Group Size
?
1.) Small group (teams of 4-6)
2.) Individual Task
3.) Large Group
4.) Any
Individual Task
Learning Environment
?
1.) Lecture Theatre
2.) Presentation Space
3.) Carousel Tables (small working group)
4.) Any
5.) Outside
6.) Special
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
4Implementation of ideas through leadership and management
5Reflection and Action
6Interpersonal Skills
7Communication and Strategy
A celebration evening of BSEEN and a showcase of the fantastic student and graduate led businesses that we’ve supported over the past few years. Established in 2009, BSEEN has supported over 1000 students and recent graduates to launch their new ventures in Birmingham through a combination of incubation space, an intensive boot camp, funding and mentoring. BSEEN is led by Aston University, with its partners being University College Birmingham, Newman University and Birmingham City University. This event is all about celebrating their successes, showcasing their business and sharing their entrepreneurial journey.
The BSEEN Showcase saw displays from fifty blossoming student and graduate businesses as well as a series of guest speakers and outstanding networking opportunities.
Preparation for students - All of our students had been on our intensive boot camp before showcasing their business at this event (The BSEEN Bootcamp - YouTube). This ensured that they had received training on key aspects of launching their own business, with pitching being a focus on the boot camp.
Behind the scenes preparation – A fundamental focus of the team was ensuring the event was promoted publically. We had little trouble securing 50 student and graduate businesses from our BSEEN cohorts wanting to showcase their business concept. Our focus was on ensuring that our student and graduate entrepreneurs had a busy event with many stakeholders to showcase their concepts to. Due to heavy promotion mostly on social media, and through the extensive partnerships each of the four university partners of BSEEN holds, we were able to ensure our student and graduate entrepreneurs were exhibiting at a bustling event.
The key messages in our promotions of the showcase were:
The event schedule:
17:00 – 18:00: Drinks Reception – Networking and Exhibition
18:00 – 18:45: Welcome from the BSEEN University Partners
Guest speakers
18:45 – 20:00: Food – More Networking and Exhibition
During the event, the BSEEN teams role was split between event coordination, ensuring our student and graduate entrepreneurs were supported, ensuring our guests were welcomed and having the pleasure of hearing elevator pitches coming from all directions.
BSEEN is centred on supporting students and graduates from our respective universities to launch their own business concepts and develop enterprising behaviours, attributes and competencies such as those highlighted in the QAA report (2018, p. 10). By creating a showcase for students and graduates to present their concepts publically whilst being supported by the BSEEN team provides great mileage to ensuring our students launch their business concept and develop themselves.
At this specific event that took place in 2019 we did not collect, analyse and record feedback. Our only feedback was informal verbal feedback from student and graduate exhibitors centred on how nervous the experience was but extremely rewarding in terms of networking, confidence-building and for many, served as a soft launch of their business concepts.
Lessons were learnt and at the next event of a similar nature, which was titled BSEEN Trade Fair in 2020, BSEEN had a professional video made (of course from a BSEEN digital marketing business) of the event which included testimonials (BSEEN Trade Fair - YouTube).
Next time the showcase runs (postponed due to Covid-19 but planned for December 2021 as a Christmas Festival) in addition to having another professional video made, post-event surveys will be conducted. This will ensure as a team, BSEEN can strengthen our offer.
