Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Hands-on Sustainable Business Projects for credit

Posted by Melissa Aaberg

Are you interested in working on a hands-on sustainable business project during next term – Winter 2015?

Choose from 2 different opportunities and gain real world experience while receiving 2 BA credits through PCC’s Cooperative Work Education program. (Learn more about Cooperative Education at PCC and download the flyer.)

Opportunity #1: Food Cart Business Project

Client: June Key Delta Community Center

The June Key Delta Community Center – just north of the Cascade Campus – is a newly renovated Green Building led by the women of the Portland alumnae chapter of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. The center provides and sustains the needs of its multi-cultural North Portland neighborhood, encouraging sound and healthy social, educational, artistic, economic, and environmental development and awareness – and they want to start a new sustainable Food Cart business.  PCC video @: June Key Delta Community Center

Students will continue development of a full business plan for the food cart (an ongoing project since Spring 2014) and will be teamed up with Architecture students who are creating the food cart’s structural design.

I’m looking for students with an interest in sustainability who can conduct and compile research and short reports, and who have academic and/or professional experience in Accounting, Marketing, Business Venture Funding strategies and/or Small business development. The team meetings are held at the Cascade campus.

This Food Cart project has space for 6 students.

Opportunity #2: Sustainable Purchasing Project

Client: Briar Schoon, PCC Sustainability Manager

PCC is a leader in sustainability and committed to promoting the triple bottom line in its procurement practices as well. Students will work closely with PCC’s Sustainability Manager to research and draft sustainability criteria for products and services commonly purchased by PCC; develop sustainable purchasing guides; and create training materials on sustainable procurement for PCC staff.

We’re looking for students with academic and/or professional experience in research, formal writing, supply chain, and public procurement practices as well as a passion for promoting the triple-bottom-line. 

This Sustainable Purchasing project has space for 5-7 students.

Participation Requirements

1. A minimum of 12 BA credits to enroll
2. Students are required to work with the team and independently for 6 hours/week for a total of 60 hours for the term.
3. Students attend regular team meetings, every 2 weeks (location to be set).
4. Students complete work products throughout the term and prepare a final report and/or client presentation at the end of the term.

Interested in this great opportunity?

Please email Heidi Sickert at heidi.sickert@pcc.edu with the following:

1. Which Coop you’d like to sign up for
2. Why you’re interested in the Coop Project
3. What relevant experience (academic and professional) you can contribute to the project
4. Your availability in Winter term to work 6/hours per week and attend team meetings every 2 weeks

Please send your answers to the above with your resume and confirmation of at least 12 BA credits (please send G#) to Business Instructor, Heidi Sickert at heidi.sickert@pcc.edu by Friday, December 5, 2014.

After reviewing applications, we will select the top candidates and contact them for a brief 15-minute phone interview. Those selected for each of the Coop projects will need to complete registration paperwork before January 5, 2015. The Cooperative Education Dept. will register each student and then students will pay for the 2-credit course.