Materials

Objectives:

• To understand team dynamics and how teams come together to achieve a goal
• To explore and establish methods of production for a simple products
• To understand the power and necessity for review and reflection of a task or situation
• Understanding processes and procedures
• Replicating methods

Overview

This task focuses a group of people to organise themselves to set up a production line to exactly replicate an existing product as many times as possible in set amount of time. They are giveqaan the opportunity to reflect on and improve their approach twice to increase efficiency, quality and productivity. This gives participants and others the opportunity to see how their own and other behaviour, ideas, approach affects the development and outcome of the task and how by working together and reflecting and analysing a situation it can be adapted and improved going forward.

Activity:

This activity could take from 30 minutes to a couple of hours depending on how much review, reflection and analysis takes place at the end of the session.

Group gathers around a table with all the resources on it. There is a sample product : a booklet with 13 squares of paper 10cm x 10cm, secured with 2 staples in a x shape in the top left hand corner of the booklet.

The group is asked to put together a production line replicating this booklet. They will have 2 minutes to discuss how they think they could best do thisand to allocate roles. Then 3 minutes to put this into practice and produce as many booklets as possible. When the time is up the facilitator then countsand inspects the finished products, looking for quality and accuracy ie:

• Correct number of sheets
• Correct size
• Cut lines are straight
• There are 2 staples
• Staples are in the right place
• Staples are crossed correctly

The group then gets 2 minutes to discuss and review their methods, systems and procedures and come up with improvements or a different approach. They then get another 3 minutes on the production line to best their last score.

The above process is then repeated for a third time.

This could be done with any size group as long as there are sufficient facilitators to split into smaller groups. The optimum numbers in each group wouldbe between 6 and 10, however multiple groups could be working at the same time. They would have to work at the same time so as not to hear the discussion of other groups.

Skill Development:

• Imagination and creativity
• Communication and Strategy
• Problem solving
• Teamwork and organisation
• Leadership/Persuasion
• Decision making
• Logistics/Systems
• Efficiency/Productivity
• Quality Control
• Speed/Precision/Efficiency
• Reflection/Review/Analysis
• Feedback

As has been described this task involves many different skills and objectives on all different levels and can be assessed and analysed either briefly or in great depth across some or all of the objectives. For example, if this is an exercise for managers or recruiters to assess staff skills and abilities it can be finished there at the end of the last count. However it can be extended further, so each team then breaks off with a facilitator to analyse what happened at each stage and why.

• How the initial discussions went, did someone take the lead, was it a bit of a shouting match, was it chaos, was there a lack of ideas/too many ideas
• Whose ideas were listened to the most and why
• Who was ignored and why
• Whose ideas were taken on board and why, was a consensus achieved
• Who allocated roles
• Who put themselves forward for roles
• How did the actual production go, smooth, chaotic, who took the lead, who organised, how did it progress, how was the mood of the team?
• Was everyone involved? Did everyone need to be involved?
• How did the review and analysis go, who took the lead, someone different? How were news ideas taken on board.
• What changed the next time, was there an improvement, if so why
• How did the dynamics between the members of the group change as they went through the different stages
• Were more people involved, less people involved How did people participants feel at each stage, did confidence grow or recede
• What skills were employed by the task
• How are these important to a task/team

For example : the focus could just be on the outcomes, ie the quality and quantity of the finished products. Often the first time, people are rushing and slapdash and may do quite a few but get a lot rejected, so need to slow down. Or get them all passed but do a small number, so need to speed up. So it's finding that balance between speed and quality/accuracy.

Or the focus can be on the review and reflection, how the method was changed or improved each time to give better results.

Or the focus can be on the team dynamics how they evolved through each stage, or on the leadership and management of the task and how that changed and fluctuated at each stage, how the balance of power shifted as the task went along.

Or it could very much focus on the individual, the role they played, how this evolved, how they felt, how they were affected by the different characters,how they affected other members in the group, positively or negatively what they would do differently next time.

Depending on whether the focus is on 1 or 2 of the objectives and skills or all of them, all of these and more angles can be identified and explored after the task.

Resources:

Large sheets of paper (A3 or larger, could use old newspapers) minimum of 60 sheets per team, pens, pencils, markers, rulers, scissors, staplers.

Objective:

Effective engagement of Alumni seeks to support the students to become:

• be flexible and adaptable, seeing alternative perspectives and offering a choice of solutions
• review and evaluate multiple solutions in contexts that anticipate and accommodate change and contain elements of ambiguity, uncertainty and risk.

Overview:

With the pre-arranged (and prolonged) support of alumni (now professionals) this approach of continued access to external professionals (ideally programme/course Alumni) is designed to prepare students to be able to engage with real clients and better enable them to respond proactively to change.

Externals are invited to engage with the current student group as they undertake a task, using social media (facebook; twitter etc) an/or Skype. This creates either incremental weekly instruction that builds into an overall assignment or regular support or feedback on course work from externals.

Activity

This approach needs pre-agreement and commitment of externals (ideally Programme/course Alumni) who commit to short, but regular interaction through social media or Skype.

This activity can either be driven by a live brief or challenge identified by the external (higher level of engagement) or as comment and support to those undertaking the programme, through sharing expertise and current work experiences. If the students are working on a live brief or task given by the external, this high level of interactivity can mean that summative deadlines can changedand information updated, and the newsworthy or other high profile influences can be included throughout the module. (The assignment usually mirrors an actual assignment undertaken professionally by an Alumni professional).

This engagement can be “managed” by the tutor – to pre-plan some ambiguity or pre-agreed change of brief/scope with the Alumni contact, or left open to allow access to externals as an organic relationship, where advice may be sought by the students or experience/daily practice shared by the Professional as they see fit.

In addition, any presentation /show case or final assignment submission can be shared with the external and their input made part of the summative or formative feedback (assessment strategy).

Note that the choice of social media will impact on the type of engagement between alumni and students, but ideally something that the Alumni member uses regularly will ensure more regular engagement. Even small inputs (as typically seen in social media such as Twitter) can guide student approach and ensure that they are able to ask private questions, and that other students can also learn from the mentor/alumni generic comments or insights.

Skill Development:

Depending upon the level and type of engagement, students can benefit from insights from a ‘typical day/week’ of a professional working in their area, or be pushed to develop their tolerance to ambiguity (through changing deadlines, or unexpected changes to the brief or additional information). This can build resilience in the students but there needs to be clear expectations of this relationship, as well as additional tutor support.

