Business simulations are widely accepted as an excellent way to give university students, particularly within courses such as business and management, some experience in running a company in a risk-free environment, and to give them the opportunity to put their knowledge from lecture courses into practice. But why do so many universities use them? Thanks to a recent study by the University of Huddersfield, we can see proof of the development of students, both in terms of their business skills and on a personal level.

The study took the form of a questionnaire based on the National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship entrepreneurial outcomes, which the participants filled in, both before and after a simulation programme (in this case SimVenture, which has similar learning objectives and structure to the Executive Business Simulation by April Training) was run. The results, though preliminary and only of a small sample, are very promising:

Source: Dr. D Williams, 2010;

Impact of Business Simulation Games in Enterprise Education

This shows that students perceived themselves to have improved in every entrepreneurial area, from being more able to tolerate failure to improved financial analysis. Although there may be some bias, particularly immediately after the simulation, the results seem to show that simulations such as Executive really do benefit students in a tangible and useful way.

Executive focuses on developing these key skills in participants, as well as being an enjoyable way to learn and test out business strategy ideas in a risk-free environment. It is also an online simulation, meaning that it is easily accessed and fast-responding, a real bonus and a unique feature among training simulations. This makes Executive perfect for use as both part of a university or college-level course, and in corporate environments, to give employees and students alike the necessary personal and entrepreneurial skills to succeed in real-life busienss.

April Training are running an event at Liverpool University starting on Friday 10th June, which involves the use of our Executive business training simulation, aiming to give students a new and exciting insight into the world of business and entrepreneurship. This will give the students the chance to test out their business skills and try some new ideas in order to attempt to build up a successful company in the European car manufacturing business. They will use real-life current market data to make the simulation as realistic and believable as possible, and their performance will be assessed by tutors, along with associated paperwork.Executive is designed to be competitive, which increases motivation of the students at Liverpool University, as well as giving them even more reason to carefully their decisions and make sure that their team follows good business principles. They will be competing against 8 other teams, so the students are separated into ‘worlds’. This prevents the markets from becoming saturated and gives everyone a better chance of success.

The simulation programme is intense, lasting just over week, meaning that students only have a short time to get to grips with the principles behind the simulation, as well as learning how to input data and making use of the what-if facility built into Executive. However, the short time period increases engagement with the simulation, and gives the students some experience of the time pressures commonly found in a business environment. It will also test their organisational, time-keeping, teamwork and communication skills; all of which are essential for success in the world of business.

Our team here at April wish them good luck, and as always will be on hand to provide both technical support and a helping hand to any teams who find themselves in difficulties.

International students currently make up over 15% of all University students in the UK, with 43% of all research postgraduates coming to study in the UK from another country. Unfortunately for all these current students, as well as the many more due to join the British Higher Education system in the next few years, the Government is considering new security measures that could reduce the chance of international students gaining a visa, resulting in up to 80,000 less international students every year.

The new regulations will also include more stringent rules on students staying in the UK to work after finishing their degree courses. Currently, through the Post-Study Work scheme, international students can remain in Britain for up to 2 years to gain work experience relating to their degree. However, the Government is imposing a new rule that the international graduates must earn more than £20,000 a year, and have a valid work permit, both of which are very difficult to obtain. This will substantially decrease the number of international students attempting to stay in the UK to work for a short period after university.

Although this is a logical move when it comes to immigration; levels are reaching record highs, and with more people coming to the UK to study than ever before, it makes sense to introduce some measures to control this influx. However, it is also important to note that international students pay much higher fees than other students (between £8,000 and £15,000, compared to slightly over £3000 for UK students), and they are also unable to apply for government financing.  As a result of this, universities gain between 10 and 30% of their income from these international students. This allows for the continued development of the establishments, to the benefit of all.

The total value of international students to the UK economy is approximately £8.5bn (2007).  Surely students should be being encouraged to come to the UK to study, rather than being turned away?  These additional regulations, if enforced by the Government will reduce the total number of international students in the UK, resulting in less funding for universities across the country, less facilities and possible a lower standard of education for students of all levels and backgrounds. This will mean a reduction in innovative learning techniques, including use of business simulations as part of degree courses. The overall British economy will also suffer.