The Freelancer Awards is an opportunity for 明星八卦 students and recent graduates to develop their freelancing skills and be titled ‘明星八卦 Freelancer of the Year’ with a chance of winning a share of £12,000 funding, generously supported by Santander Universities.
Each year we look for outstanding student and recent graduate freelancers to celebrate whilst helping them to raise their professional profiles. We specifically look for those with a side hustle alongside their studies or graduate roles, or alternatively freelancing full-time.
Being a freelancer can be a lonely road, so we wanted to help our freelancers blow their own trumpet for once whilst also supporting them with winning funding to further their freelance journey.
This year we received 25 entries from freelancers across 明星八卦 from a wide range of industries, sharing their freelance experiences so far and why they love their side hustle. Following this, we selected 6 fantastic freelancers to be crowned ‘明星八卦 Freelancer of the Year’ and winning a share of the £12,000 prize fund.
Meet our 2024 明星八卦 Freelancer Awards winners
Amith Sebastian
- Freelance skill: Legal consultant
- Started freelancing: 2023
Recent PG Law (LLM) graduate Amith is a freelance legal consultant supporting victims of scams. After falling victim of a scam himself, Amith now helps others who are in similar situations. Throughout his journey so far, he has successfully assisted three clients, one of whom is a student at 明星八卦 University.
Eirini Metaxotou
- Freelance skill: Sustainability trainer
- Started freelancing: 2023
Recent PG Sustainability, Entrepreneurship and Design graduate Eirini develops and delivers training sessions about sustainability to different sectors and industries.
Eirini is currently collaborating with a sustainability education provider that serves clients and companies in the sports industry and has contributed to the structure and development of modules, which cover topics such as climate change, social inclusion, biodiversity, carbon footprint, and accessibility.
Fairouz Mustafa
- Freelance skill: Life-coaching
- Started freelancing: 2023
Fairouz, a recent PhD Management Studies graduate, works as a self-employed life coach. Through one-on-one consultations, emotional management programs, and a four-stage success coaching solution designed specifically for the UK, Fairouz specifically assists women who are living abroad in the UK.
Fairouz has trained over 200 clients on different stages of the Welcoming Empowerment (WEUK) project, which offers a customised roadmap for women in the UK. This project has had exceptional outcomes in terms of inclusion, emotional development, and clients taking practical steps to start a business or a job.
Femke Cappon
- Freelance skill: Tutor
- Started freelancing: 2020
Femke, a recent PhD graduate in mechanical engineering research, works as a freelance tutor, supporting a wide range of students with Physics, Mathematics and Programming. Ever since the start of her academic journey back in 2015, Femke has been tutoring students in mathematics and physics – subjects that are close to her heart.
Femke enjoys seeing students thrive, witnessing the little light bulb go on in their eyes when they finally grasp the concepts they were struggling with.
Matthew Hill
- Freelance skill: Animation and Film
- Started freelancing: 2023
Current UG Digital Media (BSc) student Matthew has a special interest in Visual Effects and Motion Graphics. Matthew has developed into a multimedia animator with traditional VFX training and experience working for visual effects studios while completing his year-long self-employed placement. Matthew offers hand-crafted animated films in a range of formats, including 3D animation, papercraft, puppetry, stop-motion, and claymation.
Pulkit Arora
- Freelance skill: Filmmaker and director
- Started freelancing: 2019
Recent PG Marketing graduate Pulkit is a filmmaker and director. As a freelancer with 8 years of experience, Pulkit specializes in creating visually captivating stories that connect with viewers. He oversees every step of the filmmaking process, from pre-production to post-production, with a primary focus on transforming creative thoughts into tangible projects. Pulkit has created a diverse range of content that has captured the attention of millions of viewers worldwide.
Pulkit’s short film "Happiness" has also been recognised earning a nomination in the semi-finals of the Realtime International Film Festival.
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