BusinessWise Winter 2010

Businesswise/Nov 2010 / Winter Edition

Page 1 BusinessWise Nov 2010 / Winter Edition

In this Months EditionMicrosoft Visit Campus/ pg 10

Haijin Gui visits NBS / pg 6

“NBS frequently receives feedback from students on the quality of teaching provision within the School. We welcome this news and are always pleased to hear how students feel about their experiences with us. We are also formally benchmarked against other UK universities (via the National Student Survey) for quality of provision.

This year we are pleased that we have achieved the following results:

9th out of 123 UK Business Schools for the number of final year students who are satisfied with the overall quality of teaching on their course.

In the 1st quartile of 123 UK Business Schools for satisfaction with the quality of the organisation and management of courses.

Overall, I am pleased to report that we were consistently ‘higher than the national average’ in all categories in the survey. The quality of the work here is testament to the efforts of our staff and also to the students for actively engaging with their studies.”

Should you have any good news or feedback that you wish to share, please email: [email protected]

Dr Ian Brooks, Dean of Northampton Business School, reports on the recent National Student Survey results, 2010

Emma Visits Zambia / pg 3

DPSI Student wins coveted award!Congratulations to Anthony Adamberry (employed by the Ministry of Justice in Gibraltar).

Anthony is the 2010 winner of the Chartered Institute of Linguists’ Susan Tolman Award for the best

Diploma in Public Service Interpreting candidate in the English Law option and he is also the 2010 winner

of the Susan Tolman CPD Prize for the best candidate overall in the Diploma in Public Service Interpreting

examination.

The prize was presented by HRH Prince Michael of Kent GCVO in London in early November.

Calling all second year students, now is the time to organise your work placement. Contact [email protected] for further details.

News Flash /____________________________

Anthony Adamberry pictured bottom left

Engine Creative is pleased to announce that Lauren Jackson is the winner of the Engine Creative Prize for 2010. The prize was established in 2008 to recognise creative talent and industry potential for students on the Advertising with Design BA (Hons) course at Northampton Business School.

Award winner Lauren receives a cash prize and will take up a work placement with Engine Creative as part of the award. Following interviews with a shortlist of candidates for the prize, Lauren’s strong knowledge base and obvious passion for advertising and marketing shone through.

Engine Creative’s Strategic Director, Andrew Wise, comments: “The quality of candidates was particularly strong this year and Lauren stood out as someone who had the same open and positive attitude to the creative industry as we do at Engine Creative. She is looking to secure a role working agency-side across a range of media projects and we’ll certainly be keeping an eye on her career progression.”

Run by Northampton Business School, the Advertising with Design (BA Hons) course has consistently produced talented graduates that have gone on to forge successful careers in the creative, advertising and marketing industry.

“We’re proud to be working with Wendy Langford (Senior Lecturer, Marketing Communications) on this prize and have been hugely impressed by her subject knowledge and her ability to engage and involve businesses such as ours in the development of creative talent in the region.

It’s the second time we’ve had the opportunity to offer this award which follows on from the Engine Most Promising prize awarded last year. We would urge all local businesses to get involved with The University across the great range of courses it has to offer.” says Wise.

Previous winner Hayley Dunn is now working as a Digital Project Manager in a well respected agency and Engine Creative has just hired Advertising with Design (BA Hons) graduate Lizzie Howland as Production Assistant. This recruitment is further investment in the talented workforce currently being developed in the region and testament to the work that The University of Northampton is doing in producing graduates that are academically strong and also industry ready.

Engine Creative works extensively in the local region with a number of organisations in a range of sectors and, being based centrally in Northampton, understands the importance of the role that The University has in helping to create a positive image of the region and enabling the town to maintain strong growth.


Hard work..makes prizes!

NBS Student wins Microsoft Intern Award Catherine Mandungu (BA (Hons) Business Studies) who is working at Microsoft as a Northampton Business School placement student in Reading, has won the Microsoft Intern Award for Personal Development.

Catherine was one of 68 Undergraduate Interns at Microsoft and was nominated for two awards. Catherine won the award for her excellent understanding of the Microsoft Education channel and licensing model and added real value to Microsoft and their partners. Her achievements helped the Microsoft education team achieve their Education pricing level revenue and email growth targets. Congratulations Catherine!

NBS is delighted to be developing further links with Microsoft…see page 10 for details.

Santander AwardsSecond year BA (Hons) International Development students – Oshie Shulman and Fatima Manjra (pictured here with Prof. Richard Sanders) have each been awarded Santander International Development Awards. Initially available as one award, Santander have graciously given both students a scholarship based on the strength of their studies and applications. The scholarships are valued at £3000 each, to be spent on projects connected with their studies. Both will be working on projects abroad and are delighted with their successes.

