The first module saw the volunteers make Dragon鈥檚 Den-style presentations to a panel from the sport and business community to pitch a venture they would like to develop.
The Academy has links with the University鈥檚 sports volunteering programme SUNEE (Sport Universities North East England) which aims to enhance student鈥檚 employability through sport volunteering opportunities with schools, colleges and socially deprived community groups.
University students mentored the young volunteers during the Academy event. Among them was BA (Hons) Sport Management student James Elliot, who said: 鈥楾aking part gave me practical experience to complement the theory side of my course. It also provided me with working knowledge of lecturing, which is what I鈥檓 interested in as a career.鈥