We are delighted to announce that a further four business schools have successfully completed their reassessment and will continue to hold the Small Business Charter Award. These four business schools were assessed through the SBC’s virtual assessment process and have continued to demonstrate excellent work in supporting small businesses, student entrepreneurship, and their local economies. The schools are:
• Birmingham City Business School
• Bristol Business School
• University of Leicester School of Business
• University of Portsmouth Business School
Anne Kiem OBE, Executive Director of the Small Business Charter and Chief Executive of the Chartered Association of Business Schools, said:
“We are delighted these business schools have again demonstrated the incredibly valuable contributions they make to small businesses and their local economies. The work that they do to help businesses grow and to support students into entrepreneurship has lasting impacts in their regional economies. Having business schools like these on the doorstep of local businesses is fantastic for our recovery, regionally and nationally. Following the announcement that the nationwide Help to Grow: Management Course will be delivered through business schools accredited by the Small Business Charter, we are pleased that these four business schools will continue to be a part of the SBC.’’
Birmingham City Business School
Birmingham City Business School offers high-quality support to SMEs, as evidenced through their ‘Promoting Sustainable Performance’ project, which has been awarded exemplary status. Findings from this project have been used as the basis for practical interventions that have supported over one thousand SMEs in the West Midlands, Canada, and Indonesia. The project has also helped the business school to develop an executive education programme for SME owners and managers. This initiative is a great example of how business schools can blend research interests and business engagement to support SMEs.
Birmingham City Business School has successfully retained the SBC Award for a further 5 years, and the ‘Promoting Sustainable Performance’ project has been made an exemplar.
Professor Deborah Lock, Head of Birmingham City Business School, said:
“We take pride in Birmingham City Business School playing a pivotal role in the University’s vision of being a university for Birmingham. To be awarded the Small Business Charter once again is a fantastic achievement for the School. I am extremely proud of the hard work and commitment of colleagues, and this award is well deserved recognition of the great work they do in supporting the small businesses of Birmingham and the West Midlands.”
Bristol Business School
The Faculty of Business and Law at Bristol Business School acts as a place of learning for their students but also one in which student entrepreneurs and start-ups are provided entrepreneurial support. The SBC assessors were impressed by the case studies and feedback from the student entrepreneurs and small business owners, who spoke highly of the business school at the virtual assessment visit. SME owners were supportive of the business school’s work in supporting students through work placements, and highlighted the value that the students provided to their companies through this scheme.
Bristol Business School has further demonstrated its commitment to the ambitions of the Small Business Charter through by integrating entrepreneurship throughout its curriculum, and providing a range of services to local small businesses
Bristol Business School has successfully retained the SBC Award for a further 3 years.
Ray McDowell, Interim Dean of the Faculty of Business and Law, UWE Bristol Business School, said:
"I am delighted that Bristol Business School has once again been awarded the Small Business Charter, and we look forward to further deepening our relationships with other SBC schools as well as with our student, public sector and SME stakeholders. The award reflects the investment we have made over the past 5 years in enterprise education, support for businesses, and engagement with our regional, national and international networks. As we implement our UWE Bristol Strategy 2030, our focus is ever more on encouraging enterprise and supporting the SME ecology through pro-bono advice clinics, business hatcheries, programmes of professional development, funding schemes or student engagement with businesses. The SBC is a mark of the quality of our activities and an indicator of our aspirations to grow further."
University of Leicester, School of Business
University of Leicester School of Business’s (ULSB) support for entrepreneurship and small businesses is wide ranging and driven by a commitment to supporting businesses in their region. Through their Innovation Hub, the school has been able to provide commendable support for SMEs and will be able to scale up even further in the coming years. ULSB is playing a significant role in the regional entrepreneurial ecosystem and is seen as a leader in innovation expertise.
University of Leicester School of Business has successfully retained the SBC Award for a further 3 years.
Professor Paul Baines, Associate Dean (Business & Civic Engagement) at University of Leicester, School of Business, said:
“We are delighted to have retained the Small Business Charter Award for a further 3 years. The University of Leicester School of Business, working with the Leicester Innovation Hub and the wider University, are very proud of our work with SMEs regionally, nationally and internationally, and the positive impact our collaboration has had on these businesses. The SBC reaccreditation has allowed us to strengthen our offer to SMEs, particularly in the areas of small business leadership programmes and innovation schemes, focused academic research and also in support of student start-up, placements and enterprise in the curriculum. We remain committed to improving the productivity and resilience of SMEs and working with them to share innovation expertise.”
University of Portsmouth Business School
Portsmouth Business School have built on the achievements of their initial SBC Award through a range of initiatives to support the SMEs they engage with. The assessors were impressed by the environment created and the range of opportunities to stimulate and support student engagement with the SME community. These include placements and consultancy projects offered through the Business and Law Clinics. The panel regarded Portsmouth Business School as a champion of engagement with SMEs.
University of Portsmouth Business School has successfully retained the SBC Award for a further 5 years.
Professor Jeremy Howells, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Business and Law, University of Portsmouth Business School, said:
“This award recognises the well-established and beneficial collaboration between the Business School and the local business community. Our unique position as a large institution with expertise in research, knowledge services and education, means we are well placed to champion and provide ongoing support for small businesses and start-ups. This will be particularly important to help drive sustained economic growth in our region as we respond to the economic impact of COVID-19.”
The Small Business Charter Award provides recognition to business schools that play an effective role in supporting small businesses, local economies, and student entrepreneurship. 33 UK business schools hold the Small Business Charter Award.