History

Objectives:

The learner will be able to explore an idea or concept as openly as possible to gather a wide range of solutions through the power of group work and seek to build a consensus through: 

• Developing problem-solving skills as team members 
• Analysing information (and working with limited information) 
• Negotiating and cooperating with one another.
• Listening and leading 
• Group Decision making (consensus building) 

Overview:

The focus within this task is open idea generation within a team, pooling the expertise/wisdom of the group to create ideas that can then be evaluated and explored.

Within this scenario, participants must pretend that they've been shipwrecked and are stranded in a life boat. Each team has a box of matches, and a number of items that they've salvaged from the sinking ship but they can’t keep them all within the lifeboat. Members must agree which items are most important for their survival as they need to prioritise.  

Activity:

The challenge should be issued to the group, and time given to the challenge individually.  This is important in creating the challenge of consensus building as it allows to think about the problem individually; continues the cycle of presentation and discussion in groups evaluate the process to draw out their experiences until the whole team has had a chance to voice their opinions and how teams arrive at consensus decision where everyone's opinion is heard.

Time:         Flexible, but normally between 25 and 40 minutes
Number:     Up to 5 people in each group

Instructions

1. Divide participants into their small teams, and provide everyone with a ranking sheet (with two columns).

2. Ask team members to take 10 minutes on their own to rank the items in order of importance. They should do this in the second column of their sheet.

3. Give the teams a further 10 minutes to confer and decide on their group rankings. Once agreed, they should list them in the third column of their sheets.

4. Ask each group to compare their individual rankings with their collective ones, and consider why any scores differ. Did anyone change their mind about their own rankings during the team discussions? How much were people influenced by the group conversation?

5. Now read out the "correct" order, collated by the experts at the US Coast Guard (from most to least important): 

1. Shaving mirror. (One of your most powerful tools, because you can use it to signal your location by reflecting the sun.) 
2. Can of petrol. (Again, potentially vital for signalling as petrol floats on water and can be lit by your matches.)  
3. Water container. (Essential for collecting water to restore your lost fluids.) 
4. Emergency rations. (Valuable for basic food intake.) 
5. Plastic sheet. (Could be used for shelter, or to collect rainwater.) 
6. Chocolate bars. (A handy food supply.) 
7. Fishing rod. (Potentially useful, but there is no guarantee that you're able to catch fish. Could also feasibly double as a tent pole.) 
8. Rope. (Handy for tying equipment together, but not necessarily vital for survival.) 
9. Floating seat or cushion. (Useful as a life preserver.) 
10. Shark repellent. (Potentially important when in the water.) 
11. Bottle of rum. (Could be useful as an antiseptic for treating injuries, but will only dehydrate you if you drink it.) 
12. Radio. (Chances are that you're out of range of any signal, anyway.) 
13. Sea chart. (Worthless without navigational equipment.) 
14. Mosquito net. (Assuming that you've been shipwrecked in the Atlantic, where there are no mosquitoes, this is pretty much useless.) 
15. Sextant. (Impractical without relevant tables or a chronometer.)

Once the general discussion relating to the individual scoring has died away, draw the discussion to the team approach and explore issues of leadership, listening, negotiation, decision-making and consensus building.

Skill Development:

It is typical of many ice-breaker tasks that the learning is not within the task objective, but within the team process and often the desire to complete the task can mask the transferable learning that has been gained.  It is therefore key, that once the discussion of the challenge itself is complete, that the debrief explore the skill development within the task and team work itself.

Either within the groups themselves, and then as a larger group, or working directly with the full group, seek reflections and comment on what they have learnt about:

1. Listening  
2. Negotiating   
3. Decision-making skills,  
4. Creativity skills for thinking "outside the box 
5. Consensus building

As a facilitator, it is important that you allow them to explore their team process and find the learning within that.  This can involve team members sharing difficult feelings about not being listened to, and this needs to be acknowledged, accepted and the lessons drawn from it (would it have been a better process to take view from each member and vote? Should individuals have been more forthcoming if they had strong views and how do they ensure they are heard in the future?). The lessons from each group can be usefully heard by the wider group, in order to understand and learn from different approaches as this allows deeper reflection as to how to approach similar challenges in the future to be explored.

Resources:

Develop a simple chart for each team member. This should comprise six columns. The first simply lists each item (see below). The second is empty so that each team member can rank the items. The third is for group rankings. The fourth is for the "correct" rankings, which are revealed at the end of the exercise. And the fifth and sixth are for the team to enter the difference between their individual and correct score, and the team and correct rankings, respectively. 

