Reading Scholars (2nd visit)

On Tuesday the 6th of February, I took part in the second event at the University of Reading. I am on the Business strand of the Reading Scholars' Programme- the programme consists of 3 visits to Reading and a 3 day Summer School. The university pays for all the transport, meals and accommodation (for the residential). In addition to this if you apply to Reading, you get a guaranteed conditional offer (if you meet the grades) and are eligible for a £1000 bursary each year. 

After getting on the train, I was greeted by my student ambassador, met up with my group and proceeded to get the bus to the University. We were welcomed and then introduced to the e-mentoring. The university arranges e-mentoring between participants of the programme and the student ambassadors. We were then given a tour of the campus and able to see the new 24 hour library, the University recently built. The student ambassadors then showed us their typical timetable- to get us to understand how different it is to sixth form.

We then were able to have lunch at the canteen- we were given a £6 voucher for a meal. We went to Eat at the Square and had lunch and got to speak to the student ambassadors about university and the social aspect.  Following lunch, we were given a talk on the different societies and student unions. The university has strong sports societies, and regularly compete with Oxford Brookes. There are societies ranging from the Quidditch society to the Anime society.  Many host regular events- some including free pizza and free alcohol. Societies can also reserve a room to watch movies, which many take advantage of.

We then had an academic session, where the Accounting lecturer got us to do a Dragons Den style session. The lecturer presented an idea- edible jewellery for adults- where the jewellery would be made of titanium and would include a gem which was an edible sweet costing£51.52 to make and retail at £89.99. She spoke about the idea, presented financial information and gave us 20 minutes in our  small groups to think of questions. My group had 8 questions.

1. What percentage of the company would we earn?
2. Who is your target market?
3. Have you conducted any market research?
4. How have you ensured your supply chain is ethical?
5. How much are you expecting to turnover at the end of Year 1,2 and 3?
6. How many products do you expect to sell?
7. Why would anyone buy your product, when they can buy edible jewellery much cheaper?
8. Do you have any competitors?
9. How are you going to market your products?

She then answered all the questions from all the groups and gave us 10 minutes to make our decision. My group decided not to invest in her based on her pitch and the answers to our questions. 

After the session, we got on another bus to the town centre. Once their, our student ambassador showed us around the high street and the Oracle. We were all given £6 each to spend in the high street, my group chose to go to McDonald's where we got a meal and were able to get to know each other better. Our student ambassador then took us to the station. We did get lost on the way and had to take the bus. At the station I met up with my friend and we headed home. (The image below is from Google)