Rajeeb Dey
Technology Entrepreneur, Founder of Enternships.com

Rajeeb (23) has been heavily involved in social entrepreneurship and youth participation matters from an early age. At the age of 17, Rajeeb became the Founder & Chairman of the English Secondary Students’ Association (ESSA) – the first national student run organisation empowering secondary school students, giving them a voice in education. Dey graduated with First Class Honours in June 2008 from the University of Oxford in Economics & Management.

Whilst at University, he was the longest serving President of Oxford Entrepreneurs, one of the largest networks of student entrepreneurs in Europe, with over 4000 members. He was also President of the Oxford Majlis Asian Society which was founded in 1896 as a political forum for Indian independence and is the second oldest society at Oxford University. Former presidents of the society include Mrs. Indira Gandhi and K.P.S. Menon, who went on to serve the subcontinent with distinction.

Rajeeb’s work in entrepreneurship has led to him being invited as one of the first Ambassadors for the “Make Your Mark Campaign” – helping to promote UK entrepreneurship. Rajeeb’s other roles include being a Trustee and Investment Committee member of UnLtd – the Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs; Trustee of the Phoenix Education Trust; a Commissioner on the Carnegie UK Trust’s Inquiry into the Future of Civil Society; Education Advisory Board Member for Channel 4; and an Advisory Board Member of the UK-India Business Council (UKIBC), which involved being part of Gordon Brown’s Ministerial visit to India in January 2008. He has also been recognised by Spectator Business Magazine as one of the 'rising stars of the business world.'

Rajeeb’s work with ESSA has led to him being presented with an award by Channel 4 & NESTA’s “Bedroom Britain Campaign” (recognising young entrepreneurial talent in Britain), a Wavemakers Award (from Sir John Major); an UnLtd Level 2 Award; the Bank of England’s Windsor Fellowship in 2005 (a prestigious Leadership Development programme); as well as being awarded the Goldman Sachs Global Leaders Award in 2006 and Fellowship of the Royal Society of Arts (as part of the RSA Young Leaders Award). Last year he was selected as one of twelve people globally to be given the accolade of “Architect of the Future 2008” by the Waldzell Institute and one of twenty globally to receive the YouthActionNet Global Fellowship 2008.

Rajeeb is the Founder/CEO of Enternships.com, a service providing “entrepreneurial work placements” by connecting talented students and graduates to start-ups, SMEs and “intrapreneurial” firms around the world. The site launched its public beta version in April 09 and has already been recognized as a promising new start-up by becoming a Top 3 Finalist in the Esquire Magazine / Philips New Business Challenge. It has already been featured in the Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Times, The Spectator, Wall Street Journal, Business Week, CNN and ABC News (USA) amongst others. He was also awarded the 02 X Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2009 for this latest venture. Dey was recently selected to join the exclusive Courvoisier The Future 500, an exclusive and unique members network for rising stars across the UK.

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