MARIA CHIARA FRANCO

Maria Chiara Franco is a multi-awarded University of Roehampton Business Management graduate and the first student to win 2 awards in one year: “Best Business Dissertation” and “Award for Leadership and Inspiration”. She is the founder of UnicTalks Ltd, which brings inspirational speakers to educational bodies, aiming to enrich the overall learning experience of students through an easy and accessible organisation of events that provide: •Real world practitioners sharing their experiences •Networking opportunities ‘UnicTalks’ events provide students with speakers ready to inspire future generations by sharing their experiences. Both students and speakers can take advantage of the events to expand their network. The impetus behind UnicTalks comes from her personal experience as Marketing Director and then VP of the University of Roehampton Business Society (URBS). Her aim was to provide society members with opportunities and events that would shape their University experience.

Since the event launch last 9th of March, UnicTalks has been constantly growing and it now counts over 40 speakers on its list including founder of Poundland Steve Smith, winner of The Apprentice 10 Mark Wright, producer of A Plastic Ocean Jo Ruxton and face of international women’s rugby and world cup winner Margaret Alphonsi. The full list of speakers sharing the willingness to make a positive impact on students’ journeys is available at www.unictalks.org Media and entertainment enthusiast, Maria Chiara speaks 4 languages, loves sport and plays basketball. She enjoys learning, challenging herself and has a passion for all things Spanish, including series such as Vis a Vis (Locked Up), of which she created the first Facebook fan page reaching 30k+ likes in just a few months.