Member Article

Big Top helps Students ‘juggle’ Life Skills

Newcastle Business School BA (Hons) in Business Leadership and Corporate Management Undergraduate students took on an induction day with a difference this week; learning circus skills!

As part of the Undergraduate experience, an induction day with a difference was arranged for Newcastle Business School’s BA (Hons) Business Leadership and Corporate Management students yesterday.

The day saw new students to the programme taking on a range of circus skills, provided by Steve Cousins (Director – and as he puts it, ‘Head Clown’) at Let’s Circus, the region’s leading circus skills training organisation (http://www.letscircus.com ). The day saw students taking part in juggling, Unicycling and tightrope walking, and encouraged them to partake in both team and individual challenges which saw them negotiating, influencing and learning from mistakes; all key skills that students will need for both their student and work life.

Lucy Hatt, Senior Lecturer on the programme commented “We really wanted to do something different with the students on our induction programme that focused on breaking down barriers and building relationships but still ensured every student was made to feel welcome and made friends on the programme quickly and easily”.

“Studies have shown that learning to juggle increases brain capacity and could boost your brain power,” Lucy went on to say. “In addition to helping students build a good social network with each other, learning to juggle has many benefits including relieving stress and giving you a sense of accomplishment. We wanted the students to feel more confident about starting their University programme as a result of learning this new skill.”

As part of the unique BA (Hons) in Business Leadership and Corporate Management programme at Newcastle Business School, students take a 2-year industry placement with corporate clients such as Procter & Gamble, Greggs and Nissan; to name but a few. The first year of the programme gives students a more traditional learning environment; seeing them work on campus on core modules to build their understanding of business ahead of their two year placements.

Steve Cousins advised that “team bonding on a session like this is really important. We find that working with young people in ‘ice breaker’ situations is helped when it’s delivered in a fun and lively, yet challenging environment. Pushing yourself outside your own comfort zone is an invaluable life skill, and learning something as challenging as circus does that. When you’re on top of the game in the business world, juggling and walking tightropes are useful metaphors to relate to. Today we’ve explored them in reality.”

Students were very complimentary of the day; Liam Fell commented “The circus workshop was great to get to know classmates; everyone joined in and was enthusiastic which enabled everyone to connect on a personal level and has built relationships that will last”.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Newcastle Business School Marketing .