Wow – what a fantastic 2 days.

We approached this year’s final with excitement and trepidation and we were not disappointed.  What a truly inspiring event this was. With over 1,200 attendees from over 40 universities, advisors and judges from the world of business the 2013 Enactus National finals will be one to remember.

I would like to share my 5 top memories of the event and would love you all to add your top moments and what memories you will take away from this year’s competition in the comments section below.

• The buzz when all the university teams start to arrive at the hotel – the nerves and excitement and a years worth of preparation all coming to fruition. Watching the teams’ faces when they see who they are in their league and the dash to get changed when they realise they are first to compete and get some last minute preparation in.

• As a league coordinator I think I have the best job at the finals, this year I got to witness the complete turnaround of Durham University in the semi-final, this was one of my top moments of the competition. Seeing the team walk  out of the room, their heads held high and smiling was a great moment. I think Emma Millard may also agree with me on this memory.

• For 10 years Jim Ineson has been the driving force of Enactus UK and this year and it was wonderful to see Jim getting the recognition he deserves. Throughout the 2 days Jim was relaxed, calm and looked so proud of his team, and the university teams and the unbelievable projects they have developed both locally and internationally. The final is the culmination of so much organizing and hard work from the Enactus team and yet again they produced a fantastic event.

• Royal Holloway, University of London – although I am not directly involved in the team, over the past 3 years I have seen the team go from strength to strength and they have demonstrated what you can achieve through great teamwork, leadership and dedication, Every year they have developed some great projects and this year made the top 5 along with BPP, Nottingham, Sheffield and Southampton and rightly deserved their place in the final. I am not sure if there was a dry eye in the house looking at how proud they all were about this achievement at the end of their presentation. I think there is great things to come from RHUL at the 2014 competition.

• The winners – Southampton were the winners of this years’ final and will be off to Mexico to represent the UK in the finals. They gave an outstanding performance and will be a fantastic representative for the UK. They were pushed very closely by all the teams, with Sheffield coming a very close second.  Jahaan Abdurahman should be very proud – she has been a fantastic ambassador not only for Sheffield Enactus but for Enactus UK as a whole. Their innovative opening to their presentation was one of the talking points of the event:

A special mention should go to Nottingham University, winners of the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Diversity award, as well as Lincoln University, who must be so proud of themselves winning the rookie league.

These are just some of my highlights of the final. I haven’t even mentioned the Macarena dance the 100s of students at the careers fair, the silence in the room as the semi finalists were announced and the standing ovation all of the final round teams received at the end of their presentations.

It would be great to hear about your memories and top moments so please add to this list by using the comments below and help contribute to the Top 10 moments of Enactus 2013.

To see all our photos and to see the cup being lifted, visit our facebook album which includes Enactus teams from University of Bedfordshire, Queen Mary, University of London, University of West England and University of Sussex.