Summer Springboard
Business & Leadership
ACADEMIC COURSE
GAIN VALUABLE INSIGHTS INTO THE BUSINESS WORLD WHILE LEARNING DIRECTLY FROM FOSTER SCHOOL FACULTY IN THEIR STATE-OF-THE-ART BUSINESS SCHOOL FACILITIES
Course Highlights
- Participate in a transformative academic experience where you will engage in a two-week immersive program led by UW Foster School faculty, featuring classroom learning, corporate insights, and a team-based case competition.
- Get exposure to business strategy, problem solving, marketing concepts, financial acumen, teamwork, leadership and presentation skills through a case competition.
- Learning will take place both in and out of the classroom integrating academic fundamentals with corporate perspectives.
- Grow your professional and social networks by connecting with UW Faculty and a diverse cohort of domestic and international students.
- Gain college and career readiness skills by participating in workshops and activities designed to build critical thinking, leadership, and collaboration skills, preparing you for college and beyond.
- Explore Seattle’s vibrant business community through exclusive company visits, where you will have the opportunity to connect your coursework to real-world business practices.
Summer Springboard
Business & Leadership
Course Overview
The UW Foster School of Business High School Program is a two-week immersive experience designed for rising high school juniors and seniors. Taught by UW Foster Faculty, the program topics are carefully designed to provide essential critical thinking skills in a short amount of time, culminating in a team-based case competition. Through this systematic approach, students will learn important written, oral, interpersonal, leadership, and problem-solving skills that could be applied to various challenges in their college lives and future careers.
This program offers:
•Academic Rigor: Classroom learning led by Foster faculty, culminating in a case competition.
•College Preparation: Workshops, activities, and excursions focused on critical thinking, collaboration, and readiness for college life.
•Collaborative Partnership: Combining the academic excellence of UW Foster with the operational expertise of Summer Springboard (SSB).
More on the Case Competition:
At the end of the two weeks, students will apply concepts learned throughout the program by participating in a case competition, just like our undergrad and MBA students at UW Foster do.
During this team-based project, students will tackle a real-world business problem from an iconic global coffee company headquartered in Seattle. They will learn to ideate multiple solutions as a group, weigh the pros and cons of each idea collaboratively and constructively, use critical thinking to select the best option, and make a persuasive presentation to a panel of experts. Students will also watch their peers’ presentations to learn how different teams approach the same situation, expanding their perspectives on problem-solving strategies.
Students will develop leadership skills as they examine business problems, share their ideas with peers, work effectively in teams, propose well-reasoned solutions, and deliver presentations with confidence—all skills that will help them in their future endeavors. As a bonus, students will go behind the scenes of the featured company during one of the included excursions!
Upon completion, students will receive a Letter of Participation from their instructor and a completion certificate.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Outcome #1
Develop leadership and teamwork abilities through collaborative projects and peer-to-peer engagement.
Outcome #2
Strengthen critical thinking and problem-solving skills by analyzing and presenting solutions to real-world business challenges.
Outcome #3
Enhance communication skills, including written, oral, and interpersonal, by preparing and delivering persuasive presentations.
Outcome #4
Gain exposure to professional business environments and career pathways through faculty-led instruction, industry excursions, and applied case studies.
