The sustainable business challenge for secondary school and 6th form students
In the fast evolving world that today’s students will be working in, they need to be able apply their learning of core and foundation subjects (KS3 and KS4) to the real world to enhance their careers and employment opportunities.
The energy industry is the world’s biggest employer, and mankind’s desire for clean and safe energy is growing. Through practical learning and fun activities, LLE students learn how all of modern civilisation is underpinned by this precious commodity.
Students safely explore the world they will be working in from different viewpoints: business, technical, political and moral. They work in teams of 6 to 10 students learning the practicalities of how to work in business focused ‘Energy Teams’ with individuals of different aptitudes and interests to achieve the ultimate award of ‘Best Energy Team’. This requires each team to explore and expand their knowledge of the following subjects and demonstrate proficiency in each.
Build a detailed finance/business plan with capital costs, running costs and interest rates. The business plan will demonstrate a Return on Investment (ROI) calculation. This is quite challenging but with support from the presenters the students do master the calculations and gain a real sense of achievement
Learn about 10 major cities/countries around the world on all continents; explore the demographics of population and wealth and learn about their energy resources and technology
Prepare and present a competitive business pitch to show the best features of a new theme park build project including marketing, finance, design, ethics and human resources & operations. This is English, succinct and persuasively employed to achieve an eloquent business presentation
Students working in teams learn about the National Grid and by association the difference between energy and power. They explore Calories (kcal), watts, kilowatts(kW), kilowatt hour (kWh), and amperes, volts and megahertz (MHz). They explore the linkage of carbon emissions to energy usage and possible effects on climate change from both sides of the argument.
Teamwork development throughout the day, moral issues around carbon emissions, climate change, nuclear waste, cost of renewable energy sources, political direction at national and global levels, human resources role within a company. Students will also explore & employ negotiation strategies as a key skill in the challenge
Plan a theme park for maximum customer benefit, build a scale model, decorate the model, write a plan of the key features
