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Students Take Ideas to Market
Year 8 students in Durham were given the chance to take their ideas to market as part of a new pilot programme aimed at encouraging entrepreneurial attitudes among young people.
Armed with pens and clipboards, students from Moorside Technology College in Consett, set up shop in mobile office Launch Pad, in Millennium Place, Durham, to test out their ideas for business, as part of pilot programme ‘Learn the Business.’
Coordinated by Durham Education Business Partnership (EPB) and facilitated by Derwentside Enterprise Agency, the programme aims to build sustainable partnerships between schools and businesses, demonstrating social enterprise.
As part of the programme, Moorside College have been paired with Shared Interest, a Newcastle-based financial co-operative that lends money to fair trade businesses in the developing world. As part of the partnership, Shared Interest has set Moorside College students a Social Enterprise Challenge, which has seen students working in teams to come up with enterprising business ideas to manufacture products which only utilise resources available within their college.
ICT teacher at Moorside College, Jim Green, who has been working closely with the youngsters, said, “We have had a great response from the students who have had to be creative to come up with viable business models that can work with limited resources.
“Their market research is part of this project, allowing them to test out their product ideas on the public and will help them to build their own comprehensive business plans for the future.”
Products tested by students on Launch Pad, included an innovative IPhone stand, bespoke clocks as well as an Easter egg holder called ‘The Funky Chicken’ (pictured).
Louise Wilkinson, facilitator of the partnership from Derwenside Enterprise Agency: “The business ideas displayed at Launch Pad by students at Moorside College, are testament to the unrivalled energy and creativity of our young people who will form our future workforce. The students enjoyed their time on Launch Pad, which gave them the opportunity to get valuable feedback on their ideas from members of the public, but also gain key skills such as customer awareness and team working. Launch Pad is great for this type of activity – it is a fun environment for the students to be based in as well as being fully kitted out with the technology to work like a ‘mobile office’.”
The next stage of the programme will see students presenting their work to a panel of ‘Dragons’ with a variety of expertise such as marketing, sales and accountancy. The Dragons are Heather Baxter from Ge-ni Marketing, Richard Lane from Engleby Associates and Financial Strategist Stephen Lightley. All are top level business executives who will choose whether to give the students a loan based on their sales pitch, research and idea. Using this loan, the students will batch produce their products before they go on sale to the public. Students exceeding profits of £100 from their business venture will be given the option of investing their money in a Shared Interest Account, which will see their money used to help fair trade businesses in the developing world.
Louise added: “This is an exciting time for the students who will get the chance to see their ideas become a reality. Through this programme we hope to show young people that by acting on an enterprising idea, it is possible to make money and be successful. We hope this will help us to inspire future entrepreneurs in Moorside.”
For more information on North East Enterprise Bond, please visit www.launchpadnortheast.org/