Are students capable not only of solving business problems, but also of creating them themselves? The ‘Profadienis’ entrepreneurship event, held on 28 October, provided an opportunity to put this to the test in practice. This year, the Faculty of Civil Engineering at Vilnius College was represented by two student teams – from the Civil Engineering and Transport Logistics study programmes. At the event, which brought together 60 students from Lithuanian colleges and universities, the teams had the chance to test their skills in a real-world business environment, discuss, present their arguments and seek solutions alongside business representatives.
This year’s ‘Profadienis’ took place in three stages, and one of its most interesting new features was the opportunity for students to become the creators of business scenarios themselves. During the second stage, teams prepared their own business case analyses, in which they had to identify and formulate relevant organisational problems. Three of the cases created by the students were selected to form the tasks for the final rounds. It is particularly pleasing that the business case prepared by a team of students from the Civil Engineering programme at the Faculty of Civil Engineering of Vilnius College was among these three. This is not only an opportunity to demonstrate analytical skills, but also recognition of their ability to view business situations from the perspective of their own professional field.
In the final stage, the students’ solutions were assessed not in the lecture theatre, but in a real-world business setting. Representatives from companies such as ‘Cencora’, ‘Rokiškio sūris’ and ‘Girteka Group’ took part in the discussions. The students had to assess the potential applications of artificial intelligence, find solutions to financial and reputational crises, and balance client expectations, staff interests and the long-term objectives of organisations. All competition activities were conducted in English, making it a test of professional communication skills and readiness for an international working environment.
Vilnius College stood out at this year’s event for the sheer number of teams it fielded – it had the most teams reach the final. For the Faculty of Civil Engineering, this experience is yet another opportunity to confirm that professional knowledge, creativity, critical thinking and the ability to collaborate are integral to the competencies of a modern specialist. After all, in business it is not only important to know how to solve problems, but also to be able to spot them in good time, identify them precisely and propose effective solutions.
