Yesterday the students were fully immersed in their busy schedule and the campus was a hive of diligent activity. One of our students, Francesco from Italy, also celebrated his birthday – Happy Birthday Francesco!

In the afternoon, everyone headed to their classes, eager to complete some of their final projects as they near the end of their stay here. In a Business Challenge class run by teacher Deji, a group of 16 – 18 year old students had been asked to develop a product, create a business plan and then present their pitch in class as though they were looking for potential investors.

The first group to present included; Francesco from Italy, Mitali from India and Yazeed from Saudi Arabia. They had developed an app called, ‘Pickdining,’ which aimed to create a platform for younger users to find restaurants in their area, based on their specific dietary requirements.

The second group included; Giancarlo from Italy, Vandit from India and Dhhra from India. They developed an idea for a pop-up restaurant specialising in small Italian plates of food called, ‘Aperitivo Italiano.’ Their business aimed to fill the gap in the market for authentic, organic, Italian food.

Both groups presented their products expertly and they particularly impressed teacher Deji with their attention to detail in their market research, especially in their consideration of the political, economic, social, and environmental implications of their products. It was great to see their confidence in their creations and to hear their projections for the future of their businesses.