MBA students will put forward solutions to a panel of global business executives
On 20 March fifteen teams of MBA students from Oxford Saïd, London Business School, Cambridge Judge and Warwick Business School will compete in a ‘Hackathon’ competition that will challenge them to produce ideas for speeding up the business world’s transition to clean energy. Their proposals will be judged by executives from energy companies including BP, Shell, Neptune Energy, Octopus and Brill Power.
The term ‘Hackathon’ originates from the software industry and refers to short events in which people collaborate intensively on projects.
The students have been working since 12 March on accelerating the transition to clean energy in a specific geography, sector, or government and nurturing their ideas with expert mentors.
One of the mentors is Stuart Grondel, Strategy and Operations Manager at Brill Power.
‘Throughout my life, I have had the privilege of having several mentors guiding me at various stages,’ he said. ‘I am always keen to return the favour in a formal mentorship whenever the opportunity arises. I'm really excited to hear what these motivated, multidisciplinary teams come up with to tackle the energy challenges we face.’
This event follows the inaugural Saïd Business School Hackathon in June 2020, which asked students to find solutions to the pandemic’s impact on mobility, with a particular focus on the car industry.
Event organiser Madeleine Paler, Career Coach and Employer Engagement Manager at Saïd Business School, commented: ‘It’s great to see our hackathons bringing together the brightest minds from the UK’s leading business schools to work on the biggest challenges facing the world today. The support and engagement from our clean energy network this time has been immense – we’ve created a buzzing virtual community of over 100 alumni, business leaders and students to incubate incredible new ideas.’