Business students rise to the challenge
09/07/2010
Students pitch their festival ideas to the judges
BTEC Business students from the College's Crawley campus exercised their business enterprise skills by taking part in a 'Dragon's Den' style workshop run by Sussex Newspapers and the Arora Hotel on 18 June, and then an 'Apprentice' style event the following week, on 30 June.
The first event was organised by Annie Henry, Course Co-ordinator for Business at the Crawley campus, and Richard Deighton of Inspiration Enterprise. The initial task of the day put the students through their paces when they were asked to create an online newspaper by Theo Cronin, who is Commercial Editor at Sussex Newspapers, the publishing house behind the West Sussex County Times, the Mid Sussex Times, and the Crawley Observer. Following a question and answer session and video on working in the media industry, the group were set the challenge of creating the most innovative format for a brand new news and information platform aimed at young people. They were then asked to present their pitch to the panel, which included Theo Cronin and Katy Payze, from Arora International Hotels, 'Dragon's Den-style' in timed slots, with the winner being presented with a prize.
The afternoon session kicked off with a seminar, hosted by Arora International Hotels' Cluster Human Resources Manager, Katy Payze. Students were given the opportunity to learn what it takes to run an international business, such as a hotel chain, and investigate how the internet has changed the operational structure of such businesses. They then split into small groups to develop a business plan for a new hotel and hospitality experience, including a plan for marketing and advertising the brand. After presenting to the panel, the group judged to have come up with the most impressive design and marketing solutions were presented with a prize.
Annie Henry, Course Co-ordinator was delighted with the day and explained "The day was extremely inspiring for our learners. We always try and highlight the practical and vocational aspects of their work and the activities proved to be extremely effective in enhancing the learners understanding of Business." Romone Walkes, 18, and Louise Ward, 19, both from Crawley and studying for thier BTEC National Diploma agreed that the day "helped enrich our business knowledge and contributed to our course work."
The second event which took place on 30 June, saw ambitious teams of learners, also studying BTEC Business, pitch their ideas to a panel of judges, in the style of TV show 'The Apprentice.' The title of the challenge was 'Central Sussex Rocks' the three rival teams had to present their pitch to a panel of Judges including John Peel, Chair of the Corporation; Adrian Dodwell, Executive Director of 14-19; Michael Barlow, Curriculum Team Leader Business of Business, Media and IT, and Annie Henry, Course Co-ordinator of Business at the Crawley campus.
Teams were judged on the level on innovation demonstrated in their pitch. This included how well thought-out the marketing and advertising strategy was, financial planning, originality, as well as team work. They now have to complete a 2,500 word evaluation of the process in order to finish the module. Claire Nicholls the Business Lecturer who organised the challenge said "It has been a pleasure to see the students apply all their learning to this task and to work so well in teams."
On behalf of the judges, Annie Henry said "We were impressed by the quality of the work they produced in the given timescale, and the way the groups worked so well as teams. We hope to make this as an annual event at the College."
