Gain entrepreneurial skills and earn real profit.
Students need more than a degree when they leave University, and some real-world experience is a must. The Pop-Up Shop project allows students to gain exactly this.
Based in Hanley’s Potteries Shopping Centre, the aim of the Pop-Up Shop is
for teams of students to be as successful as possible in the space of a single day. The opportunity is free to take part in, and the teams who are selected are trained on how to run a shop and are even given a £200 start-up loan to develop their venture.
The manager of the project Rebecca Unsworth says "it is a great opportunity for anybody on site to get a loan, buy stock and sell it to the public, not just students and staff but everybody possible out there".
A recent success story is ‘The Pattern People’ who left the Pop-Up Shop with not only hands on experience in enterprise but also a special recognition award. The team consists of Tina, Jess, Amy and Zahra; surface pattern students from Staffordshire University. The experience allowed them to showcase their skills and sell to real customers. Their unique creations included patterned cups, plates, wallpaper, wrapping paper, cards, and designs of dresses.
The teams experience at the pop-up shop also aided them with their third year University project, Rebecca said "it gave the teams a great opportunity, they were able to show their management side, that they could run a business, which was needed for their final year project”. To run your own shop independently for a day isn't a common opportunity for students, as Rebecca reveals “one of the Staffordshire University graduate attributes that we present here is enterprise, it allows students to gain some invaluable entrepreneurial skills”.
The special recognition award is given to students who go above and beyond the call of duty in the project, "for the Pattern People, Tina actually ran the pop-up shop over Easter, she had the keys and did a lot of the work. The reward is earned, and is for those like her who did more than was necessary".
More opportunities for students to get involved with the Pop-Up Shop will be advertised on the Students’ Union website and Facebook page or you can email Rebecca.Unsworth@staffs.ac.uk, she promises that "at the end of the day, I can always try and find an opportunity for a student to take part in enterprise”.
In addition to getting a taste of real world enterprise, the Pop-Up Shop opportunity allows students to develop their creativity. The opportunity also allows for the development of leadership, marketing, financial and problem solving skills, whilst allowing students to make real well earned profits.