Interview: Civil Engineering Student Joseph Ali Shares his Experience of Competing in the University of Warwick’s Starting a Business Competition

Joseph Ali is a Civil Engineering undergraduate at the University of Warwick and was part of the Mystery Threads team which won a £1,500 Engineers in Business innovation prize in the university’s Starting a Business competition.  Joseph tells us what he gained from taking part in the module.  

Why did you take part in the competition?
Competing in the competition was part of my starting a business module and a significant portion of my result in this module was dependent on my team presenting a viable and sustainable business idea. 

Name three key things you learned in the competition
I learned the importance of having strong interpersonal communication channels with other members of my group. My understanding of entrepreneurial skills and what it takes to identify and communicate a successful business proposal were significantly built upon. I gained an insight into what the initial stage of starting a business looks like and can now reflect on what my role as an entrepreneur can look like if I choose to start a business in the future.

What elements of the competition did you find most challenging?
The most challenging elements of the competition for me was the pitch to a panel of expert judges. Although writing the business report did take a significant portion of time this cannot be compared to the stress of presenting our business idea in person. I found it difficult to present our business idea in a concise manner in the short period of time we were given and believe that if I was to do it again, I could present it in a more understandable and factual manner.

Would you recommend it to other students?
Certainly, my knowledge and understanding of entrepreneurship has certainly been built upon throughout the course. Professor Goswami’s teachings have allowed me to better my understanding of this valuable skill and have exposed me to the realities of entrepreneurship on a global scale. I feel as though I know have a much broader understanding of the entrepreneurial mindset and I feel that this is a skill that most students should develop during their time at university.

What were the benefits of taking part?
I believe that a large benefit of this course was the immense knowledge I have gained. However, there are other positive experiences that I have taken from my time studying entrepreneurship. Firstly, I feel as though I have been able to build a strong bond with my fellow team members, working on a project that we were all passionate about allowed us to develop as entrepreneurs and show our creative expression in a stream where that is rarely allowed to be shown. Furthermore, due to the reputation of EIBF, I was able to display this achievement on my LinkedIn which has attracted potential employers and allowed me to provide evidence of my talents as an engineer.

How will the skills you learned help you in the future?
I believe that the skills I gained from this course will help me in multiple ways in the future, I have been able to develop my interpersonal skills when working on this team-based project which will always prove useful due to the nature of engineering projects in the UK. Additionally, I believe that the project has had a massive impact on the confidence of me and my group members, due to us winning the competition I have seen a heightening of emotional and educational resolve in my team which I attribute to the success of our idea in the course. 

Read more about the University of Warwick’s Starting a Business Competition.