Young Change Makers Bend the Future
29 Jan 2023
...female entrepreneurs have the power to change the world!
The Women in Enterprise venture started as a way to promote entrepreneurship education at PLC Sydney,
Women in Enterprise Program
PLC Sydney’s Women in Enterprise program aims to provide the opportunities to nurture our young entrepreneurs strengthening the pipeline into tertiary opportunities and business start-up success.
The program started as a way to promote entrepreneurship education at PLC Sydney, providing Business Studies students the opportunity to develop network connections with female entrepreneurs (including our ex-student community) working in business and finance.
The ‘Enterprise’ elective for Years 9 and 10 students has proven a popular addition to the Stage 5 curriculum. This cross-curricular elective connects the Cambridge IGCSE Business Studies Course with the NESA Design and Technology Course, guiding students to start their own business, design and manufacture, and finally market and sell their products. At the end of Year 10 students attain Cambridge Business Studies accreditation. Open Day and Fair 2022 provided the opportunity for these students to launch their business ideas to the public.
Mrs Rebecca Nichols heads up the program as Head of Business, Economics & Entrepreneurship. With approximately 20% of PLC Sydney graduates going on to pursue Business courses at a tertiary level, and the growing economic importance of small business startups, there has been considerable demand to expand the scope of entrepreneurship.
PLC Sydney will offer a business entrepreneurship pathway of study for students entering Year 11 in 2024. This involves selecting from a suite of Cambridge International subjects including:
- Business
- Information Technology
- Accounting
- Psychology (including organisational and consumer psychology)
- Art & Design
- Sociology
On completion, students would be awarded with Cambridge International AS/A Level qualification.
PLC Sydney’s annual Women in Enterprise breakfast currently provides our Year 11 students with the opportunity to network with successful female entrepreneurs in our alumni and parent communities. PLC Sydney ‘Shark Tank’ has also created a launch pad to showcase the thriving businesses run by our students, many of whom were able to exhibit at the 2022 Open Day and Fair.
The flexibility afforded by the Cambridge Entrepreneurship study pathway, will also allow for time to access real world business experience, including industry placements and design-thinking workshops to pitch social enterprise ideas. Young Change Agents will be working with interested students in the July holidays to establish the foundations of design thinking in entrepreneurship.
As well as establishing curriculum and co-curricular opportunities, PLC Sydney is seeking to spark entrepreneurial spirit in our students by exposing them to start-up ecosystems on a global scale. An inaugural Entrepreneurial Innovation tour is to take place in 2023, with PLC Sydney students set to visit Israel. Israel, with its large concentration of high-tech start ups, is home to a thriving network of businesses centred around artificial intelligence, health, agriculture and environmental business solutions. Students will have the opportunity to visit these businesses, and enjoy practical and hands-on experiences.
The best way to predict the future is to create it.
Peter Drucker