Students typically respond well to changes and additional insights from professional Alumni and can develop their understanding and judgement, in their chosen field, whilst gaining further insight regarding professional practice.

Students should be bought together to share their experience of virtually engaging with their Alumni contact and explore their emotional responses to the changing briefs or additional information. They need to explore, and develop strategies, for coping with ‘real world’ brief/challenges and exploringthis together, and sharing how they dealt with it, and could deal with it in the future, builds their confidence and resilience to change. Using reflective practice to consider the learning across the group can draw out a range of key lessons for preparing for future challenges.

Resources:

Access to, and ongoing (committed) virtual engagement by appropriate alumni – determine brief/project or to commit to regular updating/comment for a pre-agreed period of time.

References:

Penaluna, A., Penaluna, K and Diego, I. (2014) The role of education in enterprising creativity. In Sternberg R and Krauss, G. (2014) Handbook of Research on Entrepreneurship and Creativity. Cheltenham / Massachusetts: Edward Elgar).

Scott, J., Penaluna, A., Thompson, J & Brooksbank, D. Experiential entrepreneurship education: Effectiveness and learning outcomes. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research (Forthcoming)

Jones, C., Penaluna, A., Matlay, H., Penaluna, K. Discovering the Soul of Enterprise Education. Education +Training, Emerald Publishing (Forthcoming)

Penaluna, K., Penaluna, A., Jones, C. and Matlay, H. (2014) ‘When did you last predict a good idea?: Exploring the case of assessing creativity through learning outcomes’, Industry and Higher Education, Vol.8, No.6, December 2014: 399 - 410

Penaluna, A., Coates J. and Penaluna K., (2011) Creativity-Based Assessment and Neural Understandings: A Discussion and Case Study Analysis. Education + Training, Emerald Publishing, Volume 52, Issue 8/9, pp. 660 - 678

Objective:

• Cultivate an entrepreneurial mind-set.
• Recognize limitations of entrepreneurial thinking (what holds one back).
• Practice improvisation for idea generation and creativity.

Overview:

This series of three short improvisational exercises offers students the opportunity to identify personal limitations to idea generation and reflect on situations where creativity may have been stifled. Students will consider their personal abilities and reactions to their improvisational abilities, as well as approaches to incorporate improvisational thinking in entrepreneurial endeavours. The overall goal is to demonstrate how students can develop an entrepreneurial mind-set through improvisation. Such exercises are routinely used for developing improvisational actors as well as for pre-show warm- ups for the actors. This methodology was created in the 1960s and remains the standard by which individuals learn to improvise. Improvisation is an important component of the entrepreneurship method because idea generation and the ability to incorporate relevant, timely information are critical skills for developing new ventures that will not only survive but thrive.

Usage Suggestions 

These exercises work for all audiences, undergraduate, graduate, or practitioner. It is particularly relevant for new venture creation courses, entrepreneurial creativity and/or leadership courses, entrepreneurship boot-camps, and workshops.

Activity:

Pre-Work Required by Students

The optional readings may be used for pre-work or post-work, depending on the audience (see ‘Theoretical Foundation in ‘References’).

Time Plan (1 hour)

This exercise can be extended to longer sessions so that students can begin brainstorming entrepreneurial ventures. For the purposes of an initial introduction to improvisation, this teaching note has been written so that the exercise requires at least 60 minutes.

Introduction 0:00–0:05 (5 minutes)

Begin the exercise by introducing the concept of improvisation: Ask students generally if they know what improvisation means. Opening questions for the discussion can include:

• What does improvisation mean to you? 
• Where have you seen improvisation? 
• Has anyone performed improvisation? Seen it performed?

Overview 0:05–0:15 (10 minutes)

Explain how the students will learn the basics of improvisation and see how they could apply it to entrepreneurship, in particular idea generation and creating new ventures. The instructor can show examples of comedy improvisation performance (either live or through video clips from YouTube. Some good short examples include scenes from the ABC show Whose Line Is It Anyway? An example clip can be found at http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v5Qd8bvNW9_h4).

After sharing an example, discuss how performing improvisation can be learned: there are lessons offered for comedy improvisation and improvisational acting performance in improv theatres worldwide. An established framework exists to learn how to improvise. For this class, improvisation equals thinking on your feet. They will now be “in” an improv classroom, and every improvisation theatre class begins with warm-ups. In order to think on their feet, they have to get up on their feet.

Warm-Up 1 0:15–0:20 (5 minutes)

• Tell them to begin walking around the classroom and to observe every single object in the room.
• Then tell them to point at objects as they walk past them.
• As they point at each object they are to say what it is out loud – only they cannot call it what it actually is. They are to label it something it is not. And they are to do it quickly. Provide a quick example by pointing to an object in the room like the board and then say out loud “dog,” and then point at another object like the desk and call it “potato” or whatever comes to mind.
• After one to two minutes of them walking and pointing and labeling out loud, ask them to stop and be silent wherever they are for a group discussion. When they stop, have them discuss how the experience of labeling objects was for them. Try to push them to explain what they were feeling. Some of the following questions can be used for this debrief: 
• How was this experience?
• Did you find this exercise difficult to do? Why?

Summary of Warm-Up 1

Students should experience and be able to articulate:

• How difficult it is to break away from known “answers”;
• How frequently they can get stuck in known patterns of thinking;
• The ease with which they start creating patterns with a known grouping (e.g. eggplant, cucumber, tomato, lettuce), which is a way to make the experience easier (get the “right” answer) as opposed to pushing and fostering creativity;
• The need for students to want to be in control, rather than searching for newness or playing;
• Feeling the sense of awkwardness in saying the “wrong” label out loud, but having others around doing a similar activity makes the exercise less awkward;
• How easy it can be just to listen to others and follow their answers rather than coming up with their own new idea.