Andrew Wise and Lauren Jackson


Third year Events Management student Emma Marshall has recently returned from a community work experience project in Zambia with Orange.

“Throughout my time at Northampton Business School I have learnt the value of networking, gaining as much work experience as possible and making valuable contacts for the future. In doing so, I have been very fortunate to have the support of my course tutors and Orange (where I worked as a sales advisor throughout my time at university). I initially took the role within Orange to earn whilst at university but came to realise that they had many opportunities for me to develop within different areas of the company related to my course.

I have been fortunate enough to benefit from different opportunities with Orange; such as helping to plan one of their largest corporate events earlier this year and taking part in their RockCorps project which helps local communities. After planning my own local fundraising event last year I was extremely lucky to be chosen to go to Zambia, Africa with Orange and their official charity partner UNICEF this September.

Whilst in Zambia we visited villages and areas that had been extremely affected by flooding. We were able to see where money raised by Orange customers and employee’s had been used by UNICEF to benefit the lives of children and families in these area’s by providing basic education, health care and improved sanitation. The trip was

a fantastic experience and I feel privileged to have been able to represent both Orange and UNICEF, meeting such inspirational people along the way!

I feel that I can use my experience in Africa to encourage fellow colleagues and friends to get involved and take part in future fundraising events. I will be able to show other students that there are fantastic work experience opportunities out there and to make the most of them throughout their time studying at Northampton Business School. I’m sure my final year at the Business School will be just as exciting!”

Events Management Student Emma Marshall visits Zambia

Student experiences

Datsa Gaile, 37, who is in her third year of a BA in Business Management at Northampton Business School, is a Latvian national living in the UK.

As well as studying for her degree, Ms Gaile is also a trained bi-lingual paralegal and saw a need for a Latvian-language newspaper and networking website for her fellow nationals now working in the UK.

Her newspaper, Anglo Baltic News, is a monthly publication, produced in traditional black-and-white broadsheet format which currently costs £1 per issue.

Datsa credits the university for helping her with her publication, saying: “I applied for a grant and business start up programme at The University of Northampton Enterprise Club, which gave me both capital for publishing a newspaper and knowledge of how to start the business in the UK. It’s a monthly edition at the moment, and from November it will be free of charge. Hopefully in a year we will be publishing weekly!”

Anglo Baltic News is distributed to 200 Eastern European shops, who sell Latvian food, nationwide. Entrepreneurial Datsa is

currently in negotiations with an airline to give it away for free to passengers flying between London and Riga.

Her success with Anglo Baltic News saw her being interviewed at The University recently by Latvian TV. Anglo Baltic News is the first Latvian-language newspaper to be launched since 2004, before

Latvia joined the European Union.

Business student launches Latvian newspaper for the UK


When asked about how she landed her dream job in Merchandising with TU Kidswear, Jessica said….”When first coming to university I had no idea which way I wanted my career to go, however through various lectures and modules I became more aware of where my degree could take me. In my second year I took it upon myself to find some work experience in my chosen fields and initially did a week long placement with the press office at high street brand Warehouse. Even though this was enjoyable I soon decided that it wasn’t what I could see myself doing after graduating. This left me feeling rather despondent and unsure of where I would find my forte in the professional world…until I discovered Merchandising!! In my second year, we participated in a live merchandising project with Tu at Sainsburys; my

report was chosen to be sent to Tu and this is where I began to network. After deciding I wanted some experience in merchandising, I emailed the Tu contact and organised a placement within their merchandising team. This was the turning point for me and I really found I could use my strengths within this job role.

I knew, after my placement, that I wanted to join Tu permanently so I kept looking for opportunities with the company. I applied for a job within Merchandising for Tu’s Kidswear team and was invited to an interview. To prepare, I carefully researched the company and job role while reflecting upon my skills utilising the information gathered from the School of the Arts workshops and the guidance provided by Northampton Business School. My preparation for the interview definitely helped and being able to relate a work placement with them also

Jessica Clark - Fashion Marketing graduate 2010


Eleven managers from Norbert Dentressangle have become the first students to graduate with the company’s unique Foundation Degree qualification, eight of them with distinction.

Developed and launched in 2008 by Northampton Business School in collaboration with Norbert Dentressangle, the two year course was the first in the country to offer the ILM (Institute of Leadership & Management) Level 5 Extended Diploma in Leadership & Management as part of a Foundation Degree.

