THE University of Plymouth is behind three of the awards being presented at The Herald Youth Awards 2009.

Tracy Wilson, head of commercial marketing at the university, said the trio of awards concentrated on the business achievements of young people in the city.

She said: "The three University of Plymouth awards being presented at the Herald Youth Awards 2009 demonstrate the extensive reach of our enterprise mission both economically and socially, and in terms of raising entrepreneurial aspirations in the city."

The first of the trio of awards is for the University of Plymouth Enterprise Week Flux Winners.

Each year, as part of Plymouth Enterprise Week, teams of university students take part in FLUX, a challenging enterprise competition based on real business scenarios aimed at developing their entrepreneurial skills.

Students pitch their ideas to a panel of experts from the local business community, with the winning FLUX team awarded their prize at The Herald Youth Awards the following day.

The winning team will then represent Plymouth at the national FLUX Championships in April 2010.

The second award is the University of Plymouth Business Ideas Challenge Enterprise Progress Award.

Now in its fifth year – with entries currently open for 2009/10 at www.plymouth.ac.uk/bpchallenge – the university's Business Ideas Challenge has helped aspiring young entrepreneurs transform business ideas into reality.

The Business Ideas Challenge Enterprising Progress Award will be presented on November 19 to the 2008/09 finalist who can demonstrate the most progress in developing a sustainable new business.

The final award of the trio is the University of Plymouth Student Volunteer of the Year.

Tracy Wilson said: "Student volunteering at the University of Plymouth and through its Students' Union makes a tremendous contribution to the local community.

"This year the Railway Project Partnership, for example, saw 268 students regenerating a section of canal adjacent to the line, creating wildlife areas, re-painting signal boxes, installing planters and constructing raised beds.

"The Student Volunteer of the Year Award will recognise one individual's outstanding contribution."