Bath School of Management and Aberdeen Business School, Robert Gordon University, have been reaccredited with the Small Business Charter (SBC) for supporting small businesses, student enterprise, and their local economies.
The School of Management of the University of Bath has been awarded the SBC reaccreditation for five years for its strong institutional commitment to SME engagement and the regional economy. The assessors praised initiatives such as SetSquared, the Innovation Centre, and the Enterprise Lab, which are evidence of the thriving enterprise and innovation ecosystem within the school and are having a positive impact of the local entrepreneurship and SMEs.
Professor Steve Brammer, Dean of the School of Management of the University of Bath said:
"Engaging with the business community and fostering innovation through the work of our researchers and students is fundamental to the university’s mission. We are honoured that the school’s contribution has been recognised through the Small Business Charter Award. This accolade reflects our sustained commitment to supporting business success—whether through academic expertise shared with local enterprises or through the entrepreneurial education and guidance we provide to students embarking on their own ventures. We remain dedicated to creating an environment where ideas flourish, partnerships thrive, and the next generation of business leaders is empowered to make a lasting impact."
Aberdeen Business School, Robert Gordon University has been awarded the SBC reaccreditation for three years for the scope of its activities encouraging growth and development among small businesses. The panel of assessors praised the support provided to SMEs through knowledge transfer partnerships, the Help to Grow: Management course, and bespoke enterprise and employability programmes such as Connect to Business.
Dr James Cunningham, Associate Professor in Entrepreneurship with Aberdeen Business School said:
“Our school has a long history of excellence in small business support and in entrepreneurship research. In the process of re-accreditation, we found it very satisfying to see how we had developed from our initial SBC award. I feel like being SBC accredited has given us the confidence to go even further with what we do, whether that is to double-down on our existing initiatives, or move into new areas we hadn’t considered before. The panel, and the whole process, was very encouraging of this, and the constructive conversations of the re-accreditation event and the final report have sparked a lot of ideas.”
Flora Hamilton, Executive Director of the Small Business Charter and CEO of the Chartered Association of Business Schools, said:
“We are delighted to reaccredit these business schools with the Small Business Charter. Each of these schools has shown an outstanding commitment to supporting small businesses, fostering entrepreneurship, and strengthening their regional economies. These reaccreditations recognise the vital role business schools play in deepening engagement with SMEs to drive innovation and growth across the UK.”
Find out more:
Aberdeen Business School, Robert Gordon University | Small Business Charter
University of Bath School of Management | Small Business Charter