The Faculty of Business and Law at Anglia Ruskin University has been awarded the Small Business Charter in recognition of its commitment to supporting small businesses, student entrepreneurship, and the local economy.
The content of the courses available at the Faculty of Business and Law demonstrate the school’s commitment to enabling students to gain skills geared towards driving success in the workplace. Initiatives such as Live Brief Modules allow small businesses to set real world problems for students to develop and present solutions.
Further to this, The Anglia Ruskin Enterprise Academy delivers a varied programme of extra-curricular enterprise and entrepreneurship activities, including the ‘Be Your Own Boss’ seminar series, the ‘Big Pitch’ business ideas competition, and the Student Business Start-up Support virtual hub, all of which are designed to allow students to learn and develop skills to start a business themselves.
The faculty’s years-long collaboration with the Welding Institute (TWI) led to the launch of the Anglia Ruskin Innovation Centre in Cambridge in 2021. The Centre builds on previous projects between ARU and TWI, such as the GrowIn 4.0 project, which worked with small businesses in the manufacturing industry to explore how new technologies can increase productivity and growth within the industry.
The school further demonstrated their commitment to supporting small businesses and regional growth with a number of programmes for SMEs in the area, such as Futures by Design which helped SMEs find new ways of using data to drive business success, and the Eastern New Energy project, which supported small businesses to explore decarbonisation within their company.
The Small Business Charter Award is a national accreditation, assessed by small business leaders, to recognise business schools which demonstrate excellence in supporting small businesses, student enterprise, and the local economy. The Faculty of Business and Law, Anglia Ruskin University will hold the award for three years. There are now 54 business schools that hold the SBC Award in the UK and Ireland.
Professor Gary Packham, Pro Vice Chancellor and Dean of the Faculty of Business and Law at Anglia Ruskin University, said:
“We are delighted that we have received Small Business Charter accreditation given our commitment to encouraging and supporting enterprise and entrepreneurship. We have worked hard to forge strong links with businesses across our region and these partnerships have enhanced our teaching, research and the employability of our graduates.”
Anne Kiem OBE, Executive Director of the Small Business Charter, and Chief Executive of the Chartered Association of Business Schools said:
“We are delighted to welcome the Faculty of Business and Law at Anglia Ruskin University into the Small Business Charter’s network of nationally accredited business schools. This award demonstrates their excellent range of support for small businesses and student entrepreneurs, and we look forward to working with them as they expand their range of offerings to small business.”