AĀ newĀ FestivalĀ has beenĀ launched byĀ the Ā鶹“«Ć½Ā Business School, offering students the opportunity to develop their academic and professional skills.Ā Ā
TheĀ week-longĀ Experience & Development festival,Ā EDfest,Ā took placeĀ duringĀ the first week of November, with talks, workshops and activities to enrich the student experience for Business School students.Ā Ā
To coincide with COP26, the themeĀ for this semesterāsĀ EDfestĀ wasĀ SustainabilityĀ forĀ the Future of Industry.Ā
Talks and workshopsĀ discussed sustainable marketing, corporate social responsibility, moving toward Net Zero and otherĀ sustainabilityĀ challenges for the future ofĀ business and industry.Ā Ā
Alongside the talks, students wereĀ givenĀ opportunitiesĀ toĀ engage in interactive, open discussions with staff toĀ discussĀ topicsĀ related to the student experienceĀ and workĀ collaborativelyĀ to find solutions.Ā Ā
TheĀ creatorĀ ofĀ EDfest,Ā Deputy Dean for EducationĀ andĀ ProfessionalĀ PracticeĀ atĀ the Ā鶹“«Ć½ Business School, Dr Shelley Thompson,Ā said:Ā āEDfestĀ wasĀ createdĀ in responseĀ toĀ student feedback about the kinds of activities and events they want to see in our Business School, including to build our sense of community within the Business School and activities and events for Business School students that help with their employability. So, we created space in the academic calendar to do that and have a bit of fun together too."Ā
Dr ThompsonĀ added:Ā "The week was packed with industry speakers, employability and placement workshops, academic skillsĀ talks, student voice events, and a bake-off."Ā
With sustainability in mind, the bake-offĀ technicalĀ challengeĀ hadĀ students competingĀ to bake the best beetroot brownie,Ā aĀ plant-basedĀ recipeĀ withĀ seasonal ingredients.Ā TheĀ branded Business School aprons students wore in the competition, and got to take home, wereĀ madeĀ from recycled plastic bottlesĀ and winnersĀ of each bake-offĀ received a sustainable-cookingĀ cookeryĀ book.Ā
The placement session, aimed at second year students, focussed onĀ exploring the many creative approachesĀ students canĀ takeĀ toĀ securing aĀ placementĀ role. Students wereĀ encouragedĀ to reflect on theirĀ placementĀ goals, including what skills and experiences they wanted to achieve, and deviseĀ an action plan toĀ reach these goals.Ā Ā Ā Ā
Debbie Pye, Placement Development AdvisorĀ (PDA)Ā for the Business SchoolĀ said:Ā āPlacements are a valuable part of our degrees at Ā鶹“«Ć½ as they allow our students to build a huge variety of transferable skills, experience and self-confidence.āĀ
āItās all about future employability -Ā a placementĀ is a key starting place toĀ helpingĀ students get to where they want to be in the next few years,āĀ addedĀ NicolaĀ Kalmanovitch, PDAĀ for the Business School.Ā Ā
The nextĀ EDfestĀ week willĀ take place fromĀ Monday 28Ā FebruaryĀ withĀ the themeĀ āHigh Performing Teamsā. The planned activities will focusĀ onĀ howĀ students canĀ build,Ā lead,Ā and work effectively together in teams.Ā Ā