Conversations that matter…Students interviewing Employers BMC (QAA 1 2 3 4) FEEUK

Engagement Objectives:

Outreach offer and activity to start conversations with the Enterprise Team’s internal customers to reach more students
An Engaging pop up activity to facilitate starting exploratory conversations between students and businesses at a Careers Fair
An activity to start interesting conversations between students and employers
Enable students to go beyond the glossy flyers and be supported to confidently engage in exploratory conversations to learn.
For learners and for the companies it’s an opportunity to experience a live business model exploration and sketching session
To showcase the work of the Enterprise Team in helping students to engage more confidently and with curiosity with business

Learning Objectives – What do we want learners to get out of the experience?

Enable students to visually explore different potential employers’ business model stories through the Business Model Canvas
To feel more confident about speaking to potential employers
Awareness of a framework they can draw on again to understand organisations
To appreciate how they might create value in their role in the context of the wider organisation
A better appreciation of the scope of different opportunities in organisations
To feel motivated to connect with the Enterprise Team to further develop their commercial awareness
Fun, lively, collaborative exploration learning activity
Pathway to Commercial awareness session with the Business Model Canvas

Overview:

Students are supported to explore the business model of the organisation using the business model canvas and a set of questions.

This is a live ‘in the moment’ session that can be observed by other students in the vicinity to encourage engagement.

We ran it at employers stands but it could be a feature event in the corner of the room at various times throughout the day

Activity:

Time needed: 20 – 30 minutes

Welcome to this pop-up session – we will keep it to 20 minutes or so

Who we are / why we do what we do
Welcome to X person from X company
This pop-up activity aims to connect students and businesses
We’re going to visualise how this organisation ticks
Work together to do that through a conversation using question cards to explore and map out what we discover on this canvas visually.
The Business Model Canvas is a tool that’s used widely across the world in teams in companies like Microsoft, Intel, Mastercard to develop new value for customers.
Explain broadly some of the ways the business model canvas can be used by individuals and teams
Today we are going to work together to sketch out a high-level canvas for X company.
Invite X person to do a quick pitch - quickly who they are, role and who company is who the company is, their role and what skills they are recruiting for in which departments and where to find their stall to find out more.

Explain broadly the Business Model Canvas example here. Using a simple example (a company everyone knows)

Broadly front stage – this explains the bit the customer sees / interacts with etc…
Explain the front stage boxes
Back stage of the business – operations to create value
Explain the back-stage boxes
It might be that an organisation has lots of different customer groups and value propositions but for each there will be something in the box for each customer group.

Setting up the task with participants

3 of us in this game
Students asking questions
Company being interviewed
The Enterprise Team/facilitator capturing the narrative on post it notes and sketch it out on the canvas to build a picture of the organisation.
Give out cards – you will see these are numbered work through them
It’s a pacey activity – Looking for high level answers – we’re capturing the essence of the business
‘We might interject with further questions as we go in between yours but let’s keep it pacey – chance to ask questions burning at the end

Students lead activity working through the questions with the business owner / representative

Facilitated by Enterprise Team who collect the insights on post its and stick onto the canvas
Enterprise Team may ask questions about particular departments
Perhaps get students to think about how they, or X person might create value in the organisation etc

Skill Development:

Debrief / reflection

Ask students how they felt about the process
Did they learn anything unexpected or new about the organisation?
What was useful?
Any new insights about the organisation.
Any deeper / burning questions about the organisation?
Take aways from that process? (student, employer and enterprise team)
Give the perspective that this was just a quick jump into the company and there potentially the value of a deeper dive into the organisation using the canvas, multiple canvases, other uses (signal gallery)
Any perspectives on how else this model might be used? (job searching, researching companies, sketching out ideas)
What’s next for everyone?
Sign post to ways to learn more about developing enterprise skills like this e.g. Commercial awareness using the business model canvas.
Invitation to: Please leave feedback on the back of the board…What you liked, wished or wondered about this session.

Resources:

Easel / whiteboard on wheels
Tape / blue tac /
AO Business Model Canvas
Post it notes – Yellow for activity, pink for skills company might be searching for, plus another for spare
Sharpies
Card questions prompts for students on an A4 sheet for cutting
Card question prompts on 7x5 post cards
Example business model canvas for intro

References:

Business Model Generation 2010, Osterwalder A, Pigneur Y

Business Model Theatre https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLKqthJOdN8 17/7/18

https://blog.strategyzer.com/posts/2015/3/23/14-ways-to-apply-the-business-model-canvas 17/7/18

I Like I Wish, I Wonder Feedback activity https://dschool-old.stanford.edu/wp-content/themes/dschool/method-cards/i-like-i-wish-what-if.pdf 17/7/18