We are delighted to announce that Cardiff Business School, Sheffield Business School, and Solent Business School have successfully completed their reassessment and will continue to hold the Small Business Charter Award. These business schools were assessed by the SBC’s assessors – including small business leaders - and have continued to demonstrate outstanding work in supporting small businesses, student entrepreneurship, and their local economies.
Anne Kiem OBE, Executive Director of the Small Business Charter and Chief Executive of the Chartered Association of Business Schools, said:
“We would like to congratulate these business schools for successfully retaining their Small Business Charter accreditations. These schools provide vital contributions in supporting small businesses and their local economies, and demonstrate outstanding commitment to supporting student entrepreneurship. We are delighted to continue to work with these schools, especially on the imminent roll out of the Help to Grow: Management Course.”
Cardiff Business School
Cardiff Business School proactively supports entrepreneurialism within the student body by offering a wide range of opportunities including placements, engagement with entrepreneurs, and consultancy activities.
Cardiff Business School’s Public Value ethos has been a driver for the school’s focus upon serving small business, social enterprise, and local communities. This work has extended into the school’s own procurement strategy, which has lowered barriers to entry for local small business and connected with the school’s impressive small business research outputs and Knowledge Transfer Partnerships.
The panel were particularly impressed by how successfully Cardiff Business School have demonstrated the value of its small business offering, with high numbers of small business clients enrolling on courses and programmes of various types.
Cardiff Business School has successfully retained the Small Business Charter award for a further 5 years, with their Integrated Research on Enterprise and Innovation and Public Value initiatives being awarded exemplar status.
Professor Rachel Ashworth, Dean of Cardiff Business School, said:
“We’re extremely proud of our research, teaching and engagement in the field of small business and entrepreneurship, so we are delighted that the Small Business Charter assessment by the Chartered Association of Business Schools has resulted in re-accreditation for another five years. Our Public Value strategy prioritises the co-creation of education and research that generates economic and social value; we are absolutely delighted to have been awarded an exemplar for the implementation of Public Value, in addition to one for our research. These achievements are testament to the committed and collaborative relationships colleagues have fostered with our small business, social enterprises and co-operative communities here in Cardiff, across Wales and throughout the rest of the UK.”
Sheffield Business School
Sheffield Business School offers outstanding support for SMEs in the local region, evidenced through their involvement in initiatives such as Leading to Grow, Scale Up 360, Sheffield Innovation Programme, and the Small Business Leadership Programme.
The Hallam iLab, a business incubation space available to students, alumni and external participants, has also been an incredibly successful initiative. The number of businesses utilising the space has grown from 96 in 2018/19 to 176 in 2019/20.
The panel were particularly impressed by the school’s support of start-ups. Their start-up workshops and ‘Covid Survival’ workshops for businesses in their early development stages have been well attended. The panel also commended the school’s mentoring opportunities for students, such as the Hallam Collective and Hallam Career Mentoring.
Sheffield Business School has successfully retained the Small Business Charter Award for a further 5 years.
Professor Eileen McAuliffe, Dean of Sheffield Business School, said:
"Sheffield Hallam University is a leading applied university that is open for business and plays a major role in supporting the vibrant small business community in the Sheffield City Region and beyond. Achieving reaccreditation from The Small Business Charter confirms Sheffield Business School's position as a catalyst for business creation and growth in the region. This award represents a culmination of collective efforts since our initial accreditation in 2018 and provides the platform for the business school and the wider institution to capitalise on ambitious plans ahead, including of course the recently announced Help to Grow scheme.
Solent Business School
Solent Business School has continued to support SMEs through the Higher level and Degree Apprenticeships. They have also demonstrated a strong track record of embedded enterprise education, with particular expertise in the creative, film and digital, and maritime sectors.
Solent has evidenced a clear new strategy, developed their leadership and management capabilities, and have embraced opportunities such as the City of Culture bid. The assessor panel were particularly impressed by the dedicated faculty team and Solent Business School’s commitment to encouraging entrepreneurship and providing support to small businesses.
The panel also highlighted the business school’s partnership with Warsash Maritime School, which will stimulate growth by opening routes for leadership and management training for businesses in the maritime sector and their supply chains.
Solent Business School has successfully retained the SBC Award for a further 3 years.
Caroline Walsh, Director of Solent Business School said:
“We are delighted to have secured the Small Business Charter Award for a further 3 years. This provides the essential route to build further the great work done by the school with the small businesses in our region. With plans to expand our reach through the Help to Grow: Management Course, we look forward to playing our part in leading the Covid-19 pandemic recovery with leadership and resilience capability across small businesses in the region.”