Get an inside look at Oxford Academia’s 2024 Business seminar in this summer blog post:
The Business, Banking, and Markets group has had an exciting week of classes. So far they’ve covered everything from supply and demand to business model development, and the 2008 financial crisis. Students have followed recent developments in the UK especially closely, learning about the general election’s impact on the wider economy. They have also evaluated the Oxford business community and identified gaps in the marketplace, learning to think like strategic entrepreneurs. Beyond the classroom, they’ve engaged with real-world business scenarios and explored such topics as persuasive presentations, marketing plan development, advertising campaign analysis, and financing strategies.
The course will culminate in a final presentation, where groups pitch an original business idea to potential investors. Groups have surveyed locals and tourists to get a sense of how entrepreneurship might be able to improve their quality of life. Having identified their idea, they continue to work hard daily to develop business plans and think through how to launch their start-ups.
This past Saturday, the class took part in a “Future of AI” summit, joining with faculty and majors in Psychology, English Literature, and Art History to talk about how artificial intelligence is changing our world and how students and educators should use this exciting tool. The group considered ways in which it can expedite some of the ‘busy work’ in business to leave time for more creative and critical work.
This week, the Business majors embarked on a day-trip to London, exploring the gems of the financial district, including the Bank of England, the London Stock Exchange, Bloomberg, and Lloyd’s of London. They made a culture stop at the Wallace Collection to take in this preeminent art collection and had a fun lunch at the popular Borough Market. It was a quintessential London day—rain included!
“My personal favorite class that I’ve had so far in business was when we did an investment simulation. This simulation was where all of us were given events that had happened in the world, and had to make educated guesses on how they would impact the stock market. I thought this was a very unique and fun way to learn about the foundations of investing.” —Maddie K.
“The business and banking class has influenced me to think about what I really want to study in college. I feel that I have grown overall from the financial district tours in London to the talks in the classroom.” —Nate B.