If this cant be done in advance and handed out, then it can be drawn by each team member at the start of the challenge.

Objective:

• To generate multiple ideas, concepts, proposals, solutions, or arguments independently and/or collaboratively in response to identified problems and opportunities
• To think speculatively, employing both convergent and divergent approaches to arrive at appropriate solutions
• To explore and evaluate ideas.

Overview:

The focus within this task is to simulate innovative thinking within a curriculum topic, using creative methodology to create ideas that can be evaluated and explored.

Activity :

This creative thinking activity is potentially run over 2 hrs.

The academic tutor will need to identify a problem linked to curriculum topic or industry/sector e.g. 5 items that cannot be recycled. This topic can be prompted by recent news in the sector or the latest research update in your area. The task is then to explore this problem, but without using traditional methods. This problem therefore needs to be explored by the teams using drawing/ playdough to think through the problem and discuss solutions. No writing is permitted during this task. Music and creative freedom is encouraged to establish a comfortable and learner directed environment. The time allocated for this first part of the challenge is 1 hr. 

The second segment of the session is run as a presentation showcase and requires presentations from each team's problem/visualisation and the audience are invited to discuss what they feel the solution/s are. The original group is then given 5 minutes to draw in addition comment from their peer group and confirm their final solution. 

Skill Development: 

Students have the opportunity to work creatively an d beyond the traditional limits or expectations of their subject area or background.  Such freedom brings its own challenges and constraints but provides a rich opportunity to innovative think and problem solving through creativity.   The peer-review and comment aspect of the presentation allows the continued support of peers in the development of solutions and allows them to work co-operatively, rather than competitively to support the development of solutions. As 'chair' of this "solution-conference" your role will also be to draw out key reflections on the following topics:

• Group work (roles; timing; constraints)
• Creative process (constraints as enablers)
• Communication skills (outside traditional methods). You can also explore how creativity is achieved and
  developed and the impact of peer-review and support in refining ideas and communication. 

Resources: 

• Post-its or similar sticky pads  
• Flip chart paper 
• Play dough or plasticine

Objective: 

• The learner will be able to explore a problem as openly as possible to gather a wide range of solutions involving every learner in the room
• To evidence the power of group work as more ideas are created through cross-pollination of ideas
• Students learn more about the most effective ways to ask market research questions 

Overview

The World Café (Brown & Isaacs, 1995) is not new, it is common practice for ideas generation, creating conversations and developing strategy. We have extended its use to include learning about asking research questions. We use it regularly to bring provocations, mainly topical/local/international societal challenge issues, and to generate solutions to these, and also to support teams of researchers and industry partners to plan key issues their research should be addressing. The process is most valuable in order to 'switch on' creative thinking, and often the ideas that arise bear no relationship to the original provocation, but its presence provides a necessary stimulus to get groups started.

Instead of a provocation, teams of learners/entrepreneurs or individuals bring with them a key market research question based on their new idea, which becomes the provocation for the world café. Halfway through the world café exercise, the facilitator invites the 'owners' of the research question to return to it and consider whether the formulation of the question is evoking the relevant response (there are often many lists of 'yes' or 'no' which has limited use in this context). Upon changing their question the task resumes and usually results in a more productive second half. You can re-visit the questions as often as appropriate, bearing in mind the need for a few groups to have visited each base to collect more meaningful data. Entrepreneurs could use this in a focus group environment, with their key partners, or customers as the participants.

Activity

What is World Café?

Created in 1995 to 'discuss an issue', Juanita Brown and David Isaacs invited participants to form small groups for discussion. Someone suggested moving from table to table to share ideas, this created energy and engagement and World Café was born! This innovative approach to large group dialogue allows participation in small evolving dialogue, whilst remaining part of a single, large connected conversation.

How does World Café Work?

Small café style tables are set out with flip chart paper and pens. Each table contains a provocation around an issue relating to life, work or communityyou wish to explore through discussion and ideas; these might be grand challenges, societal issues, objectives for teaching and learning etc. (If it fitsbetter to your needs, you could call it a 'Leadership Café', 'Knowledge Café', 'Strategy Café'...etc) Following the matrix shown below, participants move around tables in a process of divergent thinking ('if only', 'what if'), recording thoughts and key insights in words and pictures on each table; conversations with different groups of people link and build, resulting in cross-pollination of ideas. Eachtable should have a facilitator to update each arriving group on the development of the discussion. As the network of connections increases, knowledge sharing grows, at the final table participants move to convergent thinking ('how could this be made possible?', 'which of these can we achieve?') and innovation possibilities for action emerge.

