Business students visit Paris for the Business Live! event

The students were treated to presentations from Joana Lenkova, County Strategy Manager for Disneyland Paris, Louise Fowler from British Airways and Mark Palmer, Marketing Director for Green & Black’s.

Mark Palmer presented first and talked about his experiences with Green & Black’s and how he helped to evolve the business from a health food brand to a main stream brand which is now featured on many supermarket shelves which saw sales significantly increase from £4million to £40million.

Afterwards, Louise Fowler shared her experiences of working with British Airways, the UK’s largest airline, and how she lead change by introducing the Business Lounge and the ‘dining before you fly’ option for passengers.

Finally, the students got to hear from Joana Lenkova, who discussed how innovation forms a key part of Disneyland’s strategy and how being an innovative brand has driven Disneyland Paris to success over the past 25 years.

The following day, the students braved the -13 degree temperatures and enjoyed all the fun on offer at Disneyland Paris, with The Tower of Terror proving to be the most popular ride, which was followed by an evening meal at Planet Hollywood.

Victoria Disley, Curriculum Manager in Accounting, Management, Business and Travel, Tourism & Events at Newcastle College, said: “The Business Live! Educational Business & Economics Event gave our students a true taste of international business and built upon their theory that they study as part of the course that they are studying. Overall it was an excellent experience and something that will in no doubt have an impact on their future studies and careers. The students thoroughly enjoyed themselves and are looking forward to the next foreign business tour.”