Students inspired by entrepreneurial spirit in Digital Showcase event

25 October 2022

Tresham College, part of The Bedford College Group, working with North Northamptonshire Council, hosted their first Techspo event at the Kettering campus on Friday, October 21.

Aimed to inspire their students to think like entrepreneurs and learn how digital technology is being used to transform the world we live in.

Students started the day by taking part in a Dragon’s Den-style event focused on using technology in the field of sustainability. 

Ideas ranged from the use of robots to pick up and recycle litter on beaches to solar powered e-bikes. The winning students pitched the idea of monetising recycling by using a QR code for people to tap, identify their item to recycle before opening a recycling container to drop the item into. Money is then transferred to your bank.

The rest of the day was made up of a market place with innovative businesses engaging with students on their area of technology and career pathways.

There were workshops all day for students to attend and learn how different skills, including the user centred design skills to design their own mobile app led by North Northants Council’s Head of Digital Kat Sexton.

The event was part of the Digital Northamptonshire initiative which also includes a Merged Futures event hosted by the University of Northampton in the summer.

What a fantastic day. I was genuinely blown away by the sustainability pitches we received, the motivation of the students and the energy of the staff to make all this happen. I really hope this is just the start of turning Tresham into a place where entrepreneurial thinking is encouraged and developed in the students. Some of the ideas were good enough to hit the market straight away.Cllr David Howes, the Council’s Executive Member for Rural Communities and Localism

Cllr David Howes led the dragons and presented the winning team with a virtual reality headset.

How inspiring to see such young entrepreneurs in action, demonstrating the talent that we have in the North Northants area. I look forward to some of these ideas becoming a reality!Cllr Jason Smithers, Leader of the Council

I am thrilled with how the day has gone, the students were fully engaged and taking part in some exciting activities and interacting with local and national businesses.

The Dragon’s Den was a success and the final seven teams pitched worthy ideas to Cllr Howes and local business owners that showed remarkable dedication and professionalism. It was lovely to see their creative and entrepreneurial skills in action as they explained their sustainability ideas.Abby Smith Head of Quality at Tresham College