The School of Business and Management, Queen Mary University of London has been accredited with the Small Business Charter in recognition of its commitment to student entrepreneurship, supporting small business, and the local economy.
It is clear that SBM has a strong commitment to support small business in the area, through initiatives such as the QM BioEnterprises Innovation Centre and the QM Enterprise Zone, with tenancies open to both alumni of the school and SMEs not previously connected to QMUL. SME tenants of the incubator spaces praised the support they received and were particularly complimentary about the range of regular workshops offered to them.
SBM has two established advisory boards: the SBM Advisory Board, and a second board focused on the school-based Entrepreneurial Hub. The Board advices SBM on the overall strategy and direction of the school, with particular focus given to education, graduate employability, and the external image, identity and positioning of the school. Membership of the Board closely mirrors the mission of the school, with four SMEs featuring in the Board's membership to help ensure the needs of the SME community are reflected in faculty recruitment planning, design of entrepreneurship programmes, and employability activities.
The panel were particularly impressed by the School of Business and Management's wide offering designed to nurture student enterprise, with activity designed to develop skills embedded across the curriculum. A good proportion of teaching modules and learning opportunities involve SMEs, and the school's enterprise provision is tailored to meet the needs of the student body, with the SBM Career Mentoring scheme, Industry Spotlight, SBM Entrepreneurship Hub, QM Social Venture Fund and the Student Knowledge Exchange Through Community Hubs (SKETCH) being particularly noteworthy.
The Small Business Charter 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 School of Business and Management, Queen Mary University of London will hold the award for 3 years. There are 65 business schools that hold the Small Business Charter in the UK and Ireland.
Mike Noon, Dean of the School of Business and Management, Queen Mary University of London, said:
"I am delighted that we have been awarded the Small Business Charter and I am extremely proud of the dedicated team behind our work supporting small businesses, student entrepreneurship, and the local economy. The accreditation recognises our expertise in these areas and, importantly, it will help us expand our activities supporting the growth of local businesses in the East of London."
Flora Hamilton, Executive Director of the Small Business Charter and CEO of the Chartered Association of Business Schools said:
"We'd like to congratulate the School of Business and Management at Queen Mary University of London on achieving the Small Business Charter. They have demonstrated their dedication to supporting local SMEs and embedding entrepreneurship into the curriculum. It is fantastic that they use their links with regional stakeholders to create a framework for locally based SMEs, and we look forward to continuing to develop our relationship with them,"