The course has been designed to meet the specific needs of Norbert Dentressangle’s business. Covering modules such as team leadership, personal development and Health & Safety, all the assignments are work-based, enabling candidates to incorporate their studies into their daily work activity.

Six more employees are expected to graduate in January 2011, with 19 having recently completed their first year and a new 19-strong cohort started the course in September 2010.

Mike Fearey, Programme Leader said: “It has been a real privilege to lead the course. All the students have thrown themselves into their studies and the results – eight distinctions and two merits – were a great achievement and reflect the students’ hard work.” Norbert Dentressangle implemented the programme to provide talented middle managers with the support and training to help them fulfil their potential. In

addition, for those managers with few qualifications, the programme offers the opportunity to achieve a degree, providing formal recognition of their experience and competence.

Mark Simmons, Norbert Dentressangle’s HR Director said: “Having the right people with the right skills is at the heart of our service to customers and the ability to foster and retain talent is critical to Norbert Dentressangle as we continue to grow our business.

The first graduation ceremony was an extremely special occasion and I wholeheartedly congratulate our first 11 graduates, whose continued development within the company we will follow with interest.”

Chris Dolby, Learning and Development Manager, Norbert Dentressangle says:

“We have found the Foundation Degree to be a very effective way of providing the right development for our people. The work-based nature of the programme is ideal for us and our company is already benefitting from better skilled managers. We are really happy with the Foundation Degree.”

Norbert Dentressangle drives forward with Foundation Degree awards

gave me an advantage and a USP!!! I was informed two days later that I was successful and have now been appointed the position which I am over the moon about. In this economic climate, I feel incredibly lucky to have landed the start of my career so soon, however I believe it is down to the experience I gained

through my time at university and using networking opportunities to my advantage! This is everything I could have hoped for as I see my long term career within merchandising and children’s clothing. I want to thank my tutors for their support and guidance in the three years that I have spent with The University of Northampton.”

NBS said a fond farewell recently to visiting scholar Haijin Gui from Wuxi Institute of Commerce in China. Dr Gui (Dean of the Information Engineering Department) spent six months with NBS, researching and participating in the life of the Information Sciences Field within the School. Haijin was involved in postgraduate teaching and engaged in course preparation – bringing valuable scholarly knowledge and experience to the Field. She also experienced many British traditions, including steak and kidney pudding!

Haijin commented:

“During my visit, I entered the Information Sciences & Business Computing Department of Northampton Business School. I found that three points impressed me most deeply and would be instructive in my future work. The first is concerned with Team Oriented Teaching. At least two teachers cover each course and the work of the students (in most cases) is undertaken in teams.

Student Oriented Teaching Methods feature highly too. Much of the work is drawn from real projects and the academic


Staff News

NBS says goodbye to visiting scholar Haijin Gui

International News

Ian Brooks visits Guangdong Polytechnic Normal University

NBS Dean, Dr Ian Brooks, pictured here at Guangdong Polytechnic Normal University, was invited to address students who are considering travelling to the UK to study for Masters qualifications at The University of Northampton. Northampton Business School enjoys a productive partnership with Guangdong and many students progress to Northampton annually. Following the lecture, Dr Brooks met with senior staff of the university accompanied by the University’s representatives in Guangzhou. It seems likely that the partnership between the universities will be further strengthened by holding a joint student competition in enterprise and the co-creation of new curriculum and student learning options.

Susan Bailey and Dr. Gui


Congratulations to Grahame Fallon (Postgraduate Programmes Manager for NBS and a Principal Lecturer in International Business) who has recently been awarded his PhD by Published works.

His thesis explored the causes and economic outcomes of inbound Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) location and the resultant implications for government FDI-related policy development.

A new model was developed, bringing together new thinking regarding the distribution of inbound FDI location, its economic causes and consequences for Western and Eastern Europe (drawn from seven already published research papers) and the pre-existing academic literature in the field. The model sets out an original approach to the conceptualisation of the causes and economic consequences of spatial and temporal variations in inbound FDI location in the European context, centering on the key linkages between its underlying drivers (economic development, transition and transformation, path dependencies and institutional arrangements, integration and convergence, and existing

government FDI-related policies) and the location of FDI. The consequent economic outcomes for host countries and regions, and the resultant implications for future FDI-related policy development by governments are also included in the model.

The thesis makes a contribution to theoretical, methodological and practitioner knowledge and understanding, of potential value to scholars in the political, development and transition economics, economic geography, institutional and cross cultural theory fields, as well as to government policy makers and inward investment agency practitioners. The model generates specific propositions for testing in terms of the causes and economic consequences of inbound FDI location and the resultant implications for government FDI-related policy development, with the potential for application to studies at the national and sub-national regional levels within Western and Eastern Europe and in other global countries and regions.

