Students develop new business proposals

Business Enterprise and Entrepreneurship students from Newcastle-under-Lyme College (NULC) have been rewarded for successfully developing proposals for new businesses as part of their studies.

The ‘Dragons’ Lair’ event, held on Tuesday 13 May at the College’s £60 million Knutton Lane campus saw seventeen students submit their business proposals to a number of local professionals who judged each proposal presented. The judges who freely gave their time, advice and expertise were:

Lesley Bateman, HR Manager at Altecnic Ltd.
Sonia Clewlow, Managing Director at Purple Cow Training.
Sheila Weightman – Breast Cancer Campaign
Vicki Allen – B-Hygienic
Margaret Jones – Home Retail Group

The winner will be chosen by the judging panel and will be presented with £100 to help kick start their business idea, funded by Altecnic Ltd who sponsored the event.

Janet Heath, Lecturer in Business and Enterprise at NULC said: “The students who participated excelled, showing exceptional creativity and business acumen. We’re all very proud of the students and I’m sure they’ll become successful entrepreneurs in the future.”

For more details about our Business courses at the College, click here.

College hosts an event for business interests

Newcastle-under-Lyme College (NULC) is holding an open event on 5th March to promote business courses and increase awareness of women in business.
The College doors are open to anyone who is interested but the organisers – all students – are keen to attract year 10/11s in March to help them understand what business courses offer and give them an insight into women in business in the run-up to International Women’s Day on Saturday 8th March.


The event on Wednesday 5th March 2014, from 9am to 3.15pm at the Knutton Lane campus will feature guest speakers from the local business world. They include Kerry Bonfiglio-Bains of Appointments Personnel a local recruitment specialist; Susan Foreman, Dean of business school and a professor of marketing at Staffordshire University and Hannah Ault PR and Marketing Manager for successful local business Emma Bridgewater Pottery.

Visitors will be able to listen to the guest speakers freely but they will also be able to take part in activities throughout the day. These activities will include the marshmallow challenge which allows team work to develop and also the entrepreneur challenge which will allow everyone to get involved in a project.

Students on the current business course will be running the event and guiding all the visitors throughout the day. A booklet will be provided for those who attend.

‘We are doing this because we want everyone to know what goes on at Newcastle-under-Lyme College and we also want to invite people that don’t know what we do so they can get new information and get to know the business world a little more,’ said Gemma Collyer, Level 3 extended Diploma business studies, year 2.

The event will be sponsored by BS Marson & Sons Ltd, which are a new/used fiat main dealer in Newcastle-under-Lyme.