A day of innovation and collaboration: Business students impress at Venture Vortex

Last Friday we hosted our popular annual event, Venture Vortex – a fantastic opportunity for our Business and Accounting students to showcase their entrepreneurial spirit, creativity, and critical thinking skills!

Inspired by the popular ‘Dragon’s Den’ format, Venture Vortex allows our students to bring their business ideas to life, as they develop a product, service, or entirely new concept. Working in small groups, our students get the opportunity to conduct market research, develop budgets, and craft their own brand and marketing strategies before pitching their idea to a panel of industry specialists.

“Our Venture Vortex Event is important for our students as it introduces them to the essential skills and qualities that they will learn on their course and programme of study. It helps them to settle into their course, meet each other, and to breakdown any barriers preventing them from entering the next stage of their education. It also gives them the chance to network with industry professionals and senior managers from the College. It shows them firsthand what skills and expertise are required for the next steps in both their education and career.” George Crawley, Curriculum Manager

This year, the day event was held at The Hilton Hotel in Abingdon, where the faculty welcomed T Level students from both our Abingdon and Witney Campuses to put their skills to the test.

The day kicked off with icebreakers, team introductions, and a collaborative team building activity before each group was briefed by their Venture Captain, who outlined how they would work with their Venture Leaders and Venture Specialists to develop their own business concepts.

Their first major challenge was to secure investment tokens from the Venture Leaders and Specialists, mimicking the experience of pitching to potential investors or participating in crowdfunding campaigns. This crucial stage encouraged students to refine their ideas and think critically about how to attract support.

The students then had the afternoon to finesse their plans before presenting their final pitch to a panel of industry specialists and attending Governors.

Congratulations to Alfie, Matt, Summer and Ella (Team 5), the winner of this year’s Venture Vortex competition for your brilliant self tying shoe lace idea 'Luxe Laces'; and to all our extraordinary students who took part.

If you would like to find out more about what it is like to study Business at our College, click the links below or get in touch! It’s not too late to join for this academic year!