Aldridge Summer School to boost young people's entrepreneurship skills
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Young people from communities facing some of the greatest economic and social challenges in the country will have the chance to learn about enterprise and entrepreneurship during an inaugural five-day summer school at the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) on 24 June.
The Elevate Summer School is hosted by the Aldridge Institute for Enterprise and Entrepreneurship, which sits within the University's business school. Partners Smith & Williamson, a financial and professional services firm and NatWest's Entrepreneur Accelerator programme will also contribute to the programme's delivery.
The summer school will bring together pupils from Aldridge Academies, supported by the Aldridge Foundation. The attending students have an idea for a business or social enterprise, or have a strong interest in entrepreneurship. During the summer school, they will be guided through a range of interactive workshops and on the final day can pitch their ideas to a panel of entrepreneurs and business professionals.
Professor Gurpreet Jagpal, Director of the Aldridge Institute for Enterprise and Entrepreneurship, said: “Our inaugural Elevate Summer School provides a unique opportunity for secondary school children to immerse themselves in a week-long enterprise and entrepreneurship boot camp to develop and test business ideas.
“Hosted at our Frenchay Campus, the summer school involves a number of workshops, guest lectures and social activities that expose young students to the world of enterprise whilst also giving them a chance to explore the University and better understand the world of Higher Education.”
Smith & Williamson's Bristol office and NatWest's Entrepreneur Accelerator programme will deliver some of the workshops. These will give students an overview of entrepreneurial finance, including sources of funding for business ideas, and the basic principles of profit and loss. It will also provide unique experience for the students to engage with businesses.
Selected students will also be offered work experience at Smith & Williamson as a prize at the end of the summer.
The Aldridge Foundation is a charity set up 13 years ago by Sir Rod Aldridge, founder of outsourcing and professional services business Capita.