Warm-Up 2 0:20–0:25 (5 minutes)

• Tell them to begin walking around the classroom again.
• When they come up to another student, they are to point at another student and name an animal, any animal that comes to mind, e.g. two students face each other and one points at the other and says “horse.”
• Then tell them that the student who has been pointed at and labelled with a type of animal has to make the sound of the animal. If they do not know what sound the animal makes, they are to make it up and make some sort of sound.
• Then they switch, and the student who just produced the animal sound – in this example, the horse sounds – points at the first student and names an animal, e.g. “cat.” This student then makes the sounds of whatever animal he or she was given.
• Once the interaction is completed, and both students in the pair have completed their animal sounds, they are to find new partners and repeat the warm-up exercise with two or three other students.
• After two to three minutes of animal sounds, ask them to stop and be silent wherever they are for a group discussion. Have them discuss how the experience of making animal sounds was for them. Try to push them again to explain what they were feeling. Some of the following questions can be used for this debrief:
• How was this experience? Did you find this exercise difficult to do? Why? 

Summary of Warm-Up 2

Students should experience and be able to articulate:

• Feeling a great sense of awkwardness – they are doing something they would normally be comfortable doing with children, but typically have never done in a classroom of adults or peers;
• Not knowing the right “answer” or sound a particular animal makes, they would feel very frustrated, and then forget the instruction they were given to just make it up;
• Once again, the ease with which they follow patterns – patterns offer a way to make the exercise “easier,” as they offer a means to come up with an answer or a label quickly rather than pushing creativity;
• How difficult it is for them to have no control as to what they have to do, rather than stepping back, enjoying the ambiguity, and searching for newness or playing;
• The fear they have of being “foolish” in a professional setting, how they do not want to be embarrassed by acting silly in front of others, and, in addition, the fear of feeling guilty, foolish, or rude for labelling others as certain types of animals with distinct connotations;
• This fear leads to self-judging and/or editing before they label their peer with an animal or before making the corresponding animal sound.

Warm-Up 3 0:25–0:35 (10 minutes)

• Tell them to form groups of four wherever they are in the room.
• Then instruct them to play a game of word association, where anyone can go first, say a word, whatever word comes to mind.
• The person to the left listens to the word and then says a word that comes to mind based on the word he or she just heard.
• They continue in this way until you stop them, and they are to go as fast as they can (tell them to listen for further instruction).
• Once they get started, let them go for a minute or so, and then very loudly instruct them to “Switch directions!”

After another one to two minutes of word association, ask them to stop and be silent. You can have them return to their seats at this point or have them stay where they are for the final group discussion. Now have them discuss how the word association experience was for them. Most will say this was easier to do, as they were in a group setting. So push them to explain what was happening rather than what they were feeling. Some of the following questions can be used for this debrief: 

• How was this experience? If this was easier than the last two warm- ups, why?
• If you found this exercise more difficult than the last two, why?
• What happened when you were told to change directions? Why did this happen?

Summary of Warm-Up 3

Students should experience and be able to articulate:

• The ease again they experienced of getting into routines or patterns – how much they wanted to “control” the situation and outcomes;
• How much they were trying to be clever, or funny, rather than just coming up with any word that came to mind and following the exercise;
• Typically they do not enjoy the ambiguity and opportunity to play and explore newness;
• Self- judging occurs again, they feel limited in the direction for the exercise, and what words they allow themselves to say owing to their need to feel included or pressure to continue established patterns rather than pushing creativity and undefined randomness;
• Students typically are not listening to the last word they just heard, and instead they focus on the words that people two ahead of them in the exercise are saying, as this way they can plan their response (this is highlighted with the change directions instruction).

Discussion 0:35–1:00 (25 minutes)

Once the students return to their seats, have them form groups of three to four and discuss what might be preventing their idea generation efforts related to initial new venture concepts. They should explore what holds them back when considering what they might do. Have them discuss the specific difficulties they experienced personally during the improvisation exercises and how they might get past these limitations to develop a more entrepreneurial mind-set. Have a member of each group report out one recommendation for fostering creativity through improvisation. A closing discussion should include how to incorporate improvisation in their idea generation practices.

Teaching Tips

It is important to keep the warm-up exercises moving fast. It might be helpful to tell the students before they begin the exercises that they will feel really uncomfortable, but feeling uncomfortable is the point of the exercise. In the debrief discussions, some students will genuinely enjoy the exercises and will say they found nothing in them difficult. Asking for a show of hands of those who found the exercise difficult to do first is often a better way to begin the debrief, before asking about how they found the experience (in case the students who enjoyed the exercises stifle the discussion). In warm- up 3 it is very helpful to move around the room encouraging groups to speed up their words so that there are no long pauses. It is important for them to think quickly and see how to come up with new ideas rather than thinking or planning and judging their ideas before they see where the new ideas can take them.

Skill Development:

Key Takeaways

• How to incorporate improvisation to develop an entrepreneurial mind-set: being quick on your feet and adapting or reacting rather than planning and pre-judging.
• Identifying and recognizing personal limitations to entrepreneurial thinking (why students are held back from creativity in idea generation, what their personal pitfalls are).
• How to develop an entrepreneurial mind-set by incorporating tenets of fast and free thinking through improvisation for idea generation and creativity.

Resources:

The full text ‘Teaching Entrepreneurship: A Practice-Based Approach’ can be purchased here > http://www.amazon.co.uk/Teaching-Entrepreneurship-A-Practice-Based-Approach/dp/1782540695

References:

This exercise is taken from;

• Heidi M. Neck, Patricia G. Greene and Candida G. Brush, 2014. Teaching Entrepreneurship: A Practice-Based Approach (pp.118 - 124). Edition. Edward Elgar Pub.

Attribution

• These exercises are based on foundational exercises used in improvisational training, widely taught in improvisational theatre courses worldwide.

Theoretical Foundations

• Spolin, V. 1959. Improvisation for the Theater: A Handbook of Teaching and Directing Techniques. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press. Johnstone, K. 1999. Impro for Storytellers. New York: Routledge/Theatre Arts Books.
• Hmieleski, K.M., and Corbett, A.C. 2008. The contrasting interaction effects of improvisational behaviour with entrepreneurial self-efficacy on new venture performance and entrepreneur work satisfaction. Journal of Business Venturing, 23(4), 482–96.
• Neck, H.M. 2010. Idea generation. In B. Bygrave and A. Zacharakis (eds.), Portable MBA in Entrepreneurship (pp. 27–52). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
• Balachandra, L., and Wheeler, M. 2006. What negotiators can learn from improv comedy. Negotiation, 9, 1–3.

Author:

• This exercise is taken from, Heidi M. Neck, Patricia G. Greene and Candida G. Brush, 2014. Teaching Entrepreneurship: A Practice-Based Approach (pp.118 - 124). Edition. Edward Elgar Pub, and is reprinted with the kind permission of the authors.

