Next stop was Kingston University to look at a new course that combines design and business. I met with Dr. Corrine Beaumont, Lecturer of Design and Entrepreneurship at Kingston University.
Corrine has pioneered a new course where design students learn about business through hands on application ie they start a business during the course! Resources are supplied by Young Enterprise (see last blog post) along with insurance and mentor contact details.
Students pitch for startup funding from a pool of funds initially donated by alumni. Unsuccessful teams then merge with the successfult pitchers to start their business. The rules are that they must sell on campus (not a real problem with 22,000 students within a 3 mile radius!), stock prices are updated weekly and the business must be liquidated at the end of the course (but students can start again on their own). All profits go back to the fund for future students so the real driver here is the competition. The return of funds assists the sustainability of the program.
There is a lot more to learn from here which I will include in the final report. Thanks Corrine!
Hi Dan, fun to read through your summaries of your trip!
ReplyDeleteJust a note, we don't have students compete for funding or run stock prices, that was a project idea that we are exploring which is modeled on something that is currently done in the business school at BYU-Idaho University.
Take care!
Corrine
Hi Corrine, Thanks for clarifying. All of the meetings were such a download of information I am sure there is the odd error! I am working my way through writing the report now and will send you a draft of your section before publishing. Thanks again! Dan.
ReplyDelete