and receive the support you need.

For more information and to reserve your space, please click HERE

DMU Made Awards 2026: Nominations are open!

DMU Made, the part of Careers Team that helps students and graduates to develop entrepreneurial skills and launch new freelancing and startup ventures, has opened nominations for a special anniversary awards celebration taking place later this year.

The event, supported by The Sir Thomas White Loan Charity, will recognise twenty years of Careers Team leading extracurricular enterprise programmes, competitions and events for students and graduates at De Montfort University.

Details about the award itself will be released soon, but for now, students, graduates and staff can nominate deserving individuals across a host of categories. As this is a special milestone event, nominees can be anybody who has received support from the team – formerly known as Campus Enterprise Opportunities – over the last two decades.

Simon Baines, Enterprise Manager (Careers Team) said: “Our awards event has the reputation of being one of the biggest and most joyous events within the University, and we can’t wait to take it up a level when we celebrate two decades of nurturing and empowering so many students, graduates and also colleagues within the realm of entrepreneurship. With the world of work changing, we’ve never been busier, delivering activities inside and alongside the curriculum and it feels timely to take a moment to celebrate how we got here”.

To enable us to properly evaluate nominations, please provide us much detail as you can to support your submission.

There will also be awards for Staff Champion, 20 Years of Inspiration Award, Community & Collaboration Award and a Global Supporter Award with finalists determined by DMU Made.

How to register as a Sole Trader/Register a business

If you are a UK student or an EU student with settlement status, have your own side-hustle, money making venture, freelancing projects or a startup business, we’ll tell you how to register with HMRC to get your Unique Tax Reference No. We’ll also explain the benefits, and how it can unlock funding opportunities for you in DMU.

Simply book a one-to-one appointment with us via https://mygateway-dmu.ac.uk

Make Space

Do you have a creative side-project? Looking for a space to work, sew, design, create? All current students and recent graduates are welcome to work from the DMU Made Studio, which is open whenever the library is open (currently 24 hours). You can find this space on the first floor of the Kimberlin Library (Room 1.06). Find out more here.

DMUmade PopUps

We've teamed up with DSU to host a new, daily opUp Shop located in the SUsupplies Shop on the Ground Floor of the Campus Centre. Students who make their own products can apply for a free stall by emailing Andrew Reynolds. PopUp Shops are open on Mondays between 10am and 4pm.

Email dsupportunities@dsu.ac.uk to express an interest in having a stall.

ONGOING SUPPORT

A reminder that any student or graduate can receive one to one support, whether they have an existing business or would just like to know how to go about starting one.

One-to-ones are offered face to face and on line and can be booked via MyGateway or dmumade.com.

Further drop-in support and workspace will soon be available via the new Careers Hub in Hugh Aston.