Encouraging Dynamic Global Entrepreneurs, the EDGE program

Learning the Big Apple way

It all started in February 2004 when Jim McAloon, Director of Business Growth and Learning with Scottish Enterprise Dunbartonshire led a team to New York City on a 'Learning Journey' to see how things were done in New York City. During the team's visit to Columbia University, a conversation with Dr. Christopher Pratt, Dean of Columbia University sparked a proposal to bring together Columbia students with students from Scottish universities and high school pupils from Dunbartonshire. Internships, where mixed teams of young people would learn about entrepreneurship and enterprise leadership while working with the owners of Scottish small to medium sized enterprises.

The vision was that these teams would work with Dunbartonshire enterprise owners to develop and implement growth strategies, leading to development and global opportunities for everyone involved.

Giving young entrepreneurs an EDGE

After 18 months of planning, 48 young people from around the world came together in June 2005 for 8 weeks to live, study and work in Scotland with 16 owners of small to medium sized enterprises.

EDGE was developed by a number of different institutions working together including Columbia University, Scottish Enterprise Dunbartonshire, the University of Glasgow, with additional support from the European Union, the Scottish Executive, Dunbartonshire Education Authorities, the Scottish Institute for Enterprise, Careers Scotland, globalscots, and small to medium size enterprises in Dunbartonshire.

The EDGE, participants were provided a unique opportunity to combine living, learning and working in an international and inter-generational team, applying their learning hands-on, to real business situations. And for those who took part, the program had a profound effect.

EDGE provided an international internship experience in contemporary Scotland where the participants took part in:

• An intensive interactive two week instructional component at the University of Glasgow learning about entrepreneurship, enterprise leadership, cross-cultural teamwork, consulting, and economic and community development.
• Six weeks in mixed teams, supported by industry experts including globalscots, consulting to small and medium-sized enterprises in Dunbartonshire (along the Clydebank and north, just west of Glasgow) to help them develop strategies and plans for growth and development.
• An exciting cultural programme especially designed to help the young people discover both historic and contemporary Scotland during the eight-week programme including an MSP-guided tour of the new Scottish Parliament, a reception with the Lord Provost in the City Chambers of Glasgow, the Balloch Highland Games, Edinburgh and Urquhart Castles, Loch Lomond and Loch Ness, outdoor team building, company visits, learning reviews, an Awards Dinner and Ceilidh.

The young people participating in EDGE experienced a big dose of life changing global citizenship. The international aspect of EDGE gave them a chance to share knowledge, experiences and learning. As a result they gained a new understanding of the global market with first hand business knowledge and friendships. The students took with them not just the practical experience of helping established enterprises grow and develop, but also a new understanding of the global entrepreneurial culture in which now live and work.

In their own words...

Columbia University student Julia Werb, wrote, "The EDGE Programme has changed the way that I look at the world. I now find myself walking down the street not thinking, "Wow, I wish that were different," but "How can I change that to make it better?" Working closely with five other people to produce a massive amount of work took coordination, planning and strategy, but ultimately yielded incredible rewards and results, which far exceeded our clients' expectations as well as our own. Thank you to everyone who helped us along the way. To quote one of my team members, "It is not the sun that shines in Scotland, it's the people."

Douglas Academy, Dunbartonshire pupil Ryan Melville, wrote, "EDGE 2005 has been the best eight weeks of my life. I have never done anything so meaningful or that taught me so much and gave me such satisfaction. I have met some of Scotland's most influential business men and women and also worked with a group of people who can only be described as the best. I would never have had the guts to start up my own business ... my dreams would have stayed dreams but the last eight weeks has shown me that I can."

Columbia University student Ayinwi Muma, wrote, "These have to have been eight of the most amazing weeks of my life. Because of the life long friends and international business partners, and because of the business experience and knowledge base that I've gained as a result of the EDGE programme, I now look at movements of businesses nationally and globally as simple interactions of people: interactions that I, even as a student, have the power to affect, change, improve, or grow. So much has been demystified and thus, brought closer to me. I am incredibly motivated to keep this momentum going forward, especially as we go forward with our business ideas! I suppose you could say that my life has been changed forever."

University of Glasgow student Stephen Paterson told the Daily Record, "I didn't know what to expect. But it has exceeded all my expectations. We will be able to monitor the tangible things, like how the businesses have done afterwards, but it is the intangible things where the effect will be the largest on everyone involved. I personally feel I have achieved a great deal, but the wider ramifications for the economy are enormous."

Philip Johnston, Managing Director of S3 Interactive in Clydebank and Scotland's "Most Entrepreneurial Young Company" who took part in the scheme asked students to conduct a feasibility study into expanding his electronic recycling firm into Europe, told the Glasgow Evening Times, "We gave [the EDGE project] a brief about how we wanted to understand the eastern European market much better and see if we could set up an operation there. It came back to us with a comprehensive report and even gave us some leads and contacts. We would never have got round to doing that and would eventually have paid some management company a fortune to do it for us."

Professor Steven Beaumont, Vice Principal for Research & Enterprise at the University of Glasgow, commented, "The programme is a fantastic opportunity for University students from Glasgow to develop their skills in enterprise, consultancy, teamwork and leadership. Working with these key skills will aid their employability and could potentially spark an entrepreneurial idea that they can progress.

And the future for EDGE?

Since this auspicious beginning in 2005, the EDGE program has taken place annually for the last four years. In 2006, students from Simon Fraser University in the USA joined the fray. Unfortunately, in 2010 a proposal to stop funding for the scheme caused protests from previous participants and the issue was debated in the Scottish Parliament. Given the positive outcomes for so many of those who took part it is hoped the program will be back on track for 2011 ready for a new intake of Scottish and US students to learn some valuable life lessons on running a business. And for those who were given the opportunity, lives have been enriched and the flames of entrepreneurship in both young Scots and young US citizens have been fanned.

One day we may see them burst into flame.