Around 1,400 Nottingham Business School (NBS) undergraduate students will be taking to the streets of Nottingham to review and reimagine retailing in the city’s food and drink sector as part of an exciting school-wide induction programme.
#NBSdiscover will see all first year NBS students head out into the city to explore different retailing zones, taking in all forms of food and drink retailers from restaurants and pubs to local delicatessens, cafes and even sweet shops and health food providers.
Their task will be to observe, interpret and rethink the retail offer in their allocated segment of the city. Collectively, the group work the students undertake will provide a rich overview of food and drink retailing across the city.
The week-long project begins on Monday 2 October with an introductory lecture at the Albert Hall, with keynote speeches by Jon Perkins, Managing Director of Perkins Family Restaurants of Nottinghamshire, Colin Wilde, Managing Director of Castle Rock Brewery, and NBS’ Professor Kim Cassidy, Director of the National Retail Research Knowledge Exchange Centre based at NBS.
The city exploration will take place on Wednesday 4 October, with support on offer from NBS tutors and second and third year student mentors. Throughout the task the students will be encouraged to consider how the project relates to their chosen areas of business specialism, so that learning can be taken forward into seminar discussions in the first few weeks of term.
Amanda Thompson, Head of Undergraduate Programmes at NBS, said: “#NBSdiscover is an initiative which not only gets students out and about in their university home city to find their bearings, but also starts them thinking about real-life business situations and scenarios and gives a flavour of the retail environment in Nottingham.
“There are a lot of exciting plans for the city when it comes to retail over the next couple of years, and I’m sure the students will have a fascinating insight, bringing together their experiences from all over the world.”
Jon Perkins, Managing Director of Perkins Family Restaurants said: “I’m really excited to be speaking at this year’s #NBSdiscover event. The scheme is a great way for new students to gain insight into Nottingham’s fantastic food & drink sector, and indeed to the city itself.”
Colin Wilde, Managing Director of Castle Rock Brewery said: “It is a privilege to be able to talk directly to 1,400 NBS students about the passion Castle Rock brings to Nottingham’s vibrant food and drink marketplace. The culture of any great city depends on a repeatable high-quality visitor experience and the #NBSdiscover 2017 event is an exciting opportunity to showcase many businesses that aim to deliver that in the food and drink sector in Nottingham every day of the week.”
Councillor Leslie Ayoola, Executive Assistant for Business and Employment, Nottingham City Council said; “As Nottingham gets ready to welcome students back to the city, it’s great to see that Nottingham Business School has come up with a novel way to help new students learn about the city’s lively and varied culture of bars and restaurants as well as familiarising themselves with the city centre.
“Nottingham residents and returning students will already know about Nottingham’s wide range of national eateries as well as our diverse selection of unique independent bars and food outlets both on the main shopping streets and off the beaten track. It’s great for Nottingham that the Business School, which has strong links with the city’s business community, has chosen to run this event for its second year. Events like these really help new students to feel welcomed into Nottingham and hopefully create a sense of belonging which will stay with them for many years to come.”
An exhibition of the students’ work will be on display in the Newton Building, Nottingham Trent University on Thursday October 5th from 10.00am – 12.00 noon and 1.00 – 3.00pm.