How does Newcastle University apply the principles of World Café?

_{Adapted from: Brown, Issacs et al. (2005) 'The World Café: Shaping Our Futures Through Conversations That Matter'. First Edition: Berret-Koehler Publishers}

1) Set the Context 

• Give the background to the process and explain the divergent and convergent nature of the thinking required
• Give some tips and techniques on creative thinking (SCAMPER, Edward de Bono, Gardener etc.)
• Establish the 'rules of engagement' (ideas should not be judged, criticised or evaluated at the divergent stage) 

2) Create Hospitable Space 

• Think about venue and location - create an informal and inviting environment
• Be open and welcoming
• Make sure the room is set-up ahead of the participants arrival 

3) Explore Questions That Matter:

• To achieve constructive outcomes, provocations need to be in the format of focussed questions/ statements
• Select provocations that are meaningful and relevant to the audience to ensure purposeful, inclusive discussion (e.g. Newcastle University's Societal Challenge Themes (Ageing & Health, Sustainability, Social Renewal)

4) Encourage Everyone's Participation

• Having table hosts and facilitators is beneficial (Facilitators have a dual role, they facilitate engagement and at the same time facilitate the discussions to enable the group to connect ideas and consider new perspectives)

5) Cross-pollinate and Connect Diverse Perspectives

• Each participant moves around the room in a different sequence. The secret to World Cafe's success is in ensuring that all participants visit each table (at least once). Never the same table twice
• Divergent thinking usually happens in multiple rounds (normally x3 rounds) of 10-15 minutes
• Participants capture free flowing ideas as they emerge, recording the conversations on the flip chart paper provided Embedding Enterprise Toolkit Series World Café Creativity Exercise
• Convergent thinking requires participants to select one idea which they feel has the most potential – and work-up that idea...to the next stage of development! See Ketso™ from the Embedding Enterprise Toolkit Series

6) Listen Together for Insights, Patterns, and Deeper Questions

• Facilitators should support each group with this process

7) Harvest and Share Collective Discoveries

• Facilitators can collect and post emerging questions; at the end of the process participants then walk from question to question, adding their comments and insights on post-its

How does the sequence work for participants to move around tables?

a) Fewer than 16 Participants or fewer than 4 tables – move around ad hoc

b) 5 Tables, 16-20 Participants:

Skill Development:

stimulating discussion, peer-interaction, idea generation, market research, idea evaluation, innovation, adaptability

Resources:

• Flip chart or paper table cloths, pens, provocations/research questions
• Tables in cabaret style (prime number of tables)
• Algorithm for table movement (attached)

References:

Brown, Issacs et al. (2005) 'The World Café: Shaping Our Futures Through Conversations That Matter'. First Edition: Berret-Koehler Publishers

Objective:

• Creative thinking
• Structured Group Problem solving
• Evaluation of ideas through critical analysis and judgement
• Presentation of ideas (including persuasion)

Overview:

This approach to creative thinking structures thinking through the use of a mnemonic "SCAMPER" and using questioning techniques to generate solutions. This makes an ideal group activity for students to work through the mnemonic and then present their results.

Activity:

Students are placed in small working groups and invited to explore the seven prompts of the SCAMPER mnemonic. Firstly, invite each group to take an existing product or service (or agree one to consider - this could be one that you want to improve, one that you'recurrently having problems with, or one that you think could form future product developments).

Questioning around these themes helps the groups develop creative ideas for developing new products, or services and for improving current ones. SCAMPER is a mnemonic that stands for:

• Substitute.
• Combine.
• Adapt.
• Modify.
• Put to another use.
• Eliminate.
• Reverse.

Using these headings, invite each group to discuss the questions about the product, using the mnemonic.

By brainstorming as many questions and answers within each group, a rich solution can be produced.

Example Questions which you can share with groups in need of support.

Substitute: Ask "What can you substitute? What can be used instead? Who else instead? What other ingredients? Other material? Other process? Other power? Other place? Other approach? Other sounds? Other forces?"

• What materials or resources can you substitute or swap to improve the product?
• What other product or process could you use?
• What rules could you substitute?
• Can you use this product somewhere else, or as a substitute for something else?
• What will happen if you change your feelings or attitude toward this product?

Combine: What can you combine or bring together somehow? How about a blend, an alloy, an assortment, an ensemble? Combine units? Combine purposes? Combine appeals? Combine ideas?

• What would happen if you combined this product with another, to create something new?
• What if you combined purposes or objectives?
• What could you combine to maximize the uses of this product?
• How could you combine talent and resources to create a new approach to this product?

