What did we do today?

11:40:00 Theo 0 Comments

The Students are getting near the end of their journey

Well that means they are getting nearer their final pitch on Thursday.  The teams made a quick elevator pitch lasting 2 mins each to communicate some data analysis and findings such as; mortality rate in Asia, weather affecting the wine regions, wild fires and popular music of the decades in America.  All tricky subjects.. some did well...some did not so well.. but it is a learning environment for our 24 members of the boot camp.

at the end of the day....

Lets meet our Main Judge .... no not Simon Cowell but Prof.Dr Luca Iandoli

A bit of information on Prof. Dr Luca Iandoli

Professor of Business and Economics, School of Engineering, University of Naples Federico II (Italy)
Visiting Research Professor at the Stevens Institute of Technology (USA)
President of the European Council for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ECSB)
Fulbright Research Visitor at the Center for Collective Intelligence, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Visiting professor at the International Doctorate in Entrepreneurship and Management, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (Spain)
PhD in Business and Management Engineering, Master in Electronics Engineering

Why is Luca holding a lollipop?

The team are up and out for a trip with a difference

23:01:00 Theo 0 Comments

Sunset Trip to Pompeii

Some interesting facts about Pompeii

The city and people of Pompeii did not know that Vesuvius was a volcano, as it hadn’t erupted in 1,800 years

It was estimated that just over 13% of the total population of Pompeii died in the initial blast. A population of around 15,000 people and an estimated 2,000 died.

Pompeii was originally settled around the 7th century BC by the Oscan people who were descendants of the Neolithic inhabitants of Campania (the region of southern Italy). The port city was in a prime location for trade as well as farming. The rich volcanic soil from earlier eruptions of Vesuvius created prime farmland for grapes and olive trees.

Pompeii is so well preserved because the city was buried so quickly by volcanic ash and it now provides snapshots of past life in a Roman city

Mount Vesuvius erupted destroying Pompeii shortly after noon on the 24th of August.

Pliny described the eruption as follows, “It resembled a (Mediterranean) pine more than any other tree. Like a very high tree the cloud went high and expanded in different branches….sometimes white, sometimes dark and stained by the sustained sand and ashes.”


The Ancient city of Pompeii was not discovered until 1748, when workers stumbled upon it while building King Charles III Palace.

The day trip to Maccanoneria Gragnano Pasta Company and then off to Ravello

09:23:00 Theo 0 Comments

Maccaroneria di Gragnano Pasta Company

The Story of Maccaroneria di Gragnano

Great expectations for the reopening of the"Maccaroneria", the beautiful showroom inside the Pasta Factory Awarded the Knight Olympian Afeltra, among the oldest in the Campania town known throughout the world for the production of pasta. It was this pasta factory to launch at the beginning of 1800, the popular format of "macaroni". Ferdinand II of Bourbon, a lover of the good life and sensitive to gluttony, paid a visit in Gragnano with his second wife, Maria Theresa Isabella of Austria, to taste the famous Pastificio Afeltra macaroni. "A macaroni noodles is worth a hundred", it seems to have been his comment after tasting them. The Pasta Factory Awarded Afeltra is located in the center of Gragnano, in the original building that since 1848 produces up to 50 qt artisanal pasta a day with the best semolina, bronze drawing and slow drying.

Now off to Ravolli

Sitting high in the hills above Amalfi, Ravello is a refined, polished town almost entirely dedicated to tourism (and increasingly popular as a wedding venue). Boasting impeccable bohemian credentials – Wagner, DH Lawrence and Virginia Woolf all spent time here – it’s today known for its ravishing gardens and stupendous views, the best in the world according to former resident Gore Vidal, and certainly the best on the coast.

Most people visit on a day trip from Amalfi – a nerve-tingling 7km drive up the Valle del Dragone – although, to best enjoy its romantic, otherworldly atmosphere, you’ll need to stay here overnight. On Tuesday morning there’s a lively street market in Piazza Duomo, where you’ll find wine, mozzarella and olive oil, as well as discounted designer clothes.

The Challenge set to the group

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What is it all about?

The whole class are split into groups that were assigned on day 1.


They have to come up with a business idea and to develop a business plan for it
The business plan is built up each day:

Day 1 - Project Idea Generation - what are they going to do?

Day 2 - Revenue Estimation - What are the costs involved in carrying out such a plan?

Day 3 - Create Financial statements for the project - Profit and Loss and Balance Sheets

Day 4 - Cash Flow and Return on Investments

Day 5 - Day trip to Ravello and the Maccaroneria di Gragnano Pasta ~company

Weekend

Day 8 - Instant Test

Day 9 - Business Analytics

Day 10 - Pulling it all together

last Day - Project Presentations

Watch this space for the presentations and the winners

Day 3 of the Napoli Boot Camp

10:00:00 Theo 0 Comments

And the results are in......

Calum 100%
Donna 90%
Jennifer -72.5%
Martin -70%

Well done team UWS

A wee walk around the glen of the Auld Toon of Naples!

Day 2 on the Napoli Boot Camp

01:22:00 Theo 0 Comments

First Test of the boot Camp

So the team arrive at 09:30 sharp to embark upon a lecture of estimating revenues through customer research conducted by Prof. Dr. C Ponsiglione.



Then the morning continues with a lesson on costs analysis and accounting ... no problem I hear you say about our Level 7 Accounting students!!

The students then go for lunch at a local supermarket to get a "wee roll" but hey..... it was so big it would feed an army!!!






So after Lunch there was the on-line test.... easy? well time will tell grades to come out soon...watch this space!!!




Later on in the afternoon the groups worked on their group work projects until 5:30pm.

But wait..... Jennifer has broken her back tooth and did blame a roll for the incident but I think it was too many Mexican lollipops or as we say in Italy "troppi lecca-lecca".

The guilty party?

Ouch

So What next?..... Veronicas Dad saves the day... Veronicas Dad is a dental technician and kindly agreed to see Jennifer and sort her tooth ... I may add at this point Jennifer was not having a good day, not only did she break her tooth but she also broke a nail and couldn't get the on-line test to open until near the end of the test arghhhhh...well they do say that back luck comes in threes!!

Hero of the Hour

Veronicas Dad

Tomorrow is another day...

Tomorrow the group celebrate the end of day three by a walking tour of the old town... pictures and stories to follow

Arrival and Day 1

00:34:00 Theo 0 Comments

Day One of the Trip to Napoli Boot Camp

Team UWS

the road on which the hotel is situated

The Challenge on the first day was to go into teams and to design, fly and market a paper aeroplane.
This plane had to hold one Euro, it had to be able to fly and the team had to be able to sell it.
watch the video below to see how they got on.

On our way

10:04:00 Theo 0 Comments

The New Challenge of the Napoli Boot Camp

08:08:00 Theo 0 Comments