Teamwork is the secret to scaling business heights

CQUniversity challenge forces students to think locally and act globally

Ayden Scott, Alexa Roder, Jorja Downey and Joshua Sanderson of Heights College faced the CQUniversity Business Challenge Tuesday. Picture: Jann Houley

ROCKHAMPTON'S winning student team faced contenders from Cairns to Melbourne at CQUniversity's Business Challenge on Tuesday.

The quartet from Heights College - who won the regional round in May - battled four rounds of multiple choice questions about management and economics, law and general knowledge during the videoconference with other senior students.

Each member of the winning team in Round 1 received a $1500 CQUniversity Scholarship, provisional upon their enrolment in the School of Business & Law at CQUniversity.

In addition to her school studies, Jorja Downey works one day a week in her home town of Yeppoon towards a Cert. III in Business as part of the school's VET program.

She said spending Thursdays with the team at Centrepoint Finance is an amazing benefit in preparing for a future in the industry.

Jorja, who has family "up north and out west to Emerald” plans to study agri-business or combine business studies with a degree in graphic design.

She described the team's advantage, which won them the regional competition in May, as playing to each others' strengths.

"We delegate questions about law to Alexa; we help her figure them out but we're good at giving other people the lead.

"We do that a lot at Heights, especially within our leadership team.”

Alexa Roder aims to become a solicitor like her Mum in the area of immigration, whereas Ayden Scott and Joshua Sanderson aspire to run their own businesses one day.

Dean of Business and Law Professor Lee Di Milia said the fifth annual Schools Business Challenge seemed to be growing increasingly popular.

This year, it includes students from schools across the regions of Rockhampton, Emerald, Gladstone, Bundaberg, Mackay, Townsville, Cairns, Brisbane and Melbourne.

"The School of Business and Law wants to further develop the thinking and skills of Challenge participants if they choose to undertake tertiary education.

"We are now refocusing some of our courses and units around the United Nations Sustainable Development goals.

"We want our students to think locally but also globally how they might play a role in solving intractable issues like poverty, equity, clean water and a decent education for all, because these are the challenges that your generation are clearly going to face in the future."

Originally published as Teamwork is the secret to scaling business heights