Students from Years 9-12 have gathered at the University of Tasmania’s newest learning facility, The Forest, for Business for Good - an interactive event exploring sustainable business practices.
Ninety students from five schools heard from keynote speaker Dr Masayuki Tatsumi, a marine scientist and Head of Research and Development at pioneering environmental technology company Sea Forest.
They also took part in a circular economy challenge as part of the event, hosted by the University of Tasmania, identifying different kinds of waste and how they might have value if it was repurposed, recycled or diverted.
Dr Tatsumi said his message was that business could turn scientists’ solutions to sustainability problems into reality.
“The most important thing is that, if you're passionate about something, that's the goal you have to achieve,” he said.
“You need to know how to get there and business can actually help you achieve that.”
Finding mentors and giving yourself permission to make mistakes were also key to creating change, Dr Tatsumi said.
Year 12 student Bella Lynch said Business for Good would reinforce her business studies course at Elizabeth College.
“I think it's important for people to have that opportunity, instead of just working for other people, to work for yourself and start up your own thing,” she said.
“So I was interested in coming here as it's an opportunity to learn more of those skills.”
Taroona High School Year 12 student Rowland West said Business for Good would reinforce the entrepreneurship unit he is studying in the University Connections Program.
“It might not shape the profession I go into, but I think it will shape how I approach the profession problem-solving and things like that,” he said.
“It's quite diverse in what it can affect, but it can also be quite specific in what it can lead to.”
Aspiring lawyer and Year 12 student at St Virgil’s College Lachlan Cannon said Business for Good, along with his economics and business studies courses at school, would help with his ambitions.
“I'm working towards becoming a lawyer, that's my end goal,” he said. “And as part of that, towards the end of my career, I'd like to open up my own firm.
“So obviously understanding all of the operations, the human resources, things behind a business are pretty important.”
Elizabeth College Business Studies teacher Luke Jackson said the event consolidated his students’ classroom learning.
“It’s getting students out of the classroom to apply those real-world scenarios and hands-on learning of the concepts they learn in the classroom,” he said.
“They come back full of energy, full of ideas. and it reinvigorates all the learning you do in class. It's brilliant.”
Dean of the Tasmanian School of Business and Economics Mark Bowles said he’d been inspired watching the students go about their challenge.
“These students are introduced to the foundations of the entrepreneurial mindset,” he said.
“They develop the confidence and tools needed to turn ideas into initiatives that create businesses and positive change for the community and environment.”
Learn more about the Bachelor of Business at the University of Tasmania.