Irena Jennings, Lecturer in Careers and Employability, organised visits to both Chapel Down Vineyards and Eurotunnel, fully funded by prize money received after being awarded the Barbara Morris Teaching and Learning Prize in 2017.
Irena Jennings was a joint winner of the Barbara Morris Teaching and Learning Prize in 2017, and was awarded a monetary prize of £1,500 to put towards something that will benefit Kent Business School (KBS) students. As a result Irena organised two visits to local Kent Businesses to enable KBS students to get a real insight into running these two very different organisations.
The first visit was for a mixed group of 30 students from Kent Business School to Chapel Down Vineyards and proved to be a huge success. Students visited Chapel Down Vineyards, England’s leading winemaker and one of the UK’s most exciting drinks companies. The group was given an extensive tour of the vineyards and production facilities and learned about how wine is produced and the difference in production of Sparkling Wine (the English equivalent of French Champagne) and the much cheaper Prosecco.
Mark Harvey, Managing Director of Wines & Spirits at Chapel Down Group plc, explained about the challenges and success of marketing the wide range of products on an international basis. The visit finished with a fun wine tasting session, where everybody had a chance to acquire some expertise about different types of wine.
The second visit took a smaller group of 20 KBS students behind the scenes of the Eurotunnel site in Folkestone.
Following an informative talk and presentation about the transport challenges now and post-Brexit, the group enjoyed exploring the mock training tunnel as well as a minibus tour with numerous stops across the vast site to gain a better understanding of the operations involved in running such a vast business smoothly on an international basis.
Visit our website to learn more about studying at Kent Business School, and for help and advice on how to make yourself more employable and opportunities for a successful transition to the world of work visit the KBS Employability Blog.