Students Learn How To Pitch Perfect!

Students from Fife College enjoyed a masterclass in how to deliver the perfect business pitch thanks to a partnership with Acorn Enterprise.

The Masterclass event was held at the College’s Carnegie Conference Centre in Dunfermline recently and was attended by students and guests from the business community and businesses that have participated previously in the Acorn Enterprise Business Accelerator Programmes.

Kallum Russell, Chief Enterprise Officer with Acorn Enterprise, was delighted to welcome everyone to the event which looked at the practical processes of creating, developing and delivering the perfect pitch, from ‘Pitch Master’ Bob Keiller!.

Bob, who is Chairman of Scottish Enterprise, has a gathered a great deal of experience over the years. Said Bob: "I was delighted to share some lessons on pitching and presenting with Acorn Enterprise at Fife College recently. I have made more mistakes than most giving talks and have lots of hard won lessons. I also realise that the more work I put in - the better the outcome!"

During the event the audience enjoyed exploring storytelling and learning more about how to craft a memorable, authentic and emotional pitch that helps to sell an organisation, makes sales and secures suppliers.

Over the past two years Fife College has worked with Acorn Enterprise to foster a culture of enterprise at Fife College and as a result has delivered several Business Bootcamps for students and organised a College-wide Enterprise Competition last year. Acorn and Fife College are also currently working together on an exciting project that will enable enterprise to be embedded into more subject areas in the future.

Said Kallum: "We love working with Fife College because they truly understand the impact and importance of enterprise, regardless of subject area. The students and staff we have worked with have always impressed us with their genuine enthusiasm, energy and willingness to learn!

“Acorn Enterprise aims to add value to the student experience, by bringing an entrepreneurial edge to the curriculum. We are very excited by the prospect of working with even more students in the future.”

Students Lewis O’Donnell, Declan Murray and David McKinlay were part of a team who won a recent competition set by Acorn Enterprise in conjunction with the College. As a result the three students were invited to attend the pitch event. They hope that their new skills in pitching will help them progress their business idea of a garage app, an idea which won them the enterprise competition last year.

Lewis (33) from Kincardine, who is currently studying HND Interactive Media, said: “We really enjoyed the Masterclass pitch from Bob Keiller. As pitching is new to us, we found it as equally exciting as we did scary but when Bob took to the floor, he made us feel like we had met him before and we were hooked from there on. We hope to to take the experience from the event and use it for our app idea - thank you Bob, Acorn and Fife College for all your help and support”

Bob Keiller is the former CEO of the Wood Group and is the Chairman of Scottish Enterprise and a Director at AB15 Ltd. Bob is also former Chairman of the Entrepreneurial Exchange, was awarded Entrepreneur of the Year in 2006 and 2008, he was also named Scottish Businessman of the Year in 2007 and Grampian Industrialist of the Year in 2008. In 2011 Bob was voted ‘Scottish Male Business Leader of the Year’ at the Scottish Leadership awards.

Fife College offers a wide range of opportunities for students including those studying business and computing subjects. To find out more about what courses are available visit www.fife.ac.uk or call 0344 2480115. Applications for courses starting in August will open on Monday 30^th January.