9:15am Friday 19th March 2010
ENTERPRISING students who have created a children’s board game designed to encourage a healthy lifestyle are receiving mentoring from a North-East architectural firm on how to launch their creation as a business.
Students from Prior Pursglove College, in Guisborough, east Cleveland have set up board game Elftopia, and are receiving business mentoring and advice from directors at Gosforth-based Space Group under its Young Dragons’ Den programme, part of its charitable foundation.
Directors from Space Group discovered the students’ business idea at the Young Enterprise North-East (YENE) annual trade fair at Gateshead’s MetroCentre last month.
The young people are now part of a month-long programme that covers skills such as finance, PR and marketing, team building and problem solving, as well as providing invaluable experience of a real working environment.
Rob Charlton, Space Group’s chief executive, said: “Space Group is delighted to host the Young Dragons’ Den programme for the third year running as we find it so rewarding.
“Each year that we attend the YENE trade fair we look for potential and enthusiasm as well as a creative spark and true entrepreneurship.
“We found that all of these attributes really shone through from this year’s finalists.
We then work with these companies and provide mentoring in a range of business skills over four consecutive weeks.
“Bringing them into Space Group headquarters is all part of the learning experience and it really helps the students feel part of a real business.”
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