This week, four teams of LAE students visited the offices of insurance firm BMS to present the results of their Summer Entrepreneurial Challenge projects.

Presenting to a panel of senior executives, groups of 3-5 students delivered solutions to problems posed by BMS at the start of summer. Topics included reducing air travel, improving employee experience and integrating AI into insurance processes.

Over the summer holidays, the students - now in Year 13 - analysed the problems and developed innovative solutions. They had to bring together problem-solving skills, creativity, research and analysis, and work together as a group, to create convincing cases as to why the panel should choose their solution.

One group proposed a very creative solution to employee engagement, through an international exchange scheme, capitalising on BMS's position as a global firm. Another group looked into AI and found that it posed opportunities not only in workflows but also in offering tailored insurance for clients using AI. More than one group programmed their own app to use in solving their problem, including an impressively thought-through travel logging and rewards app for BMS to use to track employee business travel and incentivise greener options.

A reward for the best group project will be delivered next month. In the meantime, the students involved are grateful to have had the opportunity to present a board-style argument in the offices of a central London firm. The teamwork involved meant that there was a place for all thinking styles to come together, and students had a chance to step outside their comfort zones.