West Ham United Foundation Hack hosted together with students in London and Chicago
On 23 March 2021, the Loughborough University London Future Space team held yet another of its online hacks, together with West Ham United Foundation and DePaul University Chicago.
Future Space hacks teach the discipline of solving problems sustainably by throwing real challenges at teams of students and taking them through a process to generate and test their ideas. This time the problem came from West Ham United Foundation who proposed the challenge of finding new ways to raise revenue through its activities. Those taking part included students from across Loughborough University London's Institute for Sport Business and those from DePaul University Chicago.
Loughborough University London and DePaul staff have been collaborating on practical entrepreneurship activities, and as faculty and students from DePaul would normally make an annual visit to London, the virtual hack enabled them to connect and internationalise the student experience from their own homes.
Over the two hour hack the teams learned how to rapidly analyse the needs of a client and quickly generate and test their ideas to provide solutions. They developed their teamwork skills and were able to gain skills and experience in pitching their ideas. As well as developing their ideas the teams got to meet and network with students from around the world.
Dominic Edwards, Coach at West Ham United Foundation said:
"As a proud alumni of Loughborough University it was great to come along and hear ideas from such a multi-disciplinary group. The winning idea was really simple and a tangible thing I could take away to see if we could action."
One of the DePaul students commented, "I found this workshop to be one of the most fun aspects of our virtual study abroad. I loved meeting the people at Loughborough and found them to be extremely kind and welcoming."
Ben Cole Head of Strategic Projects and Future Space said:
"This super quick hack was a great way for our students to meet and work on a really interesting challenge from West Ham. It was also great to connect our students to those studying at DePaul in Chicago to further increase their networks in the international business of sport."
As an additional bonus, all students from Loughborough University London were able to count their involvement against the Future Space Personal Best London award. The award supports and recognises students personal and professional development as they study at Loughborough University London.
Loughborough is one of the country’s leading universities, with an international reputation for research that matters, excellence in teaching, strong links with industry, and unrivalled achievement in sport and its underpinning academic disciplines.
It has been awarded five stars in the independent QS Stars university rating scheme, named the best university in the world for sports-related subjects in the 2020 QS World University Rankings and top in the country for its student experience in the 2018 THE Student Experience Survey.
Loughborough is in the top 10 of every national league table, being ranked 4th in the Guardian University League Table 2020, 5th in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2020 and 8th in The UK Complete University Guide 2020.
Loughborough is consistently ranked in the top twenty of UK universities in the Times Higher Education’s ‘table of tables’ and is in the top 10 in England for research intensity. In recognition of its contribution to the sector, Loughborough has been awarded seven Queen's Anniversary Prizes.
Specialising exclusively in postgraduate-level study, Loughborough University London is based on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and offers cutting-edge master’s and PhD degrees, as well as business collaboration, research and enterprise opportunities.
The seven specialist institutes at Loughborough University London include: Design Innovation, Digital Technologies, Diplomacy and International Governance, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, International Management, Media and Creative Industries, and Sport Business. Close industry partnerships with a wealth of leading businesses and creative organisations means teaching and learning is informed by real-life challenges and driven by true industry pressures.