Adapt: What can you adapt for use as a solution? What else is like this? What other idea does this suggest? Does past offer a parallel? What could I copy? Who could I emulate?

• How could you adapt or readjust this product to serve another purpose or use?
• What else is the product like?
• Who or what could you emulate to adapt this product?
• What else is like your product?
• What other context could you put your product into?
• What other products or ideas could you use for inspiration?

Modify: Can you change the item in some way? Change meaning, colour, motion, sound, smell, form, shape? Other changes? Or Magnify: What can you add? More time? Greater frequency? Stronger? Higher? Longer? Thicker? Extra value? Plus ingredient? Duplicate? Multiply? Exaggerate?

Or 'Minify': What can you remove? Smaller? Condensed? Miniature? Lower? Shorter? Lighter? Omit? Streamline? Split up? Understate?

• How could you change the shape, look, or feel of your product?
• What could you add to modify this product?
• What could you emphasize or highlight to create more value?
• What element of this product could you strengthen to create something new?

Put to Another Use: Can you use this product somewhere else, perhaps in another industry?

• Who else could use this product?
• How would this product behave differently in another setting?
• Could you recycle the waste from this product to make something new?

Eliminate: What can you eliminate? Remove something? Eliminate waste? Reduce time? Reduce effort? Cut costs?

• How could you streamline or simplify this product?
• What features, parts, or rules could you eliminate?
• What could you understate or tone down?
• How could you make it smaller, faster, lighter, or more fun?
• What would happen if you took away part of this product? What would you have in its place?

Reverse: What can be rearranged in some way? Interchange components? Other pattern? Other layout? Other sequence? Transpose cause and effect? Change pace? Change schedule?

• What would happen if you reversed this process or sequenced things differently?
• What if you try to do the exact opposite of what you're trying to do now?
• What components could you substitute to change the order of this product?
• What roles could you reverse or swap?
• How could you reorganize this product?

Evaluation:
Once the ideas have been generated, the next stage is evaluation. Through group discussion, ask the student to determine ifany stand out as viable solutions? Could any of them be used to create a new product, or develop an existing one?

All viable ideas can be explored further in order to find one improvement/suggestion for final presentation to the wider group.

A debrief on the solutions, the process and the team working should be included within the session to allow for the skills and emotional aspects of team work to be explored, and the constructs of the mnemonic discussed.

Skill Development:

Although the main focus of this project is idea generation, the discussion and evaluation within the group, which requires presentation and interpersonal skills as well as judgement and critical analysis of opportunities and ideas.

Student groups should be left to work through their discussion, and any difficulties with team working as may occur (intervening only to support the process and move the students on, if time pressures require) however it is important to review the task, the process and the protocols in order to seek guidance for future working or lessons to take forward.

Students should be encouraged to share the frustrations and difficulties of decision making within a group (where one individual may have suggested the idea) and how feedback should be given and shared.

Group dynamics need to be acknowledged and lessons can be shaped for future team working.

References:

http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newCT_02.htm

http://www.brainstorming.co.uk/tutorials/scampertutorial.html 

Objective:

Students should be able to:

• Identify and respond to stakeholder needs
• Communicate enthusiasm to 'sell' new ideas, concepts or solutions
• Interact with others both to build trust for long-term relations and also to 'close the deal' to make things happen. 

Overview:

The focus within this task is open idea generation, pooling the expertise/wisdom of the group to create ideas that can then be evaluated and explored; all focused within time constraints and a clear objective to 'trade up' or enhance their resources.

The focus on this task is to encourage learners to learn outside the "classroom", independently or as part of a group to influence, create and establish effective networks through negotiation and building trust. It requires a range of skills including research, idea generation and networking or sales techniques.

Activity:

Description:

The activity is run over 2 or more weeks and is learner directed experience.

Each learner/ group is given a low value object (such as "Red Paperclip") and asked over an agreed period of time to "trade the item up" to something of a higher value. Over time learners are tasked with seeing who can come up with item of highest value through the individual trades, in order to achieve this. Each trade MUST BE recorded by signature and photographic evidence the trade has taken place.

Learners are asked on completion of the task to create presentation e.g. Petcha Kutcha 20 x 20, video story, blog to share their experience with peers at a showcase event where the individual trading experience is shared and lessons learnt identified through clear/directed reflection.

All items traded up to are donated to chosen charity identified by learners, to avoid any issues of 'personal gain'. 

