Amsterdam Sustainable Business Challenge
Posted on: 15 March 2019 in Interview with a recruiter
On 6th March, 24 University of Liverpool students and 5 members of the Careers & Employability team embarked on a journey to Amsterdam to take part in a cross-cultural exchange of ideas. The two day Sustainable Business Challenge, designed by Newcastle and Groningen Universities, and co-delivered by Liverpool and Vrije University, gave all involved a chance to develop skills and contribute to future sustainability initiatives.
Georgio Lampard, 2nd year Geography student at the University told us ‘The sustainability challenge was a great opportunity to get together with students from other universities to work on real-life problems. The challenge made me realise that the people in the room were working together to build a better future. It was a fantastic opportunity and I really enjoyed the experience.’
At the event, 100 students from different backgrounds worked together to utilise their skills to generate ideas and applied a collaborative approach to proposing solutions. Day one focussed on the group getting to know each other through ice breakers, energisers and creative problem solving. The theme for day two focussed on business challenges and pitching ideas. The final element of the challenge was a reflective exercise on skills developed and students were given the chance to explore the opportunities available to them at partner organisations.
Jack Walsh, 3rd year Mechanical Engineering student explains what the challenge meant to him in this short clip.
16 Partner employers, including PwC, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Santander and IBM played an active role in the challenge contributing business dilemmas and sustainability tasks, set by local inward-investment partner, Amsterdam InBusiness.
Rachael Collins, Student Success Manager shared ‘The challenge was a great experience for students and really valuable for all involved. Students were exposed to real-world problems and developed skills around teamwork, problem solving, negotiation, risk taking, leadership, strategic thinking, resilience, and adaptability. Careers & Employability partnerships with student and graduate employers were strengthened through the challenge, and the organisations involved were impressed with how well students engaged.’
The Amsterdam Sustainability Challenge 2019 was a new initiative brought to University of Liverpool students by the Careers & Employability service. Off the back of its success, there are plans to continue to support the challenge in 2020. If you are a current student and want to get involved you can register your interest by emailing .
Take a look at the video summarising the students' experience!
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