Objective:

• The participants will interact and have to use thinking and describing skills
• To generate enthusiasm and motivation in Idea generation
• Build confidence in communication 

Overview:

This icebreaker/ energiser can be done at any time, it is ideal to be done the beginning of the training session to get everyone communicating and thinking in a fun/ positive way. This can be done with groups of any age, any level and can be used as an entirely generic activity which builds skills, or the task can be tailored by the tutor to build confidence in topic/programme area.

Activity:

This activity is fun and excellent exercise to get to know one another or to energise a team.It doesn’t take up a lot of time and requires a few simple materials (a pen and piece of paper for each participant).
Steps:

1. The group facilitator will ask each individual to write down on a piece of paper a positive word for every letter in their (First Name) to describe themselves in a positive way.
2. Once complete, the trainer should ask participants to swap answers with the person sitting next to them and ask them to read out each other’s positive words that they used from each letter in their first name to describe themselves.

AMENDS  This generic task can be focused upon subject or sector/industry activities rather than individuals.  Each person could take (at random or prescribed) the name of a competitor in the market, or a product that they are exploring – or even create a new product name for a specific target market/to address a specific need and indicate its qualities through its name.

Such an activity creates positive word for every letter in their first name in relation to the organisation they work for/ wish to work for / or a new product or idea - in order to describe the company culture/ mission or values, in order to reinforce these values and positives and help with retention.

This exercise will encourage communication, creativity, motivation and enthusiasm among the participants, whilst also improving retention of ideas.  It will also encourage teamwork as interacting with the other team members is necessary and can be deepened in more complex game play that might require more knowledge or research.

Skill Development:

This fun exercise is built upon ground rules of positivity and develops effective individual and team work as well as create a positive experience of communication.  The engagement in this task can be deepened through reflective feedback which explores the emotions inherent in undertaking a creative, time pressured task which involves presentation skills.  Exploring this with the group and seeking “lessons learnt” for future presentation and creative thinking tasks.  Explore blockages and tensions with the groups and how they were overcome in order to deliver.  It can also be useful to draw out the emotions of presenting, recognising that most people have an emotional response to presenting which they need to overcome to be effective.

Resources:

A sheet of paper and pen for every person.

Objective:

• The learner will develop reflection techniques transferring this information into a group self development/ action plan
• Experience of discovery through interactive learning processes including learning from failure.

Overview:

(small paragraph/ 2 -3 sentence)

The focus of this task is group reflection, understanding and learning from experience when faced with challenges.

Activity:

As a tutor you will need to prepare in advance to deliver this activity.

PREPERATION:

Depending on class size the activity timings is 2 hrs when working with 4-5 groups of learners. The exercise can be assessed or used as a reflection exercise within a group assignment. You will need to make sure the room is suitable with moving space and tables which can accommodate seating of each group. To deliver the session you will have a box of materials (listed in resources) prepared including laminated titles from 5 sections discussed below.

This activity is divided into 5 sections: -

• Past – What have you done?
• Barriers/Pathways – What barriers did you face/ what pathways did you experience?
• Present – Where are you now?
• You (Your Opportunity Unrealised) – What did you learn/ what opportunities did you miss?
• Future – Action plan/ group self development looking forward

Each section is introduced in a timed sequence of 10 minutes per section/ 50 minutes. The group are tasked with creating a “time line” using materials and space provided. The timeline will be created based on group discussion and reflection after each of the sections. Each group will share their timeline, ideally one learner per topic.

Skill Development:

short – focus on reflection; review; feedback; learning

Opportunity to focus and reflect on group working, learning through reflection with chance to put this understanding into practice as the group work for assignment continues.

Resources:

• String
• Scissors
• Selotape
• Flip Chart
• Paper
• Newspaper
• Post-its or similar sticky pads
• Pens
• Cardboard boxes 

If you would like to have your How to Guide featured, please download the template and email the completed version to hello@etctoolkit.org.uk.

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• How to Guide Template
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Objective:

• To apply academic learning and experimental practice to ‘real world’ environment
• To practice techniques and skills discussed at workshops and class seminars in professional settings and environments.

Introduction

The teaching of transferrable skills in the Doctoral Training Centre for Advanced Metallics is done in the form of a Diploma in Personal & Professional Skills and such skills are embedded in the students’ consciousness by practice. The development of Problem Based Learning experience through a two week long exercise where groups of students tackle ‘real-life’ problems at an SME has been organized and successfully taken place over the past three years and students, staff and industrial partners have all felt the benefits. The use of 'real-life' problem solving can be used to focus and sharpen the students’ use of transferrable skills that have been taught in other parts of a structured course. The reality of the situation faced, the tight time limits afforded, the responsibility to function and deliver as part of a group of 'professional' consultants act as multipliers of the skills employed towards generating and proposing solutions. Students see in practice what transferrable skills mean to them and of course employers are suitably impressed when they see skills they seek from graduates being used to the full.

Activity

At the CDT Diploma we have sought to embed the professional engineering skills we feel are appropriate for our engineering graduates through involving engineering SMEs that contribute their time by accepting small groups of our students and providing them with problems they would like to be solved. Groups of 3-5 students are given minimal information and are sent to their respective SMEs to be told what problem they would have to tackle in the time of two working weeks. The students have access to facilities and resources from both organizations but they had to figure out for themselves what needed to be done, by when, what resources they needed and what resources were available. At the end of the two weeks the groups present their solution(s) to groups of their peers, the SMEs and the CDT academics.

Impact:

The impact was significant as can be testified by this typical response from a collaborating SME:

“We found the process to be both interesting and beneficial.

I liked how the students were able to dedicate a short amount of time to such a thorough investigation of the problems we presented them with. I think they accomplished quite a lot in a short time and we found their analysis and conclusions to be very useful.

My only comment would be that although the students were helpful in their analysis of the root cause of the issues and had some recommendations as to what was needed to rectify them. They didn't really suggest what the next steps should be or how they would go about this. For instance, with the group that looked at the CVD die failure; they clearly showed why the die had failed for didn't come up with alternatives we could potentially use which would have been appreciated.

I do understand that given the limited time they had and the fact that the process under investigation was new to them this may have been too much to expect but it's just an observation.

In conclusion, we found the process rewarding and interesting and we were pleased to be able to support the groups”.

