Group Size
?
1.) Small group (teams of 4-6)
2.) Individual Task
3.) Large Group
4.) Any
Small group (teams of 4-6)
Learning Environment
?
1.) Lecture Theatre
2.) Presentation Space
3.) Carousel Tables (small working group)
4.) Any
5.) Outside
6.) Special
QAA Enterprise Theme(s)
?
1.) Creativity and Innovation
2.) Opportunity recognition, creation and evaluation
3.) Decision making supported by critical analysis and judgement
4.) Implementation of ideas through leadership and management
5.) Reflection and Action
6.) Interpersonal Skills
7.) Communication and Strategy
1Creativity and Innovation
2Opportunity recognition‚ creation and evaluation
3Decision making supported by critical analysis and judgement
4Implementation of ideas through leadership and management
5Reflection and Action
6Interpersonal Skills
7Communication and Strategy
0Digital and Data Skills
Workshop 1: Dream it
Students attend a workshop focused on developing an entrepreneurial mindset, and thinking big about their ideas. In groups, the students obtain initial peer feedback when sharing their ideas, then go on to work on their ideas using techniques such as SCAMPER and divergent thinking. Students are introduced to the design thinking model.
Coaching Session 1:
A 45 minute coaching session is offered to the student (either individually or in their groups) to offer specific feedback points and actions before the next workshop
Workshop 2: Build it
In this workshop, students focus on building their idea around a customer niche. In groups, we re-visit the design thinking model, then work on customer personas for each idea. We have an activity based on the assumptions we make about customers and the ideas, and use an empathy map to work on developing insight. In preparation for the city tour, the students are tasked with coming up with questions that they would like to ask about their ideas when they are visiting entrepreneurs and organisations.
City Tour
Students are taken on a guided tour around the city of Liverpool, meeting both entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial support organisations, so that they have a heightened awareness of the possibilities and support that is available. The city tour ends in a networking event where students can talk about their ideas with people outside of the university in a safe and supportive environment.
Workshop 3: Use it
Taking on feedback from the city tour, students will now start to form their action plans going forward. We discuss ideation and prototyping. Then, students complete a Business Model Canvas to form a plan of how they are going to test their ideas. Once their plan is finalised, they pitch their test.
Funding
Upon a successful pitch, the students are awarded between £100-£200 to test their idea. We ask them to blog or vlog their experience over the course of 4 weeks.
Coaching Session 2: During their test, a 45 minute coaching call is offered to support the student during this time.
Evaluate: After their test, students submit their blog/vlog of the experience.
The programme has been HEAR accredited by the University of Liverpool, and won a Teaching and Learning Award which was conferred in the 2022 Graduation Ceremony.
We also aimed to engage students from a wider variety of backgrounds in this programme. Unlike the traditional business competition models, we engaged students who self-identified as more quiet, reserved, and less confident than others; there was a gender balance, BAME students engaged, and crucially for our collaboration, students with no prior engagement in entrepreneurship participated.
This project has assisted our students from the beginning, allowing them to develop, understand their idea thoroughly and preparing them to embark on their business idea, equipped with the tools developed during Bright Ideas.
Feedback both anecdotal and informal has been excellent. Students have said:
‘It’s great to speak to a variable group of people from different circles. This project has helped to address a few "assumptions" that I had not considered. It also provided some great idea's moving forward.
‘Fantastic enterprise project funded by the University. Thanks, Amy & Cornelia for providing me with a chance to meet so many great minds and listen to their stories. Looking forward to taking action.’
Another positive outcome has been the development of the Enterprise Tour around the City. Feedback gathered from the BIMA Higher Education group (a space where employers and HEIs come to gether to discuss collaborative working in the Arts, Digital and Tech sector) suggested that employers and start ups have limited time to devote to appearing at universities to talk to individual groups of students. However, employers would welcome small groups of students dropping in for a short talk, which had the benefits of the students seeing employers in the locality, and employers saving time overall. The Enterprise Tour built on this feedback, by curating a series of visits to employers and start-ups, who could talk to our Bright Ideas cohort about what it is like to work and start a business in Liverpool.
Instagram: @drawodu
Instagram: @WIMAT
