Lancaster University students use business sense to turn fast profit

Members of the Entrepreneurship in Practice post-graduate module in Lancaster University Management School (LUMS) produced almost £1,500 in turnover in just eight weeks on just £80 in funding.

The £803 profit was donated to the Michelle Jurd Memorial Trust, established in memory of the former RAF helicopter pilot who died in 2009. The trust supports underprivileged children in the Lancashire and Cumbria area, promoting adventure training and culture in local schools.

Fifteen students from Thailand, Norway, Lithuania, India, Nigeria, UK Indonesia and China were spilt into four teams, each given £20 with which to generate as much profit as they could in whatever ways they chose.

The groups carried raised funds through activities as diverse as hosting E-Games tournaments, importing T-shirts, selling fortune cookies, and designing and selling bespoke hand-painted craft pictures.

LUMS Teaching Fellow Brian Gregory praised the efforts of the teams to raise the funds, and said: “This is a practical module where students learn about entrepreneurial skills and traits and we give them the opportunity to put them into practice.

“While they learn about subjects such as Open Innovation, Sales & Marketing, Finance, Equality & Diversity, People Management and Business Development, we also give them the opportunity to set up and run a venture alongside this through the Lancaster £20 Challenge.

“The students raised £803 in profit from a combined turnover of £1479. Any business would be proud of the returns these students generated from their endeavours.”

Neil Jurd, founder of the Michelle Jurd Trust, received the cheque.