Three Bay of Plenty students have been chosen to take part in Maseey University's annual Business Boot Camp.
As many as 70 students from 33 secondary schools - from Kerikeri to Palmerston North - attended this years Massey University's Business Boot Camp.
Alana Harrison, a Year 13 student from Bethlehem College, Shawn Savage, also a Year 13 student at Bethlehem College and Siennah Cowles, a Year 12 student from Otumoetai College represented the Bay.
Some of the country's biggest organisations such as NZX, Microsoft, Air New Zealand and GridAKL, a new technology and innovation precinct at Wynyard Quarter, gave students the opportunity to learn from the best.
"Visiting the Chelsea Sugar Factory one of my favourite experiences," said Miss Harrison in a statement.
"It was amazing to see the inner workings behind such an iconic Kiwi brand. We could see how the theory learned in class is actually applied in real life."
"Being surrounded by people that have the same career aspirations is good as you can bounce ideas off each other," said Mr Savage.
"Getting to listen and talk to professionals that have been in the same position, especially those who haven't had a straightforward career path, was encouraging and inspiring."
"We were able to explore businesses and gain a clear understanding of how they worked, as well as get outside of the classroom to use our soft skills like networking in real life," said Miss Cowles.
All three students are considering careers in business, saying they will return to their schools with new skills and, more importantly, many new friends.
This year's camp was over-subscribed, with all places on the programme filled within a week of registrations opening.
"Word of mouth about the first boot camp last year has really spread through the teacher network," said a statement from co-organiser Dr Jeff Stangl from the Massey Business School.
"Some teachers had tough decisions to make as we usually only take two students per school."