And also responses from students:

“I feel I used most of my skillset during the SME group work”.

“I took the lead on a lot of the project and fully utilised my project management and negotiation skills”.

“During the investigation, I pushed myself to provide the best investigation for the customer”.

“We put our business skills to the test by providing a cost analysis for the customer”.

“I feel I presented the findings and advice well to the customer”.

“I was very satisfied with the response, both from Andrew and the other assessors”.

Learner outcome:

During the process we have found that the students are very engaged as they soon get immersed in the problems they have to tackle. They quickly find out what needs to be done, who to get in touch with for information, which facilities they need, where these are and how to access them. Teamwork quickly falls into place with members allocating roles and taking on appropriate responsibilities. Deadlines and managing time are no longer concepts or statements on Power Point slides but real targets to be met. Networking is put into practice, Motivation, Problem Solving, Project Management, Creativity, Conflict & Negotiation, Team Building, Communication, Presentation Skills, and each of the other skills that form the core of the Diploma are used and are assimilated into the students conscience by this experience.

Resources:

Wiling SMEs to become partners in this learning exercise.

Support for students for travel; access to laboratory facilities

References:

[1]          Dym, C.L. (2008). Educating Engineers for a Flat World. Int. J. of Engineering Education, Vol. 24, No. 2, pp 214-220.

[2]          Felder, R. (n.d.). Richard Felder’s Education-Related Publications.

Retrieved 08 29, 2014, from: http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/Papers/Education_Papers.htmlo

[3]          Wang, J., Fong, Y.C. and Alwis, W.A.M. (2005). Developing Professionalsim in Engineering Students using Problem Based Learning, Proc. Of the 2005 Regional Conference on Engineering Education, December 12-13, 2005, Johor, Malaysia.

[4]          Steinemann, A. (2003). Implementing Sustainable Development through Problem-Based learning: Pedagogy and Practice, this paper is part of the Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice, Vol. 129, No. 4, October 1, 2003.     http://ascelibrary.org/doi/abs/10.1061/(ASCE)1052-3928(2003)129:4(216)

[5]          Barak, M. and Goffer N. (2002). Fostering Systematic Innovative Thinking and Problem Solving: Lessons Education can Learn from Industry, Int. J. of Technology and Design Education, 12, 227-247.

[6]          Zijlstra-Shaw, S., Robinson, P.G. and Roberts, T. (2011). Assessing professionalism within dental education; the need for a definition, European J. of Dental Education, 15, pp 1-9, 2011.

[7]          Cajander A., Daniels, M., McDermott, R. and Von Konsky, B.R. (2011). Assessing professional skills in engineering education. Paper presented at the 13th Australasian Computer Education Conference (ACE 2011), Conferences in Research and Practice in Information Technology (CRPIT), Vol 114. http://crpit.com/confpapers/CRPITV114Daniels.pdf

[8]          P. Kapranos, (2015) PBL for doctoral students in collaboration with SMEs: ‘Thinking like a professional engineer’, Open Journal of Social Sciences, 2015, 3, 57-63. Published Online June 2015 in Sci. Res. http://www.scirp.org/journal/jss http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/jss.2015.36012

[9]          P. Kapranos, (2014) 'Teaching doctoral level engineers to be enterprising', Proceedings 5th International Symposium of Engineering Education, ISEE 2014, Manchester Museum, The University of Manchester, 11-12th September 2014, pp 117-123.

[10]        P. Kapranos, (2015) Industrially based PBL, a tool for promoting professional and enterprising skills, Proceedings of Educating Enterprising Engineers and Scientists Seminar, 17th June 2015, London South Bank University, Eds. R. Bhamidimarri & A. Liu, pp 44-49.

[11]        Ray, D. (2013). The contribution of momentary perspectives to entrepreneurial learning and creativity, Industry & Higher Education, Vol 27, No. 6, Dec. 2013, pp 407-420.

Objective:

To develop an interdisciplinary network of exchange which promotes innovation, design thinking, new-product development. Bringing together a students from across the University, who value innovative thinking, ideas generation and interdisciplinary working as part of their student experience.

• Developing problem-solving skills as team members
• Analysing information (and working with limited information)
• Negotiating and cooperating with one another.
• Listening and leading
• Group Decision making (consensus building)

Introduction: 

Interdisciplinary has been recognised as a key contributor in solving complex global social problems (BIS, 2009; 2009a; DIUS, 2008, QAA 2012). It therefore follows that graduates as societies leaders with a genuine interest in making the world a better place must have the ability and confidence to work across disciplines. In today’s global economy and in society as a whole, we are faced with many complex challenges which require new ways of working and graduates need to be prepared for this through the integration of interdisciplinary working within their under graduate (UG) curriculum.

Activity:

The 24 hour design challenge: Second year students from across 3 schools within the university were invited to register for this event, places were limited to 40 students, a maximum on 10 students from a single discipline area.

• Students were placed into interdisciplinary teams on arrival between 4-6 members.
• Students were presented with a list of rules of play (mainly that the judge’s decision was final, could not swap teams, shared IP)
• They were presented with an open “complex” challenge – eg: “future extremes”, “sustainable solutions to global challenges”, the ageing population”
• We provided a guest lecture to enhance the theme.
• The teams were given an information pack containing a pencil, pad, pen drive (with a template for presentation) and the title of the challenge
• During the remaining hours of the first day the teams were encouraged to brainstorm around the team using their team’s skillset, knowledge and understanding.
• At 3pm on the first day we provided a 1 hour expert drop in workshop – (invited staff from various disciplines to be available to discuss the students ideas), some student teams took this opportunity just to pop in and get some feedback.
• The teams had a print slot allocated in the morning of the next day, to print off their design board
• The team presented their ideas to a panel of judges in a dragons den format (5 minutes presentation, 5 minutes questions)
• Winning team’s announced, Certificate and Prizes.

Impact:

The impact on learning was evident through the student feedback, we categories it into skill development, Collaborative working, Entrepreneurial development.

 “There is never a stop-point in learning – there is always room for more”. (2015 student)

 “Competing in this design challenge was a thoroughly enjoyable process. As an engineer, it is important that I develop the ability to work with multiple disciplines and in the 24 hours we were given I have been given a massive insight into how completely separate skill sets can come together to generate an idea. I also find it incredible that after only a day, I came away with a team that I had formed a friendship with and now have an insight into demonstrating an idea to someone who has the means to make it a reality. Overall I cannot fault the opportunity of taking part and enjoyed every stress inducing minute of it. I would definitely do something similar again.” (2014 24 hour design challenge).

