LAB Week

What is Lab Week?

Learn About Business (LAB) Week is a tremendous opportunity for driven young students to grow their business skillset.

Learning About Business (LAB) incorporates project-based learning to inspire and develop entrepreneurial, business minded leaders, in a global, free enterprise environment. With the guidance of current Northwood University students and faculty, campers learn all about how the entrepreneurial mindset can lead to success in a global free-enterprise society. LAB allows for students to experience what life is like here at Northwood. The lessons and skills that campers learn here can start a future business leader’s career.

LAB Week FAQs

Who is eligible for LAB?

High School aged students under the age of 18!

LAB will offer High School camps for students in 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th grades.

What are the requirements to apply?

All students are encouraged to apply. Students that don’t meet general acceptance guidelines will be considered. A group of Northwood professionals will carefully review each application within five business days of application submission and respond via email.

Some of the requirements are

Minimum GPA 3.00
Business Club involvement such as: Business Professionals of America, DECA, Virtual Enterprise International, Future Business Leaders of America, etc.
Young entrepreneur or aspiring entrepreneur
Extracurricular activities: student government, athletics, etc.
Community service: volunteer work.
Grit: overcoming hardship.

What does a week at LAB look like?

LAB is all about teamwork. Students will be placed in teams of five and take partin fun and engaging activities with the goal being to create a strong team foundation that will fuel the individual teams through the week. Northwood students and faculty will lead engaging workshops and activities focused on these key areas:

Teambuilding
Leadership
Management

Throughout the course of the week they will learn how successful businesses are designed and built, learn marketing and communication techniques used by businesses to reach their target customers, explore other cultures and the benefits and risks of doing business in foreign countries, a Mini-MBA experience with faculty and compete in a final pitch competition! A full itinerary will be emailed out at a further date with dates, times and locations.

What should I bring to camp?

Refillable water bottle
Ready-to-eat snacks
(We provide breakfast, lunch and dinner, but we strongly recommend that students bring their own snacks in between meals.)
Bedding: blanket(s), pillow(s) and towels
Toiletries
Clothes/hangers
Shower shoes
Small fan (optional)
Laptop computer (optional)
Tablet computer (optional)
Sunglasses (optional)
Sunscreen (recommended)
Cell phone (optional)

Is there a dress code?

LAB Camp is an active learning environment. We want students to be comfortable. As a general rule, students should dress in the same manner as they would at their school. However, we will dress for success (Business Professional Attire) on two occasions (some examples are listed below). We realize that some students may not have professional dress style clothes. Do not buy them just for LAB Camp. Make your best effort to dress business professional and that will be fine!

Business Professional: Male

Conservative suit or sports jacket with coordinated trousers and belt
(if you do not own a suit or sports jacket, that’s okay, just wear a nice shirt and tie)
Long-sleeved dress shirt and tie
Dark socks/coordinating socks
Dress shoes

Business Professional: Female

Conservative dress
Suit jacket with matching slacks
Skirt (appropriate for a professional workplace) and blouse
Dress shoes, flat/low/medium heel

Casual Attire: Male and Female

Your choice, but keep in mind that you should only wear clothes that would be acceptable to wear in a high school setting.

What kinds of Safety Measures are in place on Campus?

As a private university, we are uniquely positioned to offer a safe camp experience for students.

LAB Week is located on the campus of Northwood University in Midland, Michigan (4000 Whiting Drive, Midland, Michigan 48640).

Students will be supervised by faculty and staff during the daytime and Resident Assistants in the evening. Resident Assistants will be staying in the housing area to ensure the comfort and safety of all (24-hour supervision).

Northwood has amazing safety and security professionals who continuously monitor the campus. The campus has just two entrance points, which allows for the safe and effective management of campus entry. The campus is closed to entry at night.

Michigan Campus Security

24-hour security: (989) 837-4373
Emergency: (989) 837-4911
From campus network phones: ext. 74373 or 74911

Northwood Safety and Security Office

Skills Students Can Learn at LAB

There are several skills that campers will learn at LAB. They will learn skills in creating a business from scratch, operating a company to its fullest potential, the mindset of an entrepreneur, collaboration in teams, problem-solving in a business setting, communication through marketing and international business.

Research shows that an entrepreneurial mindset is valued by employers, boosts educational attainment and performance, and is crucial for creating new businesses. Having a robust entrepreneurial mindset will propel you towards future success no matter your future career.

LAB Camp students using the podcasting studio in the Northwood Idea Center

Fun Activities at LAB Week

We also have a variety of activities outside of the classroom for students to enjoy. Some of the activities that we have had in the past are:

Kickball games on the Northwood softball diamond
Scavenger hunts around Northwood University’s campus
Great Lakes Loons baseball games
Field trips to various businesses in the Great Lakes Bay Region
Daily mini-challenges to stimulate the curiosity and creativity of campers
Baby Shark Tank challenges
“Minute-to-win-it”-type challenges

LAB Camp students holding butterflies at Dow Garden

Scholarships Available

We have a limited number of scholarships available for students that might not be able attend due to their financial circumstances. We don’t want the cost of camp to be a barrier to access. All scholarships are dependent upon private donor support.

Four people sit in a lounge area; two giving thumbs up, one reading a magazine about Learning About Business (LAB), and another smiling. They are seated around a small white table in a modern indoor setting.

Total Costs to Attend

LAB Week is valued at $1,500. However, the support of private donors allows us to reduce the cost to students.

Residential

First Time Student
$799

Student intends to live on campus for the week, sleep in the dorms, and get the full immersive camp experience.

Commuter

First Time Student
$699

Student lives within Midland County and will not be staying in the dorms overnight. Student will be responsible for ensuring he/she arrives on campus each morning in a timely manner and will leave campus each night after all planned activities have ended for the day.