Small Business Charter: Assessment Workshop

Matt is a Associate Professor in Marketing. Matt's research interests include Knowledge Exchange, small business growth, work-based learning and consumer choice. I am an active member of the North East Local Enterprise Partnership and directly support and train SMEs through European Regional Development Funding.

In 2013, Matt established the Marketing Internship Programme and currently work with over 154 North-East SMEs, as well as some of the region’s larger businesses including Sage UK Ltd. Matt is a member of the Management Board of The Small Business Charter, and currently lead the Help to Grow – Management Programme in the North East and North West of England. Matt has secured over £4.5 million worth of research income from extensive knowledge exchange activity including Knowledge Transfer Partnerships and Continuous Professional Development and have developed an extension national network for knowledge exchange activity.

Outside work, Matt is a Director at PraxisAuril, an Ambassador for The Open North foundation, sits on a number of boards, and is a Chair of a North-East based charity.

Siân is a Certified Business and Management Educator, a Chartered Manager, a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute and a Fellow of the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education.

A values-driven, people-focused and experienced higher education (HE) and commercial leader, Siân has a reputation for delivering service and financial results, leading organisation change, expanding external stakeholder engagement and facilitating internal culture change through a focus on innovation, enterprise and entrepreneurship initiatives.

Consultancy/interim services in the following areas: business school leadership and management, business engagement, pedagogical and curriculum innovation, international education, income generation, the 'Entrepreneurial University' in particular developing absorptive capacity, Small Business Charter assessments and training, leadership and management development, change management especially technology driven change, organisation development, women's career development and business networks.

Education and training services in the following areas: Executive education delivery in organisational change, leadership and management, research methods, workshop design and facilitation, Masters Dissertation supervision.

Lauren is an educator with a passion for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and Education for Sustainability. Lauren has developed extensive expertise in team coaching, self-directed learning and experiential learning through the role as a Team Coach (Senior Lecturer) on the pioneering BA (Hons) Business: Team Entrepreneurship programme within Bristol Business School.

Lauren became a fellow of the National Centre for Entrepreneurship in Education in 2015, having completed the International Entrepreneurship Educators Programme. In August 2018, Lauren was elected by my peers in the sector to the Board of Directors at Enterprise Educators UK, the leading independent membership network for enterprise educators. Lauren completed the Postgraduate Certificate in Academic and Professional Practice at UWE in 2020, achieving Fellowship with Advance HE.

In January 2023, Lauren became one of the EDI Leads for the College of Business & Law, focusing on addressing the Black-White Awarding Gap. This is an area Lauren is very passionate about and plan to research further within the thesis for her Doctorate of Education. Lauren also currently leading a project funded by Enterprise Educators UK exploring the intersection between enterprise education and education for sustainability. This follows a project funded through HEIF in collaboration with colleagues in the College of Arts, Technology and Environment, delivering a climate action project with young people. Lauren is also an EDI Champion, which involves promoting and signposting UWE's EDI initiatives within my programme team.

Before joining UWE, Lauren worked as an Entrepreneurship Advisor within Cardiff Metropolitan University where Lauren supported the delivery of the Welsh Government's Youth Entrepreneurship Strategy. In September 2017, Lauren was selected as one of 10 enterprise educators to participate in a study visit to Japan to share best practice in enterprise education. Here I presented at the British Embassy on Cardiff Met's approach to enterprise education as well as the Welsh Government support for entrepreneurship.