Bootcamp entrepreneur: Elizabeth Nassem
Thursday, 1st July 2010
Elizabeth Nassem, from Pontefract, is in the 4th year of her Doctor of Education at the University of Huddersfield and is currently writing up her thesis on bullying. She has plans to develop a consultancy business working first with schools - and eventually businesses - to help develop truly effective bullying policies.
“My research has shown that the root causes of bullying remain poorly understood, despite the implementation of policies to try to prevent and deal with it. There’s still a stigma attached – children don’t want to tell teachers that they’re being bullied as it can make things worse. Even the clearest policies at school can actually push the bullying underground, where physical abuse can turn into more sophisticated psychological abuse, which is just as damaging.”
Elizabeth intends to offer a consultancy service, including talks and workshops, to apply what she’s learned in her doctorate. “I can give schools ideas and advice to help improve the overall culture at the school,” she says. “If you can get the culture right, you’ll see improvements not just in bullying but also in other challenging behaviours and the children’s self esteem .”
She says Huddersfield University’s Business Mine has been very supportive and encouraging. “They suggested that Bootcamp would give me the ideal environment to think clearly about ways forward. At the moment it’s the seed of a business idea and a bit fuzzy so I want to learn as much as I can about how best to market the business, how to target potential clients as well as finances. I’m really looking forward to it.”
