Enterprising students set for entrepreneur festival
Students from City College Norwich will this week join TV ‘dragon’ Peter Jones, founder of the Peter Jones Enterprise Academy, and other leading entrepreneurs at MADE: The Entrepreneur Festival, in Sheffield.
City College Norwich will be well represented at the high profile business event. On Thursday 22nd September, 23 students from the new Peter Jones Enterprise Academy at the college will be attending, along with Dick Palmer, Principal, and Kieran Miles, one of the college’s Entrepreneurs in Residence.
Three foundation degree leisure and events management students will also be at the festival, working behind the scenes with event organisers Seven Hills, to gain experience of running a major national conference.
MADE: The Entrepreneur Festival runs from 21st – 24th September at different venues in Sheffield. Speakers include the Business Secretary, Vince Cable, James Averdieck, founder of Gü Chocolate Puds, and Ayo Jenyo, the Peter Jones Enterprise Academy Entrepreneur of the Year.
Watch a live message feed from MADE here.
City College Norwich is at the forefront of developments in enterprise education nationally, partnering with North Hertfordshire College, Gateshead College and New College Nottingham in launching the Entrepreneurial Colleges initiative in May.
The College currently has two Entrepreneurs in Residence and is home to student record label Interim Records. City College Norwich will open its new Enterprise Zone early in 2012, a cutting edge new facility in which students will develop a wide range of enterprise and employability skills.
Dick Palmer, Principal, City College Norwich, said, “Further education colleges have a key role to play in supporting an enterprise-led recovery. Success in today’s highly competitive jobs market is not only about possessing the right skills, but also having the dynamism, creativity and business acumen to take full advantage of new opportunities.”
“Through developments such as our Entrepreneurs in Residence and new Enterprise Zone, we are placing enterprise skills right at the heart of the curriculum. We are looking forward to sharing this practice and picking up fresh ideas and inspiration from leading entrepreneurs at the MADE Festival.”
One of the students who will be attending the MADE Festival, 17 year old Zak Egginton, from Hemsby, said, “I am looking forward to hearing from everyone there, especially Peter Jones, because he has started up several businesses. I hope to take away information that I will then be able to apply.”
Zak says he chose the new Business with Enterprise course because “I am interested in finding out how to go from an idea to actually starting up a business." The start of the course has been “really good”, he added.
Students from City College Norwich will be sharing their thoughts and experiences of the MADE Festival via live blogs on the college web site – www.ccn.ac.uk – throughout the day on Thursday.