Skill Development:

As well as working within teams, enterprise and entrepreneurship involves the ability to build effective relationships with others. Well-developed interpersonal skills form the core of relationships both within and beyond the team. Reflection on this task should acknowledge the group reaching the (perceived) highest value object, but also explore the transactional experience and the motivations to engage. This also provides the opportunity to reflect upon social and interpersonal skills, such as

• Building trust
• Influencing
• Networking
• Negotiation
• Stakeholder relations.

Resources:

Per person:

• Red Paperclip (or other item to trade e.g. something from your department or subject area
• Trade up exchange form (simple dated log of activity) 
• Internet access
• Personal access to IT (Telephone; iPads/ Laptops) during the challenge 

References:

Key Authors

http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.co.uk/

Books

www.http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.co.uk/

http://www.pechakucha.org/

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/5167388.stm

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Objective:

• To give engineering students an insight into the importance and relevance of public speaking, presentation, and communication skills to their subject area.
• To equip students with insights, strategies and skills to become more effective communicators.
• To allow students to reflect on the diverse environments in which they will require public speaking skills in the future, and to reflect on the most effective strategies to employ in each instance.
• To provide students with a practical opportunity to nurture and develop their communication skills.

Introduction:

In the working world, engineers are required to work with numerous stakeholders, from their own sector and from others, based locally, nationally and internationally. Engineering students will find themselves in many interview and presentation scenarios at the seek employments throughout their career, and clarity in communication will be essential in all areas of their professional practice. To that end, skills in public speaking, presenting and effective communication are essential.

An hour long session was run for a group of approximately 20 first year engineering students at Glyndwr University (studying on the Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technologies BEng programme), as an introduction to these skills, to be built on and consolidated throughout the rest of their time at the University.

The session formed part of a larger programme of guest speakers and practical workshops for the students (See How to Guide on Guest Speakers), designed specifically to give the students skills for employability and self-employment, and a greater appreciation of the real world context for their studies. It was delivered by the University’s ZONE Enterprise Hub Manager, on the invitation of the course tutor.

Activity:

The session followed the format which can be found in the ‘Workshop - How to Speak in Public’ How to Guide.

The students began the session with an introduction to the themes which would be covered, namely; how to structure a presentation, how to use tools effectively; how to present clearly; how to control and manage nerves, and how to deal with questions.

A brief discussion initiated the session, whereby students offered their thoughts on why public speaking skills were relevant in their sector, and how they might employ them in the future. From here, each of the themes above was covered in turn (with discussion following the pattern as outlined in the How to Guide).

At each stage, examples were chosen which were appropriate to the audience in hand. For example, in discussing structure and tools, a presentation on solar power was considered, and in discussing use of the appropriate language, thought was given to how an engineer would discuss the same technical point, with various expert and non-expert clients.

At the end of the one hour session, the key themes covered were re-capped, and students were offered the opportunity to ask questions, and directed to further support, links and reading if they wished to explore the issues further.

Impact:

Though the session was limited to one hour only, it still made a valuable impact upon the students. Through initial discussions, students had a clear understanding of the purpose of the session, and its direct relevance and appropriateness to them.

As new undergraduates, many had limited experience of presentation and interview environments, and so the session was timely, giving a broad overview to key points, with clear direction on how to consolidate what was learned. However, the lasting impact of the session will be sustained if the students are offered continued opportunities to explore, hone and develop these skills in a variety of simulated and real-world environments.

Learner outcome:

Immediately after the session, students reported feeling more relaxed about public speaking, more confident, and better equipped going forward. Feedback comments included;

“Very useful”

“Very good. Gained knowledge to help for future presentations.”

“Really good presentation. Well structured, paced, and encouraged audience participation.”

“Good presentation on presentation.”

“Great presentation; well prepared, greatly delivered, well explained.”

“Very informative. Thank you!”

Resources:

• For a step-by-step guide to this activity, see How To Guide 'Workshop: How To Speak In Public.'
• YouTube Video of How to Speak in Public Workshop, Creative Futures Conference, March 2015 > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMnh02odBNA

References:

• BBC - The Speaker - Improve your public speaking. 2015. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/speaker/improve/ . [Accessed 28 July 2015].
• Corcoran, Mike. How to Speak in Public - YouTube. 2015. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMnh02odBNA. [Accessed 29 July 2015].
• McCarthy, Patsy, 2002. Presentation Skills: The Essential Guide for Students (Study Skills). Edition. SAGE Publications Ltd (pp70-106 & 219-236).
• Shephard, Kerry, 2005. Presenting at Conferences, Seminars and Meetings. 1 Edition. SAGE Publications Ltd (pp1-18 & 138-148).
• Van Emden, Joan, 2010. Presentation Skills for Students (Palgrave Study Skills). 2 Edition. Palgrave Macmillan (pp1-61).
• Zone Enterprise Hub, Topic: ZONE Resources. 2015. [ONLINE] Available at: https://moodle.glyndwr.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=37§ion=11. [Accessed 28 July 2015].