Skill-development:

“....in the 24 hours we were given I have been given a massive insight into how completely separate skill sets can come together to generate an idea” (student quote, 2013 challenge).

 “It was an enjoyable challenge, bringing in different skills we have learnt throughout our time here so far. I would defiantly recommend it to anyone and do it again” (student quote, 2013 challenge).

 “…enjoyed every stress-inducing minute of it. I would definitely do something similar again” (student quote, 2013 challenge).

 “I learned a lot from my peers in my team and this experiment will benefit me in future group projects” (student quote, 2014 challenge).

 Collaborative working:

 “....I really enjoined the challenge and it was good to start viewing things from different discipline angles” (student quote, 2013 challenge).

 “This design challenge was great. I love working with all of my team who were from different specialisms” (student quote, 2013 challenge).

 “It has shown me what some of my lecture have been trying to tell us which is that collaboration and working with people from different specialisms is when design can really take off and become exciting” (student quote, 2013 challenge).

 “I really enjoyed the 24 hour challenge as I valued meeting new people and exploring different areas of study” (student quote, 2014 challenge).

 “It was really helpful to speak to the different tutors and pick their brains about our ideas, as I would never normally come into contact with tutors from these courses” (student quote, 2014 challenge).

Entrepreneurial development:

 “The challenge has made me even more interested in working with people I don’t know and also has inspired me to think about business ideas for my future career” (student quote, 2013 challenge).

 “It was a great experience, thank-you! It is a great insight to the business world that we are entering” (student quote, 2013 challenge)

 “Overall it was a great experience and I now have contacts and friends on completely different courses to me who I will no doubt be calling on for help on future projects as well as the one we started” (student quote, 2014 challenge).

Comment from external Judge: “Judging the 24-hour design challenge was a pleasure and revealed an impressive arsenal of talent the University of Huddersfield has amongst the students. Each multi-disciplined team presented well thought out and researched concepts which impressed the judging panel and stimulated much debate. Being spoilt for choice meant the pressure was put back on the panel when it came to us choosing a winner.  In my experience, great ideas occur when a creative person or team is constrained by time and/or budget. When placed under pressure, right brain instinct coupled with pragmatic decision making, causes inventive and exciting concepts and solutions. Events like the 24hr Design Challenge are a great example of where you'll see this in action.”  (David Bailey Creative Director UX&D, BBC Future Media). 

Learner outcomes:

The learning is not within the task objective, but within the team process, networking and cross-fertilization of skills and often the desire to complete the task can mask the transferable learning that has been gained. It is therefore key, that once the discussion of the challenge itself is complete, that the de-brief encourage the teams to explore the skill development within the task and team work itself. As a facilitator, it is important that you allow the teams to explore their team process and find the learning within that. Within the dragon’s den the teams are asked to reflect on this experience. 

Resources:

• Post-its or similar sticky pads
• Pens 
• Pads
• Pen-drives with template (if you want a professional finish) – for fun or shorter challenges flip charts works just as well
• Lunch on the first day works well
• External judges (or internal)

References:

BIS (2009). Skills for growth, the national skills strategy, Department for Business Innovation and Skills. Nov 2009 (pp. 1-78). Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/228764/7641.pdf

BIS (2009a). Higher ambitions: The future of Universities in a knowledge economy, Department for Business Innovation and Skills. (pp.1-78).

DIUS (2008). A new ‘University Challenge’. Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills. (1-20).

QAA (2012). Enterprise and entrepreneurship education: Guidance for UK higher education providers

September 2012. Quality Assurance Agency. Retrieved from http://www.qaa.ac.uk/en/Publications/Documents/enterprise-entrepreneurship-guidance.pdf Page 1-32

Links to other information:

• Power, E. J.  (Dec 2014) The 24 hour challenge: creating a multidiscipline environment for, design and entrepreneurship in engineering and design. Enhancing Employability through Enterprise Education: example of Good Practice in Higher education HEA case study. P22, In Owens, J. and Tibby, M (2014) Enhancing employability through enterprise education: Examples of good practice in higher education. The Higher Education Academy UK.
• http://www.hud.ac.uk/news/2013/november/ice.php
• http://www.hud.ac.uk/schools/artdesignandarchitecture/placementsandenterprise/honeypotandice/

Contact details: Dr E. J. Power, University of Huddersfield

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Objective:

• Practice pitching new concepts.
• Critique pitches for new concepts.
• Understand the importance of pitch versus idea. 
• Simulate prototype development and feasibility testing.

Overview:

Rocket pitches or elevator pitches are often the first opportunity for an entrepreneur to convince potential investors that they have an idea that represents a profitable opportunity. These are often only one to five minute presentations, but they can have a significant impact on the entrepreneur’s ability to attract investors as well as other potential stakeholders. This can be particularly true in the early stages of a venture before the entrepreneur has a viable product, and he or she has to quickly convince potential stakeholders of his or her vision and the potential of the idea. Entrepreneurs often think that their idea is the most important aspect of the pitch, but studies have shown that U.S. venture capitalists consider personal characteristics such as the entrepreneur’s ability to articulate his or her venture to be critical in determining whether or not they will reject an entrepreneur’s plan.

In this exercise, students design a paper airplane that must be capable of carrying a predetermined amount of currency in the form of coins. The airplanes will compete in two categories – time that the plane can stay aloft and the distance it can travel. However, students pitch their design to their classmates (the investors) in an effort to convince them their design is the best before the contest takes place. 

The exercise has worked well for illustrating the importance of a good pitch and helps students to better understand what constitutes a good pitch from an investor’s perspective.

Usage Suggestions

This exercise works with both undergraduate and graduate students. It is appropriate for new venture creation courses, entrepreneurship boot-camps, or workshops. The session is best positioned after students have identified a venture concept, project, or family or corporate initiative to pursue and are preparing for an elevator speech or rocket pitch type presentation. Technology entrepreneurship or innovation classes are also appropriate.

