Regents University London is forging a path in immediate employability with their modern BSc (Hons) in Business, Technology and Entrepreneurship programme. It includes boot camp sessions with business leaders in the world of tech. During these sessions, they, “learn by doing through technology and enterprise bootcamps, a product development lab and an opportunity to design a venture.” This course promise was put into action as an award-winning London design agency instructed these business technology students at Regents University London during a recent intensive boot camp.
The BSc (Hons) in Business, Technology and Entrepreneurship programme at Regents University London is part of a new trend in developing employability. In addition to traditional lectures, more modern courses like this one include hands-on elements. This can help the students to develop time management, analytical, project management and other soft skills that employers want. The overall goal of programmes like the BSc (Hons) in Business, Technology and Entrepreneurship course is to create leaders and entrepreneurs in the tech world who are ready to steer their own ship from day one. According to Forbes, some of these critical skills are “Delegation, Thought Leadership, Basic Communication Skills, Proactivity, Financial Literacy, Leadership, Emotional Intelligence and Sales.” So, through this course, the students are encouraged to build those skills in addition to their industry-specific knowledge.
Regents University London tapped into the local tech business landscape to secure expert support for this hands-on training element. Award-winning web design London agency, Creative Brand Design, delivered a robust boot camp session for these business students. The overall purpose was to provide some flavour into founding and running a business and give the students a tangible roadmap for their key project. At the end of this session, the students were expected to create a real website (to spec) for a client. The agency’s director; Christopher Baker, was perfectly positioned to deliver this workshop since web design is a core part of their business model. During the talk, the students were urged to think critically about how they can build the best possible website for their clients, even if that meant steering the brief.
The boot camp lasted several hours and covered:
Most BSc (Hons) in Business, Technology and Entrepreneurship students have a real fire for forging their own path. And many want to run their own tech business after graduation. So, during this workshop, they really got a chance to see what that’s like in reality. They learned how to identify their profitable interests and build a portfolio of clients. And they were cautioned about letting any single client get too much control of resources no more than 5% is best. Creative Brand Design shared their story of scaling and how a hybrid model was needed to meet the challenges of a global marketplace. And they were told about the importance of good quality control and reputation management over all else. (Because that’s your currency at the end of the day.) Lastly, they learned why good forecasting is key to managing a successful business through the ups and downs of demand over the course of several years. Great financial and work planning can help young businesses manage the economic factors at play to keep a steady upward growth trajectory. And that’s what investors want to see.
Sometimes coursework can be too theoretical. But in this boot camp session, Creative Brand Design offered tangible case studies. They helped the students read across several design briefs to understand some shared expectations in the marketplace. The first one is how important branding has become. Web designers need to help brands tell their stories. And powerful use of interactive and graphical elements can help do that. Next, tech businesses need to reinvest into their teams to keep current with new advances. The market is changing all the time and businesses need to have the skills clients want (Namely, the ability to work across new and emerging platforms). Lastly, the students noticed that SEO was baked into the fabric of every single design. The agency explained how expensive it is to retrofit an old website for SEO versus designing with search in mind. This is critical for briefs and a place where the students were encouraged to steer the conversation towards search visibility, performance optimisation and content marketing. A website built on these premises will be more successful for your client and increase their overall satisfaction.
Creative Brand Design encouraged the students to apply a standard process to their web design projects consisting of the following steps:
If this process is followed, great designs are all but assured and the students were shown the market opportunity if they were to move into the web design space. This got them excited about their own career paths.
This boot camp (and others like it) are critical to reversing a worrying trend. According to Jisc, “When asked about how prepared they were for getting a job or apprenticeship, nearly half (45%) of university students said they felt unprepared – more so than college/sixth form students (36%).” But these Regents University London business technology students saw first hand the potential open to them when they choose a career in tech. They learned what sort of additional skills they might find useful and saw real-world examples of client needs. During the session, they could ask questions and get direct feedback from a local expert, familiar with the marketplace they’re entering. And lastly, they learned a formulaic approach to delivering great websites on client specs. When an award-winning London design agency instructs business technology students at Regents University London, the students win. And the overall economy benefits from a new crop of enthusiastic tech leaders ready to tackle the challenges of tomorrow.
