Global industry experts have praised students for their innovative thinking, commercial awareness and ability to tackle complex problems with confidence and creativity.
Teams of students pitched creative solutions to real world business problems to a panel of global and local business leaders as a part of the Innovation Thinking and Practice module at Leeds University Business School (LUBS).
These challenges, set by partners from local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and multinational cooperations, spanned topics including responsible AI in healthcare, sustainable travel, employee wellbeing and digital service design.
Professor Shearer West, Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Leeds, gave an opening speech to the participants and guests.
She said: “This module is a fantastic example of the University’s commitment to equip our students with the knowledge, skills and attributes to support their career aspirations and employers’ needs.
“Working alongside industry partners enhances our students’ learning and provides opportunities to work on real-world challenges, preparing them for future employment and the global workplace.”
Carly Gilbert-Patrick, who works for the UN Environment in Kenya, worked with the students on a mobility project.
Carly, whose role involves improving active and sustainable mobility, helps to bridge the gap between academics and policy makers. This is achieved via workshops and converting research papers into policy briefs.
She said: “I see working with the students for this module as a cycle. I want to help inspire the students of today who become the researchers and influencers of tomorrow. Academia has such a big influence on policy and this feeds into this ecosystem.
“I was really impressed by the students: within the short time they had, the depth of the content and thinking that was produced was fantastic.”
The panel of experts included representatives from KPMG, Leeds City Council, Grant Thornton, Inspire North and Health Innovation Yorkshire & Humber.
Rebecca Fox, Head of Retail at confectionery company Haribo, said: “What impressed me about the students was the level of engagement and their depth of questioning and understanding of the project. Their enthusiasm really shone through in the presentations. The level of innovation the students demonstrated showed great synergy between them and all we do at Haribo.”
The students’ ideas ranged from augmented reality design for camper vans to kiosks that dispense sweets in a more hygienic and allergy friendly way.
I want to help inspire the students of today who become the researchers and influencers of tomorrow.
Hardik Sharma, a third year Business Management student, said: “I found this module really engaging. There was a lot of autonomy given to us to express our personal opinions and ideas, which helped develop my creative skills.”
Aagam Chandwar, also a third year Business Management student, added: “This was one of my favourite modules, it is really practical and it felt more like real life, as we were asked to interview the industry expert which really helped my business and communication skills.”
Professor Hai Sui Yu, Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Leeds, welcomed the guests and participants later in the week. At the end of the presentations, the winning team was given a plaque sponsored by industry partners including IBM, First Direct, Marks and Spencer and Vet-AI, which will be installed in the University’s Charles Thackrah Building.
The module’s overall Innovation Award, sponsored by the University’s Spark business start-up programme, recognised the most impactful pitches of the year. All participating students were offered a free viability-assessment consultation with the Spark team.
The winning group, which reimagined how a students’ union could use Microsoft AI tools to streamline processes and enhance the student experience, won an additional £250.
Further information
For more information, please contact Rebecca Hurrey at r.hurrey@leeds.ac.uk in the University of Leeds press office.
Photo credit: Alex Beldea.
The Innovation Thinking and Practice module in LUBS this year combines students from LUBS and the School of Computer Science alongside a small number of students completing discovery modules from across the University, reaching its biggest scale yet with 320 students across 40 interdisciplinary teams taking part.