Postgraduate students who attended our Masood Enterprise School Summer School describe their experiences.
Taking place over four days, the Summer School is located in Grange-Over-Sands. Students were tasked with identifying business opportunities to solve local social problems.
“My favourite experience was pitching my ideas in front of everyone. Questions were similar to what investors would actually ask us so this gave me the confidence of pitching future ideas in front of potential investors.” said Rijul Shukla, MSc Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship student.
Yelnur Shildibekov, PhD Business and Management, agrees in his assessment: “The Summer School gave me the opportunity to understand how to create a business from scratch and how to run and operate it effectively once it has been established.”
Students at the School were challenged to create ideas on how to put Grange-Over-Sands ‘back on the map’ as a tourist destination, considering its increasingly elderly population and its current predicament of being overshadowed by the nearby Lake District.
Rijul explains how they tackled the problem head on: “We wanted to challenge the issue head on. We looked at creating a website marketing the town, in a similar way to Visit Manchester. Our aim was to connect the local suppliers and local businesses on the website, creating exposure of what Grange-Over-Sands is really all about and hopefully bringing more people to the town.”
Students were also given the opportunity to listen to experiences shared by other successful entrepreneurs.
Advice to students who are looking at enrolling in the Summer School
Rijul comments: “If you are considering joining the Summer School, my advice would be to not think twice. It is intense and you learn so much from marketing strategies to pitching your business idea. It is the whole package and you should never miss an opportunity like this.”
Yelnur adds: “Forget the traditional university style of teaching. The Summer School is much more informal. Don’t spend your evenings in your hotel room – the School provides a really good opportunity for you to meet different people from different cohorts and, who knows, perhaps even a business partner!”
Since its inception in 2009, the Enterprise School has run for 11 consecutive years, with more than 400 students having participated overall. For more details contact Dr Robert A. Phillips Robert.phillips@manchester.ac.uk
Twitter #mcrentschool
Watch as our students discuss their experiences at the Summer School:
