Cranfield Business Challenge welcomes students from Milton Keynes

Cranfield Business Challenge welcomed students from across Bedford and Milton Keynes last week.
Cranfield Business ChallengeCranfield Business Challenge
Cranfield Business Challenge

The annual event - run by Cranfield’s Centre for Customised Executive Development (CCED) - took place at Cranfield University’s campus in Bedfordshire, and welcomed around 100 students who are currently studying for their A-Levels.

They were divided into 20 teams of five, each with a dedicated mentor who came from a range of renowned businesses including Nissan, Metro Bank, John Lewis and Get Water.

As part of the challenge, students were tasked with stepping into the shoes of a start-up business leader, creating a strategy to buy and launch a product, and increasing the net worth of their company by the end of the day.

The students were judged by the CCED team and winners received a one-year IP Sim licence from business software simulation company, TacitSim, and £1,500 worth of vouchers.

The winners were selected on two criteria – the clear profit winners at the end of the challenge and the ‘wildcard’ who displayed resilience, team work and clear strategy.

Each of the winners will now go through to a second round in September to narrow it down to two finalists, who will be judged on a digital presentation and awarded their prize at a ceremony in December.

They include Walton High School, Shenley Brook End, Harlington,Lord Grey, The Hazeley Academy, Sharnbrook and Biddenham.

“It was great to see such a large turnout at this year’s first joint challenge between students from Milton Keynes and Bedford,” said Karen Valverde, Business Simulations Director at Cranfield’s Centre for Customised Executive Development.

“The challenge is an ideal way for students to experience working in a business with first hand guidance from mentors from the corporate world.”