Mansfield students take on first 5G business challenge

Despite students not being able to attend work placement venues in person due to Covid-19 the work placement team set about arranging meaningful and skill-stretching exercises for learners to benefit from.

Nick Mellors from Innovation Nottinghamshire set Level 1, 2 and 3 business studies learners with a number of project briefs to undertake in groups based on the subject of 5G technologies being rolled out into businesses and schools.

The groups had three days to work collaboratively on their research and presentations, looking at the many aspects of what 5G technology will bring to both businesses and the public, such as virtual reality, augmented reality, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, robotics and automation and to present how businesses could capitalise on new technology within their sector, attract customers to use their technologies and ensure they’re not left behind.

As well as presenting their ideas to Nick, students were required to complete a reflective work placement diary which detailed how they reached their decision, listed what they felt would work well and areas for improvement.

Throughout the students’ project planning they also enjoyed some online training from Gogglebox star Baasit Siddiqui. He produced a video for students to look into his career journey and taught them how to create podcasts, which helped the learners with their project presentation skills.

The winning idea came from Cerise Yates, Claydon Groom and Ben Thorpe for their ‘Learning About 5G’ project idea, a concept aimed at young people in schools to teach them about the pros and cons of the technology and the many areas it can be used in.

Level 1 Business Studies Claydon, 20, said: “I wanted to teach the younger generation how technology in 5G works. Young people will end up being employed in businesses using 5G so I thought about inventing a VR game which would simulate a world of work using 5G so that they could get a valuable insight before starting work.”

The college’s employability and progression manager Maxine Buttery said: “The arrival of 5G technology is going to mean great change for businesses. The students came up with some really innovative and diverse projects to show how industries can use this to their advantage.”