School-age entrepreneurs compete for scholarships
massey-university
Mon Jul 02 2007 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)
School-age entrepreneurs compete for scholarships
Monday, 2 July 2007, 3:09 pm
Press Release: Massey University
Di Billing
06 350 5019
027 453 4562
d.e.billing@massey.ac.nz
http://news.massey.ac.nz
Monday, July 2, 2007
School-age entrepreneurs compete for scholarships
New Zealand’s first and only total immersion programme for budding young entrepreneurs starts today in Palmerston North.
For the more than 60 secondary school students from throughout the country who will compete to become the winning business team this year there is an added inducement: Scholarships towards study at Massey’s College of Business will be offered to all contestants, with scholarships of higher value going to members of the winning team.
New Zealand Business Week started 17 years ago. It was based on an American concept developed by one of the originators, Dr David Tweed from the College of Business, working with Palmerston North Boys’ High School. The New Zealand model has been adopted in Australia.
This year 60 students will take part, from schools as distant as Western Springs College, Orewa College, South Otago College, Otago Girls’ High School, Marian College in Christchurch and St Oran’s College in Wellington. There is a strong contingent from Hawke’s Bay, Wairarapa and Manawatu.
During the week the students work to a tight schedule, including visits to local businesses, lectures, team building activities at Linton, their own trade fair, panel discussions, theatre sports, coaching from their mentors and, most important, company meetings.
Special events this year include sessions with Massey lecturer and former Black Ferns captain Dr Farah Palmer, academic and author Professor Richard Buchanan, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Palmerston North) Professor Ian Warrington and Roger Wigglesworth from the Ministry of Economic Development.
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Contributing business people include Mark Cleaver from Aero Sports protection, Grant Irvine, pharmacist, photographer and farmer (on diversifying your business), and Bill Kermode from Direct Capital.
Department of Management lecturer Dr Colin Higgins, one of the organisers and a “graduate” of the programme, says the whole week is run on “real life, real time”.
The students form “company” teams and are each given two business advisers and mentors, mostly representatives of leading businesses in the Manawatu. One of this year’s advisers is a university student who was a competitor in a similar programme in the United States.
Throughout the week the teams make a series of company decisions, which are fed into a computer business simulation programme created by Dr Tweed. The consequences of their decisions are reported back to the teams and acted on. They also put their companies on show at a Trade Fair which is open to the public. Visitors are given “funny money”, to invest as they see fit, depending on the success of each company’s pitch”.
The winner will be announced at a special Business After Five function on Thursday night, jointly hosted by Vision Manawatu, with Business New Zealand chief executive Phil O’Reilly as guest speaker. Afterwards, there will be dinner and theatre sports featuring Black Sheep star Nathan Meister, with a breakfast and de-brief on Friday morning.
Students from the following schools are participating:
Western Springs College
Rangitikei College
Wairarapa College
Iona College
Mahurangi College
New Plymouth Girls’ High School
Orewa College
Paraparaumu College
Central Hawke’s Bay College
Palmerston North Boys High School
Napier Girls’ High School
South Otago High School
Francis Douglas College
Tararua College
Opotiki College
St Patrick’s College
Katikati College
St Oran’s College
Marian College
St Mathew’s Collegiate
Otago Girls’ High School
Feilding High School
Naenae College
Bream Bay College
Kapiti College
Sacred Heart College
Te Puke High School
Hutt Valley High School
Gisborne Girls’ High School
Villa Maria College
Pukekohe High School
Ends
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