National Enterprise Educator Award 2013

Student Enterprise Education

National Apprentice Challenge 2015

National Apprentice Challenge is an award-winning enterprise competition for ambitious students.
For two weeks, teams of four students will go through practical business tasks, develop their
entrepreneurial mindset and improve their employability skills.
During the competition, students will focus on idea generation, business strategy, product
development, pitching, marketing and business planning. In order to offer them a reality-based
experience, the students will design & promote a product to a real audience, pitch & receive
feedback from real investors and apply their strategic thinking by running a virtual business.
Inspired by The Apprentice TV Show and Lord Youngs Enterprise for All Report, NAC aims to empower
students to engage with entrepreneurship in a practical way and learn-by-doing.

Track record:

Who is this for?

Currently in its 3rd year, National Apprentice Challenge has

grown in impact and scale yearly. So far, it has:
- won several awards including: National Award for Student
Enterprise Education from EEUK and NCEE and Runner-up
for National Supporter Award from UnLtd.
- been recognised nationally as a high-profile event: the
winners have been invited to meet Sir Richard Branson

National Apprentice Challenge is open

to all students (undergraduates and
postgraduates) with any academic
background and does not require them
to have a business idea.
www.nationalapprenticechallenge.com
Infographic 2014: http://goo.gl/zS3F2E

- made partnerships with 20 universities including:

- engaged directly with 250,000 students in 33 universities

- collaborated with sponsors including:

"The overall experience of National

Apprentice Challenge was something the
team will never forget. The tasks we
were involved in gave us a very
meaningful insight into the life in a
business environment and helped us
learn more about our key strengths and
areas of improvement." (Mahesh, MSc
Management, Cranfield University )

Benefits for your students:

Taking part in NAC was an unforgettable
and very valuable experience. The tasks
were very intense but the fact that they
were practical helped myself and my team
implement the knowledge that we gained
throughout our degrees and discover our
key strengths. I feel inspired by the
competition and decided to take my idea
further, especially as I have also received
a grant of 1,000 and mentoring.
Ilona, BA International Relations,
The University of Nottingham

1. Improve Employability Prospects

Through practical business challenges students will
develop employability skills and by running a virtual
business they will improve their business acumen:
- students will develop transferable skills such as:
teamwork, effective communication, negotiation,
leadership, problem solving, resilience, creativity
- students will understand the interdependence
between different departments within a company,
which they will use in their future careers
- by working directly with large employers they will
understand the standards that employers are looking for.

The National Apprentice Challenge is

something I would recommend to any
aspiring entrepreneur. Every business
skill from buying/selling goods,
negotiating, to working under pressure
was incorporated into the competition.
If you are looking to start a business
by the end of NAC you will learn every
key element to running a basic
business. Elements such as
economics, marketing and
organisational behaviour were all
tested in the challenges and can be
incorporated into university studies.
Gok, Final year, Aston University

2. Improve Student Enterprise

The programme aims to inspire and empower students
who are considering starting a business by offering them a
chance to experience in practice the key stages of
launching a venture, culminating with them actually
running a virtual company in a reality-based market space.
- Students will focus on identifying gaps in the market,
generating innovative business ideas, developing products
and promoting them to a real audience.
- Students will focus on business planning and they will
pitch their ideas to real investors for 100,000 investment
package and receive feedback from industry experts
- They will develop & implement a business strategy while
running a virtual business in a reality-based environment

By constantly working outside their comfort zone, the students will obtain the training, feedback
and confidence to get their ideas off the ground.
Idea
Generation

Product
Development

Marketing

Business
Plan

Pitch for
Investment

3. Improve Student Experience

Watch the interview made by Cranfield University with the winners in 2014: http://goo.gl/TrVyfa
Based on the feedback we received for the past 2 years, the practical nature of this programme
and its national reach contributes positively to the experience of the students by offering them an
alternative way to learn and an opportunity to connect with like-minded students across the UK.

Benefits for your university:

Entering National Apprentice Challenge would bring the following advantages to your university:
- being recognised as a dynamic entrepreneurial university in UK through brand association
- being among top universities adopting innovative and practical methods for enterprise
education as recommended by Lord Young, Prime Ministers Advisor on Entrepreneurship
- increase awareness among prospective students & be recognised as an institution investing
in the development and experience of its students (NAC engages with 250,000 young people)
(Cranfield School of Management used National Apprentice Challenge to make a video
showcasing prospective students the opportunities it offers - http://goo.gl/TrVyfa )

Implementation:
National Apprentice Challenge is a national programme comprised of 3 stages:
1.Selection of students (though online applications or university-wide selection)
Teams of 4 students apply on www.theapprenticechallenge.com (until 4th of March).
2. National Apprentice Challenge Semi-Finals: 21st - 22nd of March, Birmingham
The selected students compete in practical business challenges during an all-inclusive residential
programme. They will focus on idea generation, market research, product development,
marketing, business planning, pitching, business strategy and run a virtual business.
3. National Apprentice Challenge Grand Final: 9th - 10th - 11th of June, Bulgaria
The top 3 teams qualify for an intensive Final in Bulgaria where they will focus in more depth on
business planning, product development and pitching for investment. All the expenses for
international flights, accommodation and meals are covered by us. The winning team will return
with a cash prize, a National Title and potentially 100,000 investment package.
This is the first time we have entered
the National Apprentice Challenge and I
have been impressed by the
professional approach of the
organisation. National competitive
events such as this are so important in
enabling our students to show
employers the evidence of how they
have developed their business
skills... The feedback of our students
has been excellent and we eagerly await
putting teams together for next year's
competition.
Vanessa Clarke, Director of
Undergraduate Leadership
Development Programmes - BCU

Affiliated University Scheme

Our Affiliate University Scheme recognises the
universities taking part in our programme.
As an affiliated university you can choose the
number of teams (and students) that you would like to
be selected to our all-inclusive national competition.
The entry price for one team is 800.
This provides the students with two intensive days of
practical business challenges, a residential
programme and a chance to qualify in the Grand Final.
This covers: entry in the competition, three meals
daily, hotel, internal transport and materials. A
higher number of teams will increase the chances for
your university to be represented in the Final.
If your students qualify to Apprentice Final, we
will cover their international flights, hotel and meals
for three days and ask you to contribute with 500.

Should you be interested in collaborating with us please contact Simona Popa on

simona@practicaledu.com or 07463598226.