Students' potential

It is amazing how creative and innovative students can be when motivated by their professors.

Professor John Girard teaches a Global Management class which includes field trips in many of the ports we visit. Part of students' grades depend on teams creating a business model and presenting it in class with four Lifelong Learners asking questions. Girard gives each team 10 minutes to present and five minutes to adults for questioning. Some of these projects are very ambitious, such as combating poverty, providing solar energy for electricity, motivational ways of recycling plastic and aluminium, eliminating air pollution and supplying clean water to villagers in impoverished countries.

From left: Judges Svend Westlund, me Richard  Resling 

and Susan Phelps listen to student proposals

I served on a panel of four judging four teams of students present their ideas on how to tackle social and environmental issues in various countries. Each team had between three and five members who came up with the ideas and put together a business plan. Our job was to grade each team on a scale of 1 to 4 in four categories:

1.  Business Potential: Have you clearly identified the need and target customer; what products and services do you intend to provide; is your project financially feasible?

2.  Social Impact Analysis: Does your business model have a social impact; do you have credible data to support your proposal; how about unintended negative consequences?

3.   Likelihood of Success: What is the likelihood of success in the business you propose?  Is your vision clearly defined with growth objectives; what is the roadmap for implementation; does it have a comparative advantage to existing players addressing the same need?

4. Presentation: How well is the proposal presented (carries minor weight)?

Each team tackled a different problem in a different country. Sun Solutions in Mauritius aimed to provide  solar panels to villages to meet electricity needs. Pharm Co. LLC. in South Africa hoped to organize independent pharmacies to join a cooperative to bring down medication costs. One Earth Designs in northern Myanmar wanted to distribute solar cookers to cut down on home pollution and deforestation.  Clean-N-East in India offered an incentive (discounts on groceries) by providing recycling bins.

Students present Clean-N-Eat recycling-for-rewards. Professor Girard is at right 

In addition to seeing how fellow students analyzed the projects, Girard wanted Lifelong Learners' input, taking advantage of our business and life experiences.

I was impressed with the students' ideas, teamwork and use of photographs, statistics, power point presentations and even a video to defend their ideas in 10 minutes. They were well-rehearsed and cool under questioning.  It made my day.