Dragons Den at WKC

Final year Hospitality Management students at Westminster Kingsway College (WKC) have faced tough 'Dragons Den' style interviews in front of a panel of leading industry experts that tested their presentation skills and industry knowledge.

The assessment was part of an educational module to encourage entrepreneurship and creativity for the college students as part of their degree course in hospitality and business management.

Students had 15 minutes to present their ideas in pairs for a new business venture for the hospitality industry to the 'dragons' before the industry panel had the opportunity to offer feedback and bid to invest in the most promising ideas.

The interviews were held over three weeks with a different panel of five industry experts each week representing a wide range of companies including: The Lanesborough Hotel; The Savoy; The Fat Duck; Unilever Food Solutions; Travelodge; Malmaison; Sodexo; and Red Carnation Hotels.

Sean Wheeler, group director of People Development at the Malmaison Group said: "This process really helps the learners to think strategically from a business perspective. They learn the art of persuasion and how to 'sell in' their ideas. The presentations that we have seen have been really creative and the students have shown a real understanding of the industry."

David Mulcahy, Sodexo's craft and food development director, added: "It is incredibly important that students coming into the industry are encouraged to come up with innovative ideas to strengthen existing offers and services. Some really good proposals were put to us and it's just a shame that we didn't have real money to invest in some of the ideas!"

Words: Maria Bracken

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