THUNDER BAY, November 22, 2023 -Confederation College’s business students are hosting Student Enterprise Market Days this week. This annual event, which began on Monday, encourages students to sell their unique products created by upcycling or repurposing materials.
Erin Oner, Program Coordinator and Professor for Business Marketing at Confederation College, emphasizes the significance of this hands-on learning opportunity. “The Enterprise Challenge teaches students about corporate social responsibility, all proceeds are donated to our Emergency Student Food Bank, which addresses food insecurity within the campus community. We also focus on sustainability and the importance of reducing waste and coming up with creative ways to repurpose otherwise useless products to keep them away from our landfills,” she explains.
To successfully complete the Enterprise Challenge, each student must develop their own sustainable enterprise, starting with writing an individual code of ethics based on the Seven Sacred Teachings. Students then collaborate in teams to create a basic marketing plan, manufacture new products using repurposed or upcycled materials, and promote the sale of those products.
The market offers a wide range of products, including storage solutions, decorative ornaments, clothing, accessories, home decor, jewelry, woodcrafts, bath and beauty products, candle holders, and more. Throughout the week, twenty student groups will set up shop and sell their creations to the college community.
The Challenge not only provides students with entrepreneurial experience but also paves the way for potential future endeavours. “These small steps, where students produce sustainable products and promote their enterprise to our college community, may one day lead to something bigger,” Erin Oner explains.
Paula Cifuentes, a 1st-year Business Student, shares her experience with the Enterprise Challenge: “The Enterprise Challenge helps us as students to think about how we can reduce waste or reuse materials but also apply it in a practical way. When looking at sustainability, my team really examined what we had at home that was not being used or what was about to make it to the trash and came up with a simple product – repurposing books; as students we have a lot of textbooks; we’ve made the pages into ornaments, frames, and bookmarks.”
The market will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. until November 24 in the Shuniah Student Lounge and outside Ryan Hall. The public is welcome to join in and support this great cause.
For more information about the business programs offered at Confederation College, visit confederationcollege.ca/thisislearning.