Group Size
?
1.) Small group (teams of 4-6)
2.) Individual Task
3.) Large Group
4.) Any
Large Group
Learning Environment
?
1.) Lecture Theatre
2.) Presentation Space
3.) Carousel Tables (small working group)
4.) Any
5.) Outside
6.) Special
Outside
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
4Implementation of ideas through leadership and management
5Reflection and Action
6Interpersonal Skills
7Communication and Strategy
0Digital and Data Skills
Annually, the Welsh Government support a delivery of an entrepreneurship learning and experience weekend. This is a flagship of their business support programme, Big Ideas Wales. This particular year, I asked if I could develop and plan the whole weekend, including the learning, the experience, the play and downtime. This happened on the 15th-17th March 2019 at the Urdd Camp in Glanllyn near Bala, Gwynedd.
This is how:
Friday afternoon: Arrival, making sure that all participants had their rooms, meals and needs checked and confirmed.
Friday Evening Session: Belbin questionnaire, for participants to know more about themselves, and how they work in teams. Lego Creative Challenge, Build a product in teams. Quick research and quick pitch to sell the idea.
Saturday morning: Knowledge and Education, morning of Expert Role Models delivering 45 min sessions on market research. Marketing, product and service ideation, costing and pricing, raising finance, taxation, selling, IT and social Media general business knowledge such as premises, making products, legal knowledge, insurances. The morning was for education, and participants could choose their own subjects they felt needed more support. Additional support was also supplied, through access to the experts throughout the weekend.
Saturday afternoon: An outdoor session based on management problem solving. Participants had practical problems to solve in Groups, to help them learn how to collaborate and work effectively in teams. This would also give the Participants to show ability and flair for leadership, highlighting everyone’s strengths and reflection on areas For more support and growth. We did this reflection early Saturday evening (using Gibbs Reflective Cycle), followed after dinner with time to work on their own business ideas, that they had more knowledge and experience now, to give more perspective.
Sunday morning: Inspirational and Open Question Session with the panel of experts. This was the open session for all the Participants to discuss their ideas and issues with relevant experts to help with their business idea.
Sunday afternoon: After lunch, participants were able to work on the business plans updating based on knowledge and experience Of the weekend, with experts still available to them.
Sunday at 5pm: Close of session, with inspiration speaker about the importance of knowledge, experience and growth, and enjoying the process. Awards of Best Boot camper, and Best Improved Boot camper. Close. Accommodation, food and travel was organised by Big Ideas Wales. Content and sessions were created and developed by myself.
The impact was significant as many of the participants felt they had learned and experienced suitable knowledge and confidence to enable them to start their businesses. 50% of the cohort started their entrepreneurship venture within 3 months of the event.
We also ran a feedback questionnaire for the participants, and they had very positive feedback, between the balance of the education and knowledge, and the fun and different focus of the leadership and management activities, which helped them to know more of themselves, with some asking for more support with this. This for me, meant that the participants had felt their experience and had taught them something new about themselves, or had discovered more skills and understanding of themselves, on which some wanted to explore further. This experience for me, was excellent, as this will give the participant much more self-understanding, and create resilience and they discover more about themselves and their capabilities.
It showed me that had I more time, I could have created a more in-depth experience session, as this seems to be the most needed part for success in start-ups. This has been an area that I have been working on since the Bootcamp.
Participants feedback on content was very positive, stating that their business knowledge and their Role Model experience shared, had given them more clarity on aspects of the business they needed to know, as well as the confidence in practicalities of business, and their skills ability in solving problems that business will present to them.
A key outcome too, was the growth of young people starting their businesses. Since 2019, many of the start-ups are still trading and growing.
That’s me on the end, on the front right side!
Participants discussing their business ideas with the experts.
The first initiatives to introduce entrepreneurial learning into schools were therefore instigated by the Department of Business and Economy (BETS). Their Big Ideas Wales initiative (Big Ideas Wales 2019) offered inspirational stories, educator resources, boot camp opportunities and networking opportunities. Their website also acts as a portal to access government-funded role models, who can join classes to support educators at any level of education. Latterly and as the initiative developed, it was realised that these role models needed support if they were to better engage with educationalists, and to understand what it means to be an educator. As a result, all role models now have to undertake one-and-a-half-day induction training and shadow an experienced role model prior to working with educational establishments.
