Durham Business Challenge
Day 1:
PWC Strategy challenge
For this challenge and all the others we were placed in randomly formed groups. This was useful as it tested our ability to work with different people, and didn’t create a stability for a potentially good group. We were given a case about a travel company where we would advise potential investors whether to invest or not. This area of consulting in PWC is one I have looked into before which helped me understand the kind of work I would be doing. Having looked at the other presentations I understood where our group went wrong and how we should perform in other tasks as it was about standing out from the other 40+ groups.
ASDA Walmart Product Launch challenge
I really enjoyed this challenge as it was very marketing related and was exactly what I want to do in the future. We had to create a new healthy children’s drink which really made me understand the many aspects that need to be taken into account when creating a new product. This is an aspect that will really benefit my studies that I can add to my coursework. I was very confident about our product,but nonetheless the presentations that were selected were extremely good too. Fortunately one of the teams from Bradford won the challenge which we were all very proud about.
Day 2:
WPP Marketing challenge
This was the challenge I was most looking forward to as it was the most marketing related. We had to create a new craft beer which involved creating a target market. The group I was in had many interesting ideas but we did not take a lot of things into account when presenting them. This made me think about how things need to be looked at from various different angles to touch all bases and ensure the product would be a success. The final presentations where not as good as I thought they would be. I strongly believed two or three of them weren’t as good as ours. However, the one that did win was smart and I understand why it won.
Unilever Business Operations Challenge
This challenge was extremely fun but we took the completely wrong approach to it. We had to create a campaign to get ice creams to people around Durham. We focused more of the financial side of the challenge instead of the marketing/campaign slide. The groups that presented were extremely good and came up with some good concepts and luckily our Bradford team leader was shortlisted but sadly did not win. However, I believed he genuinely had the best presentation.
Overall, the whole experience was really insightful and was extremely fun to be a part of. It made me understand the many aspects that go into projects and has only pushed me further to want to work in a business environment. It gave me a stronger understanding of working under pressure as this was truly a test of that ability. Having gone to the business challenge I feel more confident about my performance in an assessment centre as I understand more what employers are looking for. I would love to attend next year and I would like to take this opportunity to thank the anonymous alumni who donated for this incredible experience.
