Barking and Dagenham College awarded for Entrepreneurship Week

Barking and Dagenham College students Adeel Nadeem, 16, from Romford, Andrej Sinkarenko, 17, from Barking and Gracious Obiji, 17, also from Barking creating a drink brand as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week. (Image: Archant)

Barking and Dagenham College was handed a ‘High Impact’ award for its contribution to Entrepreneurship Week through a series of events showcasing students’ entrepreneurial skills.

Among the events, which took place between November 16 and 22 2014, students were tasked with creating a new drink as part of ‘The Apprentice Challenge’, which were then presented to a panel of professionals and sold during the college’s Christmas market.

Students were also given a unique opportunity to network with fellow student entrepreneurs across the world, linking up with others in the Philippines and Finland to discuss issues like import and export opportunities.

The week also saw one group of students selected from over 1,300 from across the country, for the finals of national competition ‘Market Maker’.

The team were tasked with creating their own business, coming up with ‘Tiptoes Shoes’ – shoes that transform from high-heels to a more comfortable shoe when required.

A number of workshops were also held encouraging students with business ideas and Adnan Mahmood, chief entrepreneurial leader at the college, was delighted with the recognition.

He said: “We are passionate about instilling entrepreneurial skills in our students because it is these skills that will help students become economically independent and prepared for the real world – that’s why events like Global Entrepreneurship Week are so important.

“For Barking and Dagenham College, Entrepreneurship Week is every week, and it’s an honour to be recognised by the organisers for this.”