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Scroll down for all our July news
We hosted the annual Enterprise Summer School from 12 to 15 July giving university students an outstanding opportunity to gain practical experience of the business world. The event was a huge success and ended with the students developing a business plan in teams to pitch to a panel of experts.
The winning pitch came from GreenSphere, a bar and lounge concept serving locally sourced organic drinks and foods. The judges were very impressed with the plan and especially liked that all aspects of the business were environmentally friendly. All five teams delivered high quality and diverse business plans which were energetic, imaginative and well thought out; and actually had the potential to make profitable and sustainable businesses.
The panel of business experts was made up of Dr. Wesley Randle, Innovation Director at the University; Rita Mascia, Business Development Manager at the Knowledge Hub; and Gaynor Bray, Sales and Marketing Manager of the Knowledge Hub, who all offered their advice and guidance to the groups.
Students were involved in a number of workshops covering various aspects of how to develop a business idea. All the skills gained during the Enterprise Summer School will equip the students with the tools to set up in business – skills that are also transferable to any type of job. The University already has a strong reputation for employability, but this experience provides students with a greater edge over the thousands that will be applying for graduate jobs.
As the Enterprise School has been such a success last year and this year, the students are hoping to set up an online community to enable them to share advice, skills and ideas.
GreenSphere (pictured) are Raíssa Cavaignac de Sá Vale, Dong Tingting, Yin Yee Ling and Wan Mohd Khairilnaim.
The Enterprise Summer School is delivered in partnership
with blueberry training Ltd.
A trip to the coast for freshly caught fish that tastes of the sea? A food safari to discover the best a region can offer gastronomically? A day out to a festival where the finest foods are available for you to sample? Taking a bite of food tourism is not only a delight for the tourist, it’s also a tasty treat for rural communities and regions looking for much-needed income streams.
Our next Knowledge Network event is all about food-related tourism and the benefits it can bring to rural economies. Dr Sally Everett, Head of the University’s Tourism Research Institute will present University research examining how food-related tourism can deliver social, environmental and cultural development in an economically sustainable way.
Food tourism is being increasingly embraced as a vehicle of development because it offers a means of enhancing and extending the tourist spend without compromising the environmental, social or cultural fabric of the region. Its role as an instrument of regeneration is now openly recognised in government policies, destination marketing strategies and travel media coverage. The cutting-edge research presented at the Knowledge Network event will demonstrate how food tourism can contribute to the broader agenda of sustainable food systems and delivery.
Food Related Tourism is of interest to anyone working in food and tourism
as well as those of us who enjoy sampling the cuisine while on holiday. The
event will take place at the Putteridge Bury Conference Centre, Luton, on 23rd
September 2010, starting at 6.30 pm. Tickets cost £10 and include a finger buffet, wine and the opportunity
to network. Click here to register.
The Knowledge Hub has added another qualification to its Project Management training portfolio – the Introductory Certificate in Project Management. If you are looking to start a career in project management, or just want to learn about the main principles, this is the course for you. Topics covered include planning and scheduling, quality management, teamwork and much more. No previous project management experience is necessary. At the end of the course you will be awarded an Introductory Certificate accredited by the Association for Project Management (subject to the successful completion of a one-hour exam). For more information or to register click here.
Are you looking for over £10,000 funding for your business? If so, the Understanding Finance for Business workshop could be invaluable for you. The free workshop is taking place in Luton on 25 August 2010 and will advise entrepreneurs who are currently starting or growing a business on how to generate funding.
The workshop takes you through the different options available to help you find
the funding that will work best for your business. There’s a bewildering
choice of options, some of which come with strings attached, begging a host of
questions - this session aims to give
you the answers you need from experts in business finance.
The programme starts with an informative and interactive workshop covering different types of finance, before progressing to more detailed workshops and mentoring. If you are looking for equity funding, the programme also offers support to help you prepare for pitching with a dry-run pitch to ‘friendly’ investors ahead of doing it for real.
Understanding Finance for Business takes place at Basepoint in Luton and is run by St John’s Innovation Centre on behalf of the East of England Development Agency (EEDA). To sign up for the event or to find other dates and venues click here
A new management qualification designed specifically for the travel industry is now available from the Division of Tourism and Leisure. The Foundation Degree in Travel Operations Management covers all of the core capabilities, skills and knowledge that are required in travel management.
The work-based programme will be delivered online and delegates will be supported through a sophisticated e-learning platform. Regular study days will be held throughout the two year course at the Luton and Bedford campuses, giving delegates the opportunity to meet with tutors and fellow students. This qualification allows delegates to study flexibly around their work and other commitments.
The course has been developed with the input of travel employers specifically for people in the travel industry who want to gain further qualifications to help their career progression. It is also aimed at current managers who want to add to their existing knowledge and experience.
The course covers a variety of learning areas such as people development, employability skills, operations, finance and IT and business.
For more information about this course call 01582 743487, email Silvanos.Gwarinda@beds.ac.uk or click here
The 16th International Reflective Practice Conference took place from 23rd to 25th June at the University’s Putteridge Bury Conference Centre. Over 80 professionals from all over the world and from a variety of organisations attended the event which explored the use and benefits of reflective practice in the workplace.
Reflective Practice is already a well established technique in the nursing and teaching professions and it is becoming more prominent in businesses. To reflect this growth in the technique, for the first time ever the annual conference became inter-professional spanning the breadth of the University’s portfolio from business to midwifery, from theatre to social work, from psychology to sports science and many places in between.
The conference keynote speech was delivered by poet and novelist Ben Okri OBE. Attendees got to hear the views of this award winning author in the context of reflective practice and they were not disappointed!
Professor James Crabbe from the University said: “This was an exciting and innovative presentation by a writer who is passionate about transforming lives – just like the University of Bedfordshire! He used his writing to illustrate how poetry can express uniquely the different aspects of the human experience.
“He continued to develop themes around reality and creativity, invoking the importance of intuition and suggested that understanding dreams may be helpful in developing creativity and reflection here in the West, as they are in the African culture where he grew up. Overall it was a fascinating presentation by a major contemporary writer, who ended the day by signing copies of his books for the audience,” continued Professor Crabbe.
The conference also had keynote speeches from Professor
Jennifer Moon, Associate Professor at Bournemouth University, and Kathleen
Armour from the School of Education at the University of Birmingham, who looked
at the importance of reflection in human learning.
PRINCE2®Practitioners needing to update their qualification can now re-register their status with us.
PRINCE2® is the internationally recognised qualification in project management. It teaches candidates a systematic way to manage projects and can be adapted to any project-scenario. To keep updated on the latest best practices, registered practitioners need to take a re-registration exam every three to five years. The one-day course gives delegates a comprehensive overview of any recent developments and changes to the PRINCE2® method. When delegates have successfully sat an exam they will regain their PRINCE2®registered Practitioner status. The first course is scheduled for 6 September. For more details click here.
It’s time for the 2010 EEF Future Manufacturing Awards and this is your chance to tell everyone in the manufacturing industry about the successes in your business over the past year. If you have implemented an innovative product or procedure, developed an outstanding apprentice, or done something to help the environment, enter the annual competition and gain the recognition for your hard work! Entries close on 31st July. Visit www.eef.org.uk for more information on how to enter.
