UCOL business student flies high

Thursday 13 December 2012
UCOL business student flies high

Whanganui UCOL Business student James Little had a taste of highflying corporate business recently. James was flown to Auckland by multi-national company Alsco to make a presentation to their senior management.

James was one member of a number of small teams of New Zealand Diploma in Business students who, as part of their Applied Management paper, worked closely with corporate ‘partners’ to research areas of their businesses.

James’ team project was to research how well New Zealand Towel Services (NZTS), owned by Alsco, interacts with their business customers and how these customers are using their products and services.

The students visited and surveyed 35 customers in Whanganui, such as schools, restaurants and factories, and then analysed the findings. They made an oral presentation of their research and recommendations to managers from NZTS in November, along with a written report.

It was as a result of this presentation that James was invited by the company to make an all-expense paid visit to Auckland to do the presentation to Alsco senior management, including their managers flown in from Australia.

UCOL Lecturer Phil Thomsen says he was thrilled with the invitation extended to James. “It is an indication that the projects the students undertake are relevant and valuable to businesses.”

Another team researched the effectiveness of the delivery of learning services at the Whanganui UCOL campus. This group surveyed over 100 students in a range of programmes and levels, and presented their findings to UCOL staff.

For the record, the survey found very high levels of satisfaction with the learning services provided by UCOL.

Projects over previous years have involved Mega Mitre 10, Training for You (a private training establishment), Mainstreet Wanganui, and other businesses.

Phil says, “This paper is a great chance for management students to showcase their skills, and also for UCOL to contribute to the local business community.”

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