Activity:

Pre- Work Required by Students

Students are to be given the following instructions in the class period prior to running the exercise: “You are to design and create a new paper airplane capable of keeping one U.S. dollar of coins aloft for as long (time) as possible while simultaneously transporting the coins as far (distance) as possible. The assignment is as follows:

1. You may work individually or in a group of up to four students; the only group-related implication is that your airplane design must use the same number of standard size sheets as the number of people in the group (for example, a group of four must create an airplane that uses four sheets of paper in its design). 
2. Your plane must be designed to transport one U.S. dollar of coinage (or other local currency). You may choose the number and denominations of coins used; your only constraint is that their total value be exactly one dollar. 
3. You may not simply crumple the paper into a ball, as this would constitute a projectile rather than an aerodynamically sensitive aircraft- based design.

You will be required to pitch your design to your classmates. You will have two minutes to convince your classmates that your design will perform the best. Performance on the exercise will be based on a combination of actual performance of your airplane and the number of votes your design gets from your classmates in each category (time and distance).”

Time Plan (80 minutes)

Because each team will pitch their idea, the time required for the exercise will vary with class and team size. The timing outlined here is based on a class size of 30 students and ten teams.

Step 1 0:00–0:02 (2 minutes) 

Begin the exercise by explaining the voting rules to the students. Students are allowed to vote for only one team (excluding their own) in each of the two categories (distance and time). They are not required to vote for the same design in each category. It helps to provide a sheet for each of the students to record their votes, or, if your students have computers and internet access, you can use an online voting system (this will require you to set it up before the class).

Step 2 0:02–0:27 (25 minutes) 

Next, have each team pitch their idea to their classmates. Teams should be strictly limited to two minutes each.

Step 3 0:27–0:32 (5 minutes) 

Have the students record their votes for the design they think will perform best in each category. Remind them that they cannot vote for their own design.

Step 4 0:32–0:52 (20 minutes)

Take the class to an open area in which to conduct the actual flights. An indoor area such as a gymnasium works best, but you can run it outdoors as well (which can introduce additional uncertainty into the performance for the students). Each team gets one throw. You should have a line that they cannot cross for throwing, and you should record the time that their plane stays aloft. After the plane has landed, measure and record the distance. It helps if you assign this task to one or more of the students.

Step 5 0:52–1:00 (8 minutes) 

Return to the classroom. Record the votes and the actual performance for each team on the board.

Step 6 (exercise debrief) 1:00–1:20 (20 minutes) 

If time allows, you can have a short discussion about their process with regard to creating their design. This can help to illustrate how an entrepreneur can take a constraint and turn it into an opportunity. Additionally, this can highlight the importance of prototyping and learning from failure, and many of the teams that perform well often trial several different designs. Some possible questions include:

• How did they view the issue of the coins? 
• Did they see it as a negative constraint? Why? 
• Did they see it as an opportunity to incorporate it into the design and improve its performance? 
• How did they try to differentiate their design? 
• Did they try to optimize for time or distance or try both? 
• Did they prototype and test designs?

Next, discuss the aspect of effective pitching. The idea here is to get them to appreciate the importance of the entrepreneur and his or her pitch to investors. Owing to the uncertainty inherent in many early- stage entrepreneurial ventures, investors will typically put more emphasis on the entrepreneur and his or her ability to “sell” the idea, as well as their confidence in the entrepreneur’s ability to execute on his or her pitch – one has to be careful not to oversell the concept.

• How did it feel to try to “sell” your classmates on your design?
• What were the biggest challenges? 
• How did you decide to invest? 
• How important was the way in which they presented the concept? 
• Confidence? 
• What was compelling about the pitch or the entrepreneur? 
• Why do you think people did or did not vote for your design?
• What would you do to improve your pitch?

Wrap the discussion up with a summary of the importance of clearly articulating your idea and convincing the audience of your ability to execute on your idea.

Post- Work

Have the students read the following articles (this can be done beforehand if you prefer):

• Elsbach, K.D. 2003. How to pitch a brilliant idea. Harvard Business Review, 81(9), 117–23. 
• Santinelli, A., and Brush, C. 2013. Designing and Delivering the Perfect Pitch. Wellesley, MA: Babson College Case Collection.

Teaching Tips

Students will often try to game the system (depending on how much freedom you give them). For example, they may choose to use different weights of paper or design a flying disc as opposed to a traditional airplane. You can decide how vague you want to be. If you want to have more discussion on the creative process and pushing the boundaries, then being more vague in the instructions can lead to a good discussion on how entrepreneurs try to push the rules and boundaries. Some students will feel “cheated,” but this can still provide a good learning point.

Skill Development: 

Key Takeaways

• Ability to quickly and clearly articulate an idea is often more important than the idea itself. 
• Investors often focus on their belief in the entrepreneur’s ability to execute on the idea rather than the idea itself – particularly under conditions of uncertainty. 
• Prototyping can be an effective way to deal with an unknown environment and develop your product or service.

Resources: 

Materials List

Provide students with paper for their airplanes in order to maintain a standard paper type and weight. Alternatively, you can leave this open to interpretation as a means of encouraging greater creativity among the teams. You will need a tape measure and a stopwatch for the actual competition.

The full text ‘Teaching Entrepreneurship: A Practice-Based Approach’ can be purchased here > http://www.amazon.co.uk/Teaching-Entrepreneurship-A-Practice-Based-Approach/dp/1782540695 

References:

This exercise is taken from;

• Heidi M. Neck, Patricia G. Greene and Candida G. Brush, 2014. Teaching Entrepreneurship: A Practice-Based Approach (pp.131 – 135). Edition. Edward Elgar Pub.

Attribution

• Reginald A. Litz, Dell McStay, Sergio Janczak, and Carolyn Birmingham, “Kitty hawk in the classroom: A simulation exercise for facilitating creative and entrepreneurial behavior,” United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) 2011 conference – Entrepreneurship: Changing the Present, Creating the Future, South Carolina, United States, January 2011.

Theoretical Foundations

MacMillan, I.C., Siegel, R., and Subba Narisimha, P.N. 1985. Criteria used by venture capitalists to evaluate new venture proposals. Journal of Business Venturing, 1, 119–28. 

Ries, E. 2011. The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses. New York: Crown Publishing.

Objective:

• To stimulate entrepreneurial effectiveness (QAA 2012) cross campus
• To demonstrate entrepreneurial practice across the region
• To promote creative thinking, problem solving and wider entrepreneurial skills

Introduction: 

Each year an institution and region wide Business Idea Competition is run as a broad tool to stimulate and support entrepreneurship in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. The competition promotes creative thinking and problem solving for learners at all stages of the learning journey including upon graduation. Our institution comprises a network of tertiary colleges and research centres, spread across the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. The competition was devised and is organised by Create, an Enterprise and Innovation Learning centre based within Inverness College UHI and delivered across the university and all partner institutions including the surrounding Highlands and Islands community (subject to T&Cs).