Congratulations….Doctor Fallon!

Congratulations Debbie Alexander…

Congratulations to Debbie Alexander on achieving her ITIL Expert and Managers qualifications. ITIL® is the most widely accepted approach to IT service management in the world. This qualification will aid the student learning experience by focussing on best practice within the Industry and providing transferable skills to students.

will invite students to join discussions in class, encourage them to think and provide useful resources and information. It requires the students to prepare ahead of time with self-learning emphasized.

The third point is about the use of online teaching methods. NILE (Northampton Integrated Learning Environment) plays a significant role in the teaching activities. With the popularisation of the campus information system, digitalized management has become effective in all fields.

I would like to thank colleagues of Northampton Business School, especially Susan Bailey and her team, for giving me such a valuable learning environment.”

Northampton Business School looks forward to future cross collaborative projects with Haijin and Wuxi Institute of Commerce.


General News

NBS moves forward with plans to enhance its facilities

Students, staff and visitors will have seen the scaffolding being erected around parts of Northampton Business School’s Cottesbrooke building. We are delighted that construction of the new extension is now underway and look forward to seeing the building develop. The extension will provide a large social learning space; offering a relaxing but purposeful environment in which to meet and discuss business ideas. Additionally the facility will include a number of new teaching rooms, breakout rooms for group work, a mock boardroom and a new PC suite.

Draft plans are shown below. We apologise that the build schedule will cause some inconvenience to students, guests and staff and hope that you will bear with us – we should be able to enjoy the new facility from June/July 2011.

The FT is here!

Cottesbrooke is now wi-Fi Enabled!!Students and staff can log in by searching for wireless network “wireless” and entering their university username and password.

Students will have seen copies of the Financial Times in Cottesbrooke building...140 copies are delivered every day and are all gone within an hour! The excellent initiative seeks to introduce a serious newspaper to our undergraduate student population with the aim of improving their understanding of global business issues.

Ground floor First floor


Courses starting in January 2011

NBS has a number of courses starting in the New Year. These courses will be attractive to both full time and part time/distance learners. In particular we offer:

PG Cert Enhancing the International Student Experience: Throughout the sectors of Higher and Further Education there is a continuing growth of various forms of internationalisation. This growth raises issues related to the quality of the provision provided by all parts of an institution and the overall experience of International Students. The course will enable learners to develop as reflective practitioners by initially exploring theories relating to cross-cultural education. Learners then examine current practice related to their own area of activity, teaching, learner support or administration, as appropriate. Students will have the opportunity to design and research the effectiveness of any form of intervention appropriate to their own work with the intention of improving the experience of international students.

PG Cert Income Generation Bidding & Tendering: This course is designed to develop the competence and confidence of professionals from Higher and Further Education, and the Public, Private and Third Sectors in the increasingly important area of bidding and tendering for funds to deliver research, funded projects, and consultancy. Designed for busy people, the three modules of the Certificate programme are delivered over eight to ten months. The assessment tasks are overtly practical – to submit income-generating bids and tenders. The programme is ideally suited to any professional new to the strange and sometimes confusing world of bidding and tendering; as well as their more experienced colleagues who wish to further develop their competence.

Additional courses starting in the New Year include:

Course title Mode of Study

BA International Accounting top up FT

MSc Accounting and Finance FT

MSc Accounting top up (from ACCA/CIMA/AIA) DL

MBA (Master of Business Administration) FT

BA Business & Management top up FT / DL

MA Management (all pathways) FT

Postgraduate Certificate/Postgraduate Diploma in Management Studies/MBA top up DL

MA Leadership & Management top up (from Edexcel/CMI/ILM/NCC/ABE) DL

MA HRM top up (from CIPD) DL

MSc IT Service Management FT

Pg Cert/Pg Dip/MSc IT Service Management DL

MA International Marketing Strategy FT

MA Marketing top up (from CIM) DL

KEY: DL = Distance Learning FT = Full Time

Full course information can be found on our website: www.northampton.ac.uk or by emailing: [email protected]


Guest LecturesIn the last edition of BusinessWise we highlighted a number of guest lectures. These lectures, often by Industry Professionals, are invaluable to the learning experience of students and can often lead to placements or work experience.

This term we highlight the following:

Microsoft Visit Campus!!!Former BA (Hons) Business Information Systems graduate Farhin Khan was employed by Microsoft in September as a Premier Field Engineer (SQL Server). Her success as the first ever graduate hired by Microsoft from Northampton Business School has resulted in further interest in NBS students from UK Group Managers of Microsoft.

