Hult Magazine Issue 7 | Page 11

STUDENT AND ALUMNI UPDATES HULTIAN NEWS BBA team shows winning entrepreneurial flair Starting up in Portugal A team of six Hult undergraduate students scored high praise at the prestigious FLUX event, held recently at Lancaster University. The team, comprising Capucine Morin, Tomi Blanchard, Joakim Viland, Nicolas Artunduaga, Philippe Shali, and Donata Haque Bernutz, were only three percent off coming first, and were highly commended for their innovative solution to a business case based on a damaged bridge in the center of Lancaster. The students had to come up with a strategy to reduce traffic congestion, boost the local economy, and prevent further flooding—offering them the chance to tackle real-world problems and test skills necessary to succeed in the workplace. Dr. Melissa Willby, Dean of Undergraduate Programs at Hult, said: “I am so proud of our team and would like to congratulate them on showcasing their entrepreneurial skills at this level. It is especially rewarding to see practical application of these skills, really demonstrating the employability of our students. Their standing in the competition and feedback received from the judges really does go to show that our Bachelor of Business Administration provides an exceptional student experience, and a competitive edge when starting your career.” We would also like to extend our congratulations to the team! Read more at: http://goo.gl/Qul3KU Our Portugal Chapter recently held a spotlight event in Lisbon with João Vasconcelos, Executive Director at Startup Lisboa, and for this issue we share an excerpt of the interview the Chapter held with him. As a former advisor to the Portuguese Prime Minister, founder of several companies, and now head of Lisbon’s leading business incubator and accelerator, João Vasconcelos is well placed to share his insights into Portugal’s thriving entrepreneurial scene. Recently, the traditional corporate career path has been losing appeal amongst MBAs, but entrepreneurship is gaining traction. To what extent do risk and opportunity cost balance out? There is a whole generation that has discovered the risks associated with working for major corporations are very similar to those associated with running your own start-up—the 2008 crisis made that crystal clear. This generation’s role models are people like Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg, and many people at least want to try and become entrepreneurs—and for sure