Students in the first year of business administration at Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences (SeAMK) participate in virtual business activities for either one year or six months. During the activity, students set up virtual businesses, although the goods and real money are not used. The goal is to get an overall picture of the company's operations through doing into practice.
In the International Business training programme, so-called sponsor companies are sought to support virtual companies, through which the operations of a virtual company can be carried out in practice. The sponsor companies can order small assignments from their own virtual companies if they wish.
Business plans for different aspects of the sponsoring company's operations
Students in International Business training program set up their own virtual businesses last autumn. As a sponsor company, they have had an IKH Arena and a Karhubasket basketball team from Kauhajoki Finland.
Students became acquainted with the activities of the sponsor company by visiting IKH Arena, among other places. Students then draw up business plans for different aspects of the business, such as the restaurant and match events.
This spring, the students also received a separate assignment from Karhubasket, which aimed to develop events before the matches. Students were able to present their commission-based marketing campaigns and event ideas to the sponsor company. As a prize, the winning group was invited as VIPs to the Karhubasket game at their home field IKH Arena.
“Impressive, idea-rich and ready-made solutions”
According to the feedback, IKH Arena was very pleased with what they heard and saw. The ideas presented by the five groups of students for the pre-game events and related marketing campaigns were mature, well-developed and the brand had been taken into account.
According to students, participation in virtual business and a special assignment provided valuable learning experiences and taught effective teamwork. Students gained practical skills in preparing marketing and social media strategies for sporting events, which required creative and strategic thinking to attract an audience. During a special assignment, they learn the importance of analytical thinking and collaboration in producing effective solutions.
The original text has been published in the SeAMK block.