In November, they attended Park Campus for a ‘Microsoft Careers Day’ where students were able to view demonstrations of new and emerging technologies and gain an insight into working life with the group. In addition, they were able to engage in informal discussions with Microsoft representatives on potential career opportunities. This was a wonderful testament to the high quality teaching of NBS staff and to the progress of Farhin as a newly employed graduate. Well done Farhin!

Allan Fraser-Rush, the Visiting Industry Professor in Integrated Marketing Communications spent some time with the NBS Marketing Division in October to share industry practice with Marketing staff. Allan is the Global Planner for Lowe International, based in Stockholm Sweden, and works mainly on Electrolux/Zanussi and Saab. He ran a two hour session for staff in the morning on the theme of “Brand Engagement”. He provided an interesting insight into how this is approached within his agency, with digital communications playing an increasingly important role in getting consumers involved with a brand. There was also a discussion about how the subject can be taught to our students across a number of the Marketing modules.

In the afternoon, Allan presented a lecture to staff, year three and postgraduate students on “The internationalisation of advertising campaigns.” In the lecture he discussed how countries are being brought together under a regional umbrella to reduce costs and the challenges this creates in using similar communications across different countries and different cultures. He also explored in some detail how Saab is promoted across a number of countries and the issues that need to be addressed to communicate effectively.

It was an early start for our year three Advertising and Design students on Thursday morning. Allan used an aspect of his work with Electrolux to challenge the students to come up with ‘out of the box’ ideas to present back to him. Allan also set the students a research brief that will culminate in

them presenting their findings and ideas to Allan and senior management from Electrolux in June 2011.

This is the third year Allan has set the agency client project and after seeing the presentations, Allan said “Year on year the students take on issues that our agency (Lowe and previously TEQUILA\) are engaged with for their client and show a level of work that should be commended. This year they have an exciting challenge that I hope they will take full advantage of.”

Visit from Marketing Industry Professor


In November, year two and year three Operations Management students were visited by the Institute for Logistics and Transport (CILT) and key representatives from Norbert Dentressangle and Baxters Healthcare.

The Logistics Industry is a vital component in the world of Business. Every product and service we consume relies on the industry to deliver goods between business and customer and business to business; whether it is our clothes and food bought in the high-street and brought from across the globe or a parcel delivered from an on-line company. The industry recognises the need to recruit high grade students into a variety of career areas, whether it be Operations, Marketing, Human Resources or Accounting and Finance.

Students were given an insight into the rich variety of activities this industry undertakes. Presentations included:• thesupplychainofgrapes-on-the-vinetowine-on-the- table; • thechallengeofsupplyinglogisticssolutionsforhigh street retailers and supermarkets;• thechallengesofsupplyingahugevarietyof healthcare products to all parts of the NHS;• thevastrangeofhighstreetbrandnamesthathave their logistics handled on their behalf by a Logistics Solution Provider.

The personal experiences described by the presenters showed just how varied the career paths on offer in this industry truly are. We are extremely grateful to them for donating their time and expertise. One speaker had travelled in from Zurich, just to meet with our students.

Both Norbert Dentressangle and Baxters Healthcare have major presences in Northampton and operate throughout the world. One student commented “I was impressed by the exciting opportunities for worldwide career progression and shall definitely be looking to the Logistics Industry for a possible career path.”

The event was arranged in conjunction with Catherine Klimes and the Careers and Employability Service, pictured below with the CILT representatives, Norbert Dentressangle, Baxters Healthcare teams and Tim Peacock, course leader.

Institute for Logistics & Transport

At the time of going to press, the following additional speakers are planned for this term (full details can be found on our website www.northampton.ac.uk):

• JimKerr,ACAS• BrianCapon,AssistantDirector,MediaBritishBankers’Association(BBA)• ProfessorRobertGrant,Authorofthebestsellingtextbook:ContemporaryStrategyAnalysis• JennyBriggs,BusinessImprovementLeaderatNorthamptonGeneralHospital• AshleyPortlock,HRDirectoratGoodrich• ProfessorKeithStillfromCrowddynamics.com• EdBrookes,DirectorofFinance,HRandIT,SilverstoneCircuitsLtd• MarkMulcahey,DirectorofArthurDLittleUK,ManagementConsultants• MartinSutherland,CEOoftheRoyal&DerngateTheatre

In addition, NBS is delighted to announce that we are planning a series of major research lectures which will begin in the New Year. This prestigious series is intended to enhance the student learning experience by welcoming a number of key industry and research professionals to the School. Their experