Five years of celebration

Guildhall School of Business and Law are celebrating five successful years of our Employer Led Problem Based Learning challenge.

Date: 31/03/2016

Guildhall School of Business and Law are celebrating five successful years of our Employer-Led Problem Based Learning challenge, in which our second year Banking and Finance students partake.
 
Last semester after weeks of preparation second year Banking and Finance BSc students took to the stage in front of a panel of judges to deliver a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weakness, Opportunity and Threats) and a strategic solution to a business problem, followed by question and answer sessions at State Street Bank's own auditorium in Canary Wharf. 
 
The students participated in weeks of challenging tasks which included completing assignments, following a tight brief as well as presenting in front of a tough panel which they were also assessed on. The judging panel included six individuals including Professor David Nevill, assistant vice president and Mr Todd Fournier, skills trainer, both at State Street Bank Global Services; Mr Dermot O'Brien, CEO of the Adab Trust, Ms Nanya Oboite, Financial Times; Mrs Chris Sale, Visiting Lecturer, and Mrs Ron Cambridge, senior lecturer and course leader, BSc Banking and Finance, Guildhall School of Business and Law.
 
As part of the Employer Led Problem Based Learning project, the students were also trained by the university’s own Carmel Carroll, academic liaison librarian, and Tahera Huda of the Placement & Employability Unit (PEU), as well as, Miss Nanya Oboite from the Financial Times, who helped in training the students to use the valuable rich data available on ft.com. Students used their training in researching information about State Street Bank and the industry in which the bank operates, in order to produce professional business reports, and in preparation for their final presentations.
 
This was a great opportunity for the students to gain practical presentation skills within a professional established banking corporation. We caught up with one of the candidates before she was about to perform her presentation. She gave us an insight into how she prepared for this challenge and into how she was feeling.
 
She said it, "was a tough experience knowing that my grades depended on our group work, report and most of all, our presentation, however it was a great opportunity to get a feel of how a real presentation in front of professional bodies would be. It was great preparation for when we are graduates. I really enjoyed this experience and the opportunity to present at State Street, and receive help from the Financial Times is a once in a lifetime chance. The nerves are kicking in now, but hopefully our hard work as a group will be shown through our presentation.”
 
The event was opened by a speech by London Met Vice Chancellor Professor John Raftery, who also attended the student’s presentations.
 
London Met is proud to recognise the great achievement of the winner of last year's challenge, who following her graduation now works in State Street Bank. 
 
Guildhall would like to congratulate all students who took part in the State Street Bank Competition.  
State Street bank 2016