Students hone problem solving skills in third annual Business Challenge Week

Masters students at Oxford Brookes Business School tackled real-world business challenges at an event held last week.

The third annual Business Challenge Week took place at the University’s Headington Campus from 26 to 30 June and saw 40 students working alongside eight businesses. The students helped to solve real-life challenges experienced by the businesses, developing recommendations and strategies, and presenting their work at a final day showcase. The week culminated in a prize giving ceremony hosted by Pro-Vice Chancellor, and Dean of Oxford Brookes Business School, Professor Tim Vorley. 

The Business Challenge Week was led by Dr Paul Jackson, Principal Lecturer at the Business School.

Dr Jackson said: “Business Challenge Week provides a real win-win for the students and businesses. The teams get some real-world experience and a chance to hone their problem-solving skills, while the client organisations get some new ideas and insights into the challenges they are trying to address.”

Oxford Brookes links with the local community

Businesses that took part included Oxfam Thame, Darcica Logistics based in Bicester, branding company Mark-making based in Chipping Norton, and London-based creative agency, Good Agency. 

Other local businesses included Raw Workshops, Lightricity, Y.O.U Underwear, and MakeSpace, all from Oxford. 

Melanie Tattersall, Director of Sustainability and Communications at Darcica Logistics Ltd, said: “We were delighted to be part of Business Challenge Week. The students worked so well together and collaboratively produced a real value-led piece for Darcica which we’ll be able to take forward to improve our sustainable business practices and reduce our environmental impact even further.

“A big thank you to the University, students, and mentors for including us in the week and producing such fantastic results”.