Objective:

• To provide students studying towards BSc Entrepreneurship with a greater understanding of the principles behind effective communication.
• To provide students studying towards BSc Entrepreneurship with a greater understanding of the importance of a personal brand, and how a personal brand is developed.
• To provide students studying towards BSc Entrepreneurship with a greater understanding of how communication strategies and brand apply to individuals and businesses in a social media context.
• To provide students studying towards BSc Entrepreneurship with practical opportunities to develop the social media presence of their own business endeavours.

Introduction:

The ability to communicate effectively through social media is an essential asset for any business.

The BSc (Hons) Entrepreneurship Degree Programme at Glyndwr University attracts students with a passion for business, and many who have already launched their own enterprises. However, many lack confidence with, and knowledge and understanding of, how to utilise social media to best effect to support their businesses.

Facilitated by programme tutor Sarah Elizabeth Evans, and delivered by Mike Corcoran and the University's enterprise service 'ZONE', the workshop 'Being Heard' was delivered to address these concerns for a small group of 4 students. The workshop followed the format as outlined in How To Guide 'Workshop: Being Heard' (see resources). The workshop was delivered from a computer lab, over a two hour session, and combined the presentation elements of the workshop, with group and one-to-one discussion, and opportunities to work in real-time on the students own social media platforms.

The AV presentation for use in the delivery of the workshop can be downloaded via the link to the 'ZONE Enterprise Hub' web pages listed in the resources and references at the end of this document.

Activity:

(See Resources / References for materials to accompany the delivery of this activity).

Activity Part 1: Introduction

• The themes of the workshop were introduced to the group.
• Taking advantage of the small group size, a group discussion allowed students to share details of their own enterprises or enterprise ambitions, along with their current usage, knowledge and understanding of social media. This ensured the remainder of the workshop was delivered at an appropriate level and contextualised appropriately for the learners.

Activity Part 2: Communication

• The group explored the principles behind effective communication (in any arena) namely; presentation structure, the use of tools, and powerful delivery.
• This section followed the format of the workshop 'How to Speak in Public', a guide and resources for which, can be found in the 'Resources / References' section of this document.

Activity Part 2: Personal Brand

• Students were presented with the logos of various companies, and discussed the words and feelings which a brought to mind when they saw each.
• They discussed what the reasons for these are, and the actions companies have taken to bring them about.
• The students then reflected on the brand identity of their own businesses or business ideas.

Activity Part 3: Social Media

• In accordance with the needs as identified by the students and their tutor, this section of the workshop was the main focus of the session.
• The students discussed how each of the points discussed in communication and branding applied within a social media context.
• The students looked at various case studies, a mixture of graduate start-ups, national and international organisations, and discussed how each utilised social media to engage with their audience. The students identified how the skills of branding and communication were being applied within the social media context.
• At this stage, the students also looked at examples of negative feedback on social media. The problems encountered by businesses on social media were discussed, and the students suggested solutions to the identified problems.
• The students own business endeavours were discussed in turn, and the group discussed how each could utilise social media to greatest effect.
• The students then used the computers in the lab to log into their own social media platforms. For those without platforms, the students were directed through the creation of these step-by-step.
• They then used developed their platforms, with one-to-one support offered by Mike and Sarah.

Activity Part 4: Conclusion

• The main themes of the workshop were re-capped.
• Students were recommended additional resources and support available to support them, and further upcoming events, looking at social media for business in more detail, were advertised to students.

Impact:

• The results of the workshop made an immediate impact on participants, as the social media presence of their real business endeavours was worked upon and improved during the workshop, directly impacting on their enterprises.
• The activities were well received by the programme tutor, and the workshop fostered further collaborative working between programme and ZONE at Glyndwr University.

Learner outcome:

• Positive feedback was received from learners, who reported that the activity helped them to improve their confidence in using social media, and their understanding of how to make it work for their businesses.
• Several learners reported reservations and concerns regarding social media at the beginning of the session, and having time to discuss and debate these concerns allowed them to consider how they could be managed and alleviated, as well as encouraging peer-to-peer learning and support amongst the group as ideas were shared.

