Abertay University: Abertay students put business knowledge into practice to solve real-life sustainability challenges
Final year students at Abertay University are helping a range of high-profile organisations develop strategies that will cut their carbon emissions and make them more sustainable.
Over 100 students in Abertay’s School of Business, Law and Social Sciences took part in this year’s Innovation for Global Growth (IGG) event which saw them pitch their ideas to organisations including Dundee City Council, Enterprise Rent-A-Car and the Eden Project.
Now in its ninth year, IGG sees students handed client briefs before being given just an hour and a half to come up with a solution, which they subsequently present to a panel of executives. This year’s event took place in March 2022 at the Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc (MSIP) and comprised four in-person and four online sessions.
Angus Brodie, a lecturer in Business Management at Abertay University, said:
IGG gives our students the opportunity to work with organisations on real-world challenges which allows them to develop skills they can take with them into their future careers. At Abertay we know the importance of work-based learning and engaging employers in the curriculum to enhance students’ employability. Our partner organisations also benefit greatly from working with us as they are able to identify some practical ideas that will support them to make a change. More and more organisations and businesses around the world are thinking about how to become environmentally sustainable and we’re very proud to play a part in helping them realise that ambition.
Since the event in March, the students have spent the remainder of the term writing an individual consultancy report that includes a detailed analysis of the challenge and presents an innovative solution.
Ideas presented by students include harnessing the power digital technologies, such as VR or 3D billboards, to communicate the impact of the climate emergency to the public; and the development of a new supplier audit system to reduced overall organisational environmental impact.
Graeme Butler, Talent Acquisition Specialist at Enterprise-Rent-A-Car, said:
At Enterprise, our core strategic aim in talent attraction is about building meaningful and deep engagement with universities. The IGG event we see as an excellent opportunity to engage with enthusiastic and creative students, who are working on a real-world challenge we face. It gives us an unparalleled opportunity to share the values of our company as well as exploring synergies for the students to explore future career options too. We will 100% be supporting the challenge for many years to come.”
Lynne Short of Dundee City Council said:
As an alumni of Abertay’s Business School I always relish coming back to speak to the students of today. On the two occasions when I have participated in IGG, delivering very different projects, the students have been engaged and imaginative in their solutions as well as being incredibly professional in their approaches.