17 March 2014
As part of Innovative Learning Week, Business School staff and students organised an impressive line-up of events including the Smart Data Hack, where students joined teams to create and design applications around data, a Business Boot Camp – a leadership challenge with a military twist - and a Bake Off. The E-Club also hosted an event with Edinburgh Connections exploring the misconceptions around five different professions including accountancy, banking, law, investment and start-ups.
The Business School ILW started with two military vehicles rumbling along Buccleuch Place. A group of business students set off to an undisclosed military base equipped with sleeping bags and an open mind. Over three days they worked together in teams, facing challenging tasks indoors and out. The officers of the City of Edinburgh Universities Officer Training Corps provided the challenges and were also on hand throughout to coach and counsel. Requiring mind rather than muscle, the programme focused on participants’ ability to work in a team, communication skills and self-awareness: in particular the ability to give and take feedback which is direct and useful. After a long day tackling new challenges and gaining a better picture of their own persona and the way they come across to others, the opportunity to relax in the OTC mess for a drink, curry and quiz was warmly welcomed.
Alistair Haig, Business School ILW Co-ordinator and Early Career Fellow in Finance, said: “Business Bootcamp has given our students the opportunity to learn more about themselves, how others perceive them, and how they might contribute most to team goals: how fortunate to have had this experience early in a university career. At the final presentation a smiling group of students commented that the event had been ‘amazing’ and something they would strongly recommend to others in the future.”