The Practice of Practice Weeks through the Eyes of an Outsider

Practice Weeks!? I have been hearing Business School students and staff discussions in the background on this rather new to me concept for quite a while. I have never had the chance to attend any of the Practice Weeks due to other arrangements up until now, when I was invited to support the PW team and 2nd year BA Business Management students on one of their practice sessions in Bedford. I have to admit that I am not directly engaged with this project and my discussion is thus following an outsider perspective.

Being genuinely curious to find out what is new in the Business School and grasp the new practice concept, this first Practice Week for me involved taking a close look at an exciting and challenging experience for our Business School students that was posed by the Bedford Borough Council. In essence, students have been challenged to come up with innovative investment projects to address one of the Council’s seven strategic directions of local development.

Business School students came up with projects related to bringing inward investment and improving the quality of life to Bedfordians. Aligned with the Council’s objectives, four group projects of students were shortlisted and they had to present their bright ideas in front of a group of very tough judges – the Mayor of Bedford and the Council’s Chief Executive among others. As I was observing the presentations of students, the overall picture really reminded me of the Apprentice where young, creative thinkers are being challenged and their project plans scrutinised by Sir Alan Sugar and the rest of his nosy team.

Indeed, led by the question of why the Council should invest in a given project, the judges were critical and arguably hard to convince. But the thing that really impressed me was how good students were in applying theoretical concepts taught as part of their business course to the ‘real life’, practice-driven challenges given to them by the Council and its representatives – an excellent example of how theoretical knowledge has been applied to practice outside the classroom.

Ultimately, this Practice Weeks session was an opportunity to see how students strive to bring about positive change to their communities, further develop the locality and thus shape the future of Bedford’s residents. That was truly on-the-job experience going beyond the traditional on campus simulation, where to come up with sustainable business solutions that aim to boost the local economy and improve community well-being is definitely not an easy task. But I have to say that students did a fantastic job and later on, that was confirmed by the Mayor of Bedford on a post-practice week, networking event where ‘the apprentices’ had an opportunity to further interact with the judges over nibbles and drinks.

Not only were students given the opportunity to get the most of Practice Weeks, the client – Bedford Borough Council - have also benefited from our Business School’s fresh talent input and apparently, the presented solutions will be taken further to inform the County’s strategic local development and investment agenda. What is more, the Council has actually expressed their interest in an ongoing engagement with UoB Business School students and co-delivery of future Practice Weeks - all being great news! Looking forward to receiving an invite to the next Practice Week and why not become an insider after all.

About the Author: Deyan Hristov

Deyan is a Graduate Academic Assistant at the University of Bedfordshire Business School, where he has been engaged in various research projects. He joined the Business School in January 2013 and has also been working towards completing his PhD in organisational change since then.