Blackrook Academy/Sandwell College
T Level Business Strategy Workshop: Eighty3 Design Brings Real-World Challenges to the Classroom
Blackbrook Academy and Sandwell College deliver T Level programmes in software development and computing, preparing students for careers in the digital sector. As part of their commitment to connecting classroom learning with industry practice, the two institutions invited Eighty3 Design to design and deliver a business strategy workshop for their students.
The Challenge:
Textbook theory only goes so far in preparing students for the pace and unpredictability of real commercial decision-making. Blackbrook Academy and Sandwell College wanted their T Level students to experience the kind of ambiguity, pressure and shifting priorities that businesses face day to day, rather than working through a static, hypothetical case study.
Our Approach:
Rebecca Cottingham designed a workshop built around a struggling independent coffee shop. Rather than being told what was wrong, student teams were handed real-world evidence, including website screenshots, social media activity, Google Analytics data and Google Business Profile information, and asked to work out for themselves why the business wasn’t performing.
Using Post-it notes and whiteboards, teams analysed the evidence, identified opportunities and built their own recommendations before presenting to an executive panel made up of Rebecca and their tutor, with the rest of the class acting as a non-executive board.
To keep the exercise honest, the brief didn’t stand still. Partway through the session, new curveballs were introduced, including a budget change and the arrival of a new Starbucks nearby, forcing teams to rethink their strategy and defend revised recommendations on the spot, just as they would in a live business environment.
Services We Delivered
The Results:
Textbook theory only goes so far in preparing students for the pace and unpredictability of real commercial decision-making. Blackbrook Academy and Sandwell College wanted their T Level students to experience the kind of ambiguity, pressure and shifting priorities that businesses face day to day, rather than working through a static, hypothetical case study.
We’re passionate about supporting education and helping bridge the gap between the classroom and the workplace. By sharing real industry experience, we hope to inspire future developers, designers and digital marketers, and give them a genuine insight into the creative problem-solving businesses rely on every day. We’re grateful to Blackbrook Academy and Sandwell College for inviting us to be part of their T Level programme, and we look forward to supporting more young people as they begin their careers.
Get Involved!
If you’re a school or college looking to bring real business challenges into your classroom, get in touch with Eighty3 Design to discuss a bespoke workshop for your students.
