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NewswireToday - /newswire/ -
Hungerford, United Kingdom, 03/04/2009 - A group of winning students has selected UPS Systems plc as the best company to invest in at the end of a ‘Champions of Enterprise’ competition. The students awarded the business an imaginary £100,000 to further its work in fuel cell technology.
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The Dragon’s Den style challenge is the brainchild of the Education Business Partnership West Berkshire and the Greenham Common Trust and has been running within the region for the last five years. During this period over 3,000 year 12 students from eight schools have taken part.
Designed to give an understanding into the various elements that go into running a successful business, the competition gives students the opportunity to develop new skills such as planning, organisation, communication, decision making and teamwork to help prepare them for the future careers.
Three local companies pitched to the students for the imaginary £100,000 investment giving details of what they would do with the money. Winning company UPS Systems presented its work with fuel cells, explaining that it would use the money to fund a public relations campaign to raise awareness of this technology, promoting the benefits fuel cells offer and why they are important for sustainable energy.
The competition saw eight schools from throughout West Berkshire battle it out to be crowned the ‘Champion of Champions’ at the prize giving ceremony at Newbury Race Course in an event which attracted over 150 people including Councillor Phil Barnett, Mayor of Newbury. The winning students from the Willink School chose UPS Systems because of its dedication to promoting fuel cell technology and the value they would add to future energy provision.
Karen Sperrey, Operations Director at UPS Systems said, “Obviously we are extremely happy that the students chose UPS Systems to invest in. They fully understood the potential of fuel cell technology to provide clean and reliable energy, and even simulated a power cut in the middle of their presentation to reinforce the benefits of using this technology. We have been involved with the Champions of Enterprise competition for several years but this is the first time we have been asked to pitch for the imaginary £100,000 investment. It’s a great competition because it gets the students involved in real business situations and we are keen to support the students’ development in helping them to acquire new skills.”
Lesley Yates, Project Officer at the Education Business Partnership West Berkshire commented, “We are very grateful to UPS Systems for their involvement in the Champions of Enterprise Programme and especially for allowing over 800 students to scrutinise their business! Without companies like UPS Systems, this event would not be possible and it is such a great opportunity for the students to understand the various elements that go into running a successful business. The enterprise skills learnt by the students during Champions of Enterprise are key life skills and invaluable to their future careers.”
UPS Systems plc is the UK’s largest independent supplier of standby power solutions. Through its independent position, allied to close working relationships with the world’s leading manufacturers, the company is uniquely able to offer impartial technical advice on the widest range of standby power solutions. An authority on fuel cell technology, UPS Systems implemented the UK’s first two hydrogen fuel cells providing AC standby power, and is currently working on projects where the technology will be used for the supply of backup or prime power to utilities, telecommunications, remote telemetry, portable signage and renewable energy applications.
Education Business Partnership West Berkshire is a local charity based at New Greenham Park, Newbury which promotes and organises a wide range of innovative work related activities for young people in education within West Berkshire.
Greenham Common Trust works in close partnership with the local community providing financial support for charitable projects and purposes in West Berkshire and North Hampshire.
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