Westbourne College Sydney, a new STEM-centric high school for academically elite students seeking pathways to the best universities in Australia and around the world, is always on the lookout for students’ experiences in the Business/STEM and leadership space.

An MBA-style experience for high schoolers

All of these things coalesced in the involvement of 14 of our students in the Westbourne Future Leaders Lab at the Singapore college campus from June 24-28. Having spent the week in Singapore with Westbourne students and seeing it all firsthand, it is no doubt an opportunity like no other – an invaluable experience for high school students to obtain a genuine MBA-styled education adapted appropriately for their level of experience while challenging them to learn business at the next level.

Westbourne Sydney students joined students from our sister schools in the UK and Singapore from our Westbourne International network to learn from INSEAD Professor Adrian Johnson and other industry professionals. This week-long workshop covered many of the areas one would expect to see in an MBA, and the students were able to use some of the latest AI tools to sharpen their business, communication and strategic skills.

The course revolved around keynote presentations on areas such as communication, creativity, negotiation, use of AI, start-up business planning, strategic analysis of business viability, financial planning and the roles of key people in imagining, planning, launching and ensuring the sustainability of a business.

Case studies on how successful businesses started allowed students to strategically apply this information and, in groups, brainstorm their own business ideas, which were then analysed, challenged and ultimately distilled down to one business venture per group.

Even in the earliest stages, it was clear that all of these businesses were not only achievable but would have a unique place in the business sector and could easily attract financial backing. Most business ideas involve sophisticated, cutting-edge technology and are not listed in detail here because the ideas are so good that they could easily be snapped up by others!

Students gradually devised and revealed aspects of their business operation and used Johnson’s experience and expertise as an academic at INSEAD to continually refine and enhance their business proposals. It is worth noting that INSEAD is ranked 2nd  in the world business school rankings and is determined to regain the number 1 spot previously held.

Also of note, Johnson is no theoretical academic, he has started and grown a highly successful business of his own and has extensive networks around the world. Students at the Future Leaders Lab gained incredible insights and connections that would normally be only accessed by MBA students with at least a decade of experience in the business world.

One of the most compelling sessions explored the students’ negotiation skills, with students engaging with an AI tool that saw them negotiate a contract with a fictitious Hollywood star. It was impressive to see students take on characters and force themselves to adapt their negotiation style to suit the different characters and the demands of the situation, respectively.

The negotiations were complex and went beyond the fictional star to include his family, his agents and those in the industry. Students held negotiation sessions using the AI tool, which adapted to the negotiation approach and scored the groups on how well they managed this complex individual, with the winning group scoring 79, only just below the scores gained by experienced negotiators completing their MBA!

Industry exposure and insights

A major highlight I observed from our students was when the programme reached its full-day excursions to Google and INSEAD Singapore. The sheer excitement of visiting these well-established corporations was clear from their facial expressions.

First, we visited INSEAD, where students toured the leading business universities and learned about their current focus on sustainability. They had a taste of university life by hearing a lecture within a lecture hall and then entered a graffiti-decorated Creative Lab purposely built for brainstorming.

Following that visit, students stepped into Google to learn about their work culture from ‘Googlers’ themselves, along with the recruitment process. This was then followed by a tour of the building, where students were able to see how a business environment takes into consideration the design of workplaces, such that each space is intentionally built with purpose.

When I asked Eliott, a student of Westbourne Sydney, what he enjoyed most, he responded, “My favourite thing about Google and INSEAD was being able to see the facilities. It was really cool being able to see all the different ways that INSEAD’s trying to be more sustainable.”

On Thursday, back at the Singapore College, the programme kicked off with a business communications session by Anna Ong. Ong assists major organisations such as JP Morgan with how to use narrative to engage stakeholders, preceding the final session on Friday afternoon, which was the eight-minute “pitch” to venture capitalists for backing of their business proposal.

As a Comedian by night, she has an impressive ability to mix humour with strong business communication skills. She brought to this session her extensive experience in dealing with different types of organisations, including cultural awareness from her experience living, working and operating businesses across the globe. This exposure is certainly invaluable as our students begin their own journey beyond Australia.

Culminating event: Pitching to venture capitalists

On the final day, Friday, students faced the audience of venture capitalists. This was a combination of local Singapore business guests, parents, students and staff from Westbourne College in Sydney and Singapore. The quality of the ‘pitches’ was staggering. Some teams used AI-generated content to create promotional videos that were of market quality.

All groups led with their mission and vision, explained the feasibility and sustainability of the product, produced financial forecasts, detailed how they compared to any market competitors using the Blue Ocean strategy presented by Professor Johnson, and explained their roles in the venture.

In eight minutes, the groups managed to create a compelling and realistic business plan for their product or service and, just as significantly, faced a two-minute interrogation of their business by the judges who scored each team. The quality of every presentation was high, and as two teams received the same score, the final winner was decided by the quality of a one-minute summary pitch.

Key takeaways: Preparing for successful futures

Speaking with Johnson, he mentioned, “At the Westbourne Future Leaders Lab, we delved into topics typically reserved for elite universities, tackling subjects that are the domain of top students and executives.

It never ceases to astound me how adeptly these young high school students grasped the sophisticated concepts and themes we explored this week. We kicked off with an ideation session, brainstorming new ventures harnessing the power of AI. This was followed by a comprehensive business modelling exercise, covering leadership and entrepreneurship topics from the business model canvas to the blue ocean strategy.

The week culminated in dynamic strategy fair presentations, where each team created innovative booths and presented their projects in a lively and impactful manner. The energy and creativity on display were nothing short of inspiring.”

The Future Leaders Lab, a world-first of its kind, certainly matched my own education in my early years as Deputy Principal. All these key learnings and insights from the programme have helped shaped the future leaders of tomorrow in Singapore, Australia and UK who will become the next generation business leaders and entrepreneurs across science, tech and engineering.

I am particularly thrilled that high school students have this learning opportunity, where they learn directly from industry professionals and gain a head-start in preparation for their future.

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