Bringing business to life
Published 9 July 2007
33 Lancaster University students have recently completed a four-day course designed to introduce non-business students to the business world and the range of career opportunities available. The ‘Discover Business’ course was run by Lancaster University Management School (LUMS) and sponsored by Accenture, Ernst & Young and Deloitte.
The course, which took place in June 2007, was led by Louise Briggs, Employability, Enterprise and Careers Manager, and Professor Mark Shackleton of the Department of Accounting and Finance.
The students, none of whom had any previous business experience, came from a wide variety of academic disciplines, including physics, biology, geography, psychology, linguistics and sociology.
Students taking part in an exercise on the 'Introduction to Economics' session.
“Inspirational, motivational and overall very informative”
The four days were intensive but fun. Students were introduced to leadership, entrepreneurship, marketing, business ethics, accounting and finance, economics and project management. The sessions were led by LUMS faculty with additional contributions by guest speakers from industry.
One of the highlights was the ‘Yomp’ business game, in which the students worked in multi-disciplinary teams to start a new business or product line. The game drew together many aspects of business, from planning objectives, working on strategy, dealing with complexities and making presentations.
Online trading of "Penny Bottles"
“A brilliant and flawless programme. The four most stimulating days in my academic life. Good job!”
The financial world was brought to life through the use of the ‘Penny Trading’ game (written with Mark Bryson of the Learning Technology Group), which introduced students to financial markets through an exciting real-life simulation of a stock exchange. “The course fuelled my interest in finance after the excitement of the trading game,” said one student.
The three sponsors, Ernst & Young, Accenture and Deloitte, all played an active part on the course. Students were able to learn about corporate recruitment processes and what it is like to work in a large multinational organisation.
The course stimulated a real interest in business careers in the students. Additionally, the facilitation of self-awareness and the development of careers planning and commercial acumen, was built into every aspect of the programme – making it a success with everyone.
Further information
Course leaders Mark Shackleton and Louise Briggs are already planning next year’s Discover Business programme. If you are an employer, student or member of staff and are interested in getting involved, please contact Mark Shackleton m.shackleton@lancs.ac.uk or Louise Briggs l.a.briggs@lancaster.ac.uk.
Related links
- LUMS-CEEC (Centre for Employability, Enterprise and Careers)