Activity: 

The competition is supported across campus to significantly raise ‘Enterprise Awareness’ (via induction, workshops, talks, e-comms), develop ‘Entrepreneurial Mindset’ (through intensive engagement and support to submit entries to the competition with learners from all faculties) and for some students (who progress in the competition and beyond) to start to develop their ‘Entrepreneurial Capabilities’. We have examples of this being delivered as an extra curricula workshop/activity and within the curriculum as a tool to aid experiential learning.

The competition opens in August each year and is promoted widely across the university, all colleges and research centres and in the local community.  Lecture ‘shouts’ and workshops have proven to be the most effective technique to engage the broadest range of staff and learners.  Short films are included on our website to give tips on entering. 

Online entries seek information on an idea, inspiration, resources, next steps rather than a business plan. It was inspired by the culturally popular ‘Dragons Den’ but was dubbed the friendly ‘Highland Dragons Den’. Plenty of support is provided for developing application, pitching and presenting.  Independent and experienced judges are engaged each year and relevant follow-up support and advice is offered to all entrants. For winning entrants, start-up support is offered in addition to cash prizes.

Impact: 

CREATE has worked closely with regional partners and the business community to ensure the competition reaches the maximum potential budding entrepreneurs across the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.  The competition was launched in 2006 with 27 entrants and has grown significantly to 150 entrants in 2014 representing all industry sectors and parts of the region.  Subsequent business start-ups in both the commercial and social sector have proved to be a recognised economic benefit to the region.  

In addition to business start-up, it is considered that the competition also has two key impacts: it significantly enhances ‘Enterprise Awareness’ across curricula areas (both academic/careers staff and students); and helps to encourage stronger working relationships with local business and enterprise support organisations.

Learner outcome: 

This activity shows how education ‘for’ enterprise can successfully engage a wide range of students, staff and members of the community both within and outside the curriculum. Over the years, more teaching and career staff are building in this opportunity as an awareness raising and experiential tool for learners at all levels. Those who participate, are extremely positive about the experience and can articulate evidence of creative thinking, opportunity spotting, and business awareness and, for those who proceed in the competition, they are able to develop their presentation, commercial awareness and network building skills. They talk of an increase in confidence and greater awareness of ‘know who’ and ‘be known’. Through CPD sessions, more academic staff now have the confidence to introduce these concepts and encourage learners to try this opportunity ‘to make something happen’ which adds to a student’s experience of how it ‘feels’ to be enterprising, which is very much in tune with the philosophy of enterprise education.

For 2015/6, we are extending the competition to early stage start-ups as we find many entrepreneurs start to test their idea earlier each year and still benefit from this type of engagement and encouragement.

Resources: 

Partnership: A critical success factor for this type of region wide initiative is partnership working.  Within the institution, we engage with Deans, Faculty and Subject Leaders as well as Careers and Student Services areas. 

Externally, this initiative has helped to build strong working partnerships which have grown year on year with local enterprise support organisations (Business Gateway, Prince’s Trust Youth Business Scotland, HISEZ, FirstPort and SIE) together with an extensive range of regional businesses (large corporates and SMEs) who wish to be associated with helping to build a vibrant entrepreneurial culture.

Funding: The activity has been substantially funded by institutional funding with support in the early years from the local enterprise agency, latterly EU funding sources and local council funds. All prizes (£8,000 in 2015) are sourced via sponsorship from local business and enterprise support organisations which CREATE attracts each year.

References:

http://www.createhighland.com/

Objective:

• The learner will understand the importance of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial behaviour in the context of their subject area
• Will engage with subjects outside their discipline to pitch for and explore ideas and concepts
• To reflect and draw personal conclusions about their capacities and capabilities for entrepreneurial behaviour
• To research and persuade others of the feasibility and viability of their ideas
• To conclude with a ‘live’ opportunity which they can research and develop further through a research project/dissertation, employment or a new business venture

Overview: 

This type of module is appropriate on applied courses, or courses ‘with enterprise’. It is especially valuable where students from a range of disciplines are taught together, invited to ‘bring their discipline and interests with them’ (of course, discipline and interests are not always/often synonymous, and this approach helps with that!)

Activity: 

Students engage in a shared first lecture, setting the context for the module, discussing, and responding to individual learner expectations, and an introduction to innovation, delivered by an inventor, which asks the students to invest in one of a series of inventions, based on a case study of each in practice. They are encouraged to reflect on their choice, and in particular the reasons why they feel that their chosen option represents most value.

In week 2 students return to their own discipline (or choose an area of interest based on the available disciplines) and a session is led by academics and industry guests/entrepreneurs focussing on ‘the current and future trends in the XYZ industry’. This tends to be ‘products for users in Science and Engineering’ subjects (e.g. pets and children), and ‘approaches’ in other subjects (e.g. social and online media). 

Week 3 is a facilitated session in which students join interdisciplinary groups (formulated with as wide a variety of disciplines as possible (e.g. 1xcomputing science, 1xbiology, 1xmarketing and management) and share their findings from the previous week to identify areas of shared interest and the skills each member can contribute.

The remainder of the sessions are built around convincing the module assessors, and industry/entrepreneurs that your emerging idea is worth spending more time, money and effort on developing, and that individual students have the appropriate skills and motivations to deliver on the opportunity. The design of the remaining sessions is aimed at students achieving this objective. Remaining module content and tools can be designed together with the students, using flipped classroom, online resources, and update meetings alongside taught lecture material.

Skill Development: 

The confidence gained by the students is seen as they engage with each other and with externals (industry experts).  They are exposed to entrepreneurship through opportunity spotting and evaluation, and through building their reflective and persuasive/selling skills.  By working in teams they are building collaborative approaches to problem solving and task completion.

Resources: 

Planned engagement – including engagement of academics, entrepreneurs and industry partners in each discipline where a student originates.

Time to coach groups individually, access to mentors or online interaction.

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If you would like to have your Case Study featured, please download the template and email the completed version to hello@etctoolkit.org.uk.

We have produced a guidance sheet which will assist you in completing the Case Study.

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