Resources:

• Lesson plans and PowerPoint presentations to accompany this activity can be downloaded via > https://moodle.glyndwr.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=37§ion=11.
• See How-To Guide 'Workshop: Being Heard' for a detailed outline of this workshop, and 'Workshop: How to Speak in Public' for a more in depth exploration of public speaking skills.

References:

• Glyndŵr University - Entrepreneurship. 2015. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.glyndwr.ac.uk/en/Undergraduatecourses/Entrepreneurship/ . [Accessed 07 August 2015].
• Zone Enterprise Hub, Topic: ZONE Resources. 2015. [ONLINE] Available at: https://moodle.glyndwr.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=37§ion=11 . [Accessed 28 July 2015].

Author:

www.macorcoran.com

With thanks to Sarah Elizabeth Evans, PhD student, Business School, Glyndwr University

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Objectives:

• To build a profile of (future) customer as a person
• To develop the business offer through a broader understanding of the customer needs
• To  support critical thinking and evaluation of ideas 

Overview: 

This exercise enables students to demonstrate their understanding of their potential customer and deepen that understanding to create a robust offer.

Activity: 

Give each group or individual a sheet of paper with an outline of (non-male or female) person drawn in the middle. 

Ask them to depict on the figure what they might know about their (future) customer.  This requires them to visually-describe their customer, including things like: 

• Where do they live, work, spend time outside of work and home
• How much do they earn
• Where else might they access products/services like yours
• How do they think, feel
• What experience do they expect 
• What concerns do they have
• What life to do they lead

The purpose is to try and establish a real understanding of what is important to a potential customer, rather than drawing out key “facts” about them (disposable income etc).

Once all the drawings are done, everyone looks collectively at the different customer outlines and tries to add further understanding from what they can see.  The owner of the drawing need not accept these, but can include anything relevant onto their picture.

Once every drawing has been explored, each team/individual needs to articulate one message that they have learnt from this exercise that they can take forward into their planning.  So if offering fast-food to a student customer base, they may have identified price as critical.  However the wider discussion might have identified that students may also select to eat somewhere that is offering free wifi to allow them to connect with others or make plans with each other.  Or if the customer base was a family, then other elements that are important to them such as child-friendly parking, might indicate 1 premises to be more attractive than another.  This “linked” thinking allows the student to draw out the wider benefits of their product or service and explore it in order to create an effective offer.

Skill Development: 

Whilst this task can be based on initial research undertaken by the student, the critical thinking comes from the assumptions that the wider group offer to develop their thinking.  This shows the power of group work and allows the students to deepen their own thinking through the examples of others.

It is useful to explore this task at the end of the session to see how the groups found sharing and testing their assumptions in a group environment.

Resources: 

Paper, pens, flipchart (outline of a person)

Objective:

• Know about a range of ideas and concepts about enterprising mind-set and entrepreneurship
• Reconnecting with your creativity 
• Introduction to design thinking and exploring a challenge 
• Apply design thinking to addressing a challenge 
• Developing a chosen idea (including proto-typing if possible) 
• Introduction to engaging others in your ideas (moving beyond a ‘Pitch’) 
• Introduction to crowd funding and funding the idea from within the student and stakeholder audience (external if possible)

Introduction: 

This session suits larger groups of learners being introduced to the concept of enterprise, creative thinking and solving complex challenges. Working with interdisciplinary groups works best to encourage maximum creativity and adds depth to the chosen solution. An introduction to effective engagement with audiences which moves beyond a pitch is introduced and the session closes with the audience crowd funding the idea using specially designed local currency. 

Activity:

This is best run over a 4-6 hour period and can be split between 2-3 sessions to allow for further research into the challenge. Session starts with some team building activities set firmly within the context of the challenge. This can help students to better appreciate the challenge area and develop empathy with various perspectives/realities in relation to the challenge.  

Then follows some creativity exercises with an introduction to design thinking. Teams then apply this process (as time allows) through to completion with ideally prototypes being developed (if not posters/electronic adverts etc). 

Then the large group is introduced to the need for effective and authentic engagement of themselves and their ideas (moving beyond the ‘pitch’). Individual or group presentations are developed and practiced. Depending on timing and group size, there can then follow a couple of rounds of presentations with a final selection presenting to the whole group. Ideally this should include at least one external stakeholder/s linked to the challenge context (clinical/engineering/finance etc) able to provide authentic feedback. 

It can be fun then to introduce/revisit the concept of crowd funding and provide everyone in the audience with some currency (we have developed some university notes) and get them to fund their favourite proposal. Of course it could be that there will be some real funding available…

Impact:

This works best with some facilitators to help support the various groups as they progress through each activity and often can make a significantly positive impact where groups from different curriculum areas meet for the first time. Utilising external stakeholders to share their challenges can also help to add real value and excitement for learners. Learners tend to enjoy the active nature of the workshop and the rigours of presenting to an external stakeholder with potential solutions to the challenges set. 

Learner outcome:

Tend to see an increased awareness of wider enterprise and boost in confidence in terms of team working, design thinking, negotiation and engagement with audiences. A useful taster for deeper enterprising learning. Skilled reflection is vital throughout and post session/s through on-going programme.  Depending on the nature of the ‘challenge’ this can be extended to a module/programme duration.

Resources: 

• Team building activities based in context – e.g. Clinical setting/Engineering/Creative/Education. 
• Usual flip charts and pens etc. 
• Raw materials for prototyping if possible 
• Electronic devices to film short presentations 
• Bespoke Currency for crowd funding session 
• Prizes 

References:

Brown, T (2008) Design Thinking, Harvard Business Review, June 2008  (pages 85 – 92)
Dweck, C (2006) Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, By Dweck, Carol S. ( Author ) Dec-26-2007 Paperback
Krueger, N.F.Jr. (2010) 13 Looking Forward, Looking Backward: From entrepreneurial Cognition to Neuroentrepreneurship in Acs, Z.K and Audretsch, D.B. (eds.), 2nd Edition of the Handbook of Entrepreneurship Research, Springer 
Westfall, C (2012) The New Elevator Pitch: the definitive guide to persuasive communication in the digital age, Marie Street Press  

Objective:

• Understanding entrepreneurial experience and unpacking the expertise of the learners/participants
• Benchmarking the group to plan development and awareness activities

Introduction:

This activity is a great start to a business planning or business start-up module, as it works well as an ice-breaker in any group seeking to explore the spectrum of activity and can be repeated at the end of teaching programme/input to see how the levels of student confidence in the topic have changed.  

Activity:

At the very start of an activity as an ice-breaker, students are asked to line up (single-file) in a continuum of entrepreneurial experience (from ‘I have never heard of entrepreneurship’ to ‘I am running, or have ran my own business’. They have to talk to one another in order to position themselves. A selection of willing group members from various stages of the link tell the group why they are standing where they are. After each one, individuals are asked if they would like to reconsider their position in the line. Teaching and activities follow that unpack the entrepreneurial mind-set, and ways of developing the characteristics, drawing equally on entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship, and then the line-up is repeated. If you have the opportunity for multiple interventions, the line-up can be repeated at any point (formatively or summatively), to help students learn from each other and the teacher/facilitator to learn more about the needs of the cohort as a whole.

Impact: 

It also denotes a significant change in teaching style – and therefore student learning and engagement – will be required for this module. It signifies that there will opportunities to share experience, and pitch own expertise or ideas. 

It allows the students to benchmark where they are in the context of peers and understand where they may gain further support from during the programme.

It builds confidence by drawing out smaller examples of entrepreneurial endeavour, particularly those that have taken place through involvement in clubs, societies or outside education.

Learner outcome: 

For a short ice-breaker, or reflective activity this group tasks alerts students to the approach being taken within this area of teaching - “I knew this class was going to be different when we all had to stand up before the PowerPoint had even been turned on”.

Students ‘huddle’ together and start discussing their experiences in the area and this forms bonds and provides insights to potential future group members.  The outcome is a powerful ice-breaking activity that builds confidence in the group as a whole.

References:

Link to HOW TO GUIDE _ Interpersonal Icebreaker: Line of Evaluation

Objective:

• Develop their own ‘marketing message’ – content that can be used to describe their product / service that will inform customers about what it is; inspire them to make a purchase by explaining the benefits the product / service offers; and provide details of how to engage so that the customers knows what to do to make a purchase.

Overview:

The focus of this task is to develop a well-constructed marketing message which describes the benefits of a product/service to customers.

Activity:

Instructions  

Invite the entrepreneur to complete the ‘Message Matrix’ below to describe their product or service:

By sharing and discussing their Message Matrix with a business development provider or fellow entrepreneur, the ‘Marketing Message’ can be refined and developed to ensure that it is clear, understandable to a wider audience and that key information is not omitted.

This activity can be undertaken for different groups of customers as a slightly different message may be needed for each.

Skill Development:

By working in groups, or through watching each other present their work, students are able to learn further and deepen their own work.  It is useful to draw any presentation or discussion session to a close by asking what they now wished they had done, or what they are now going to do, in order to ensure there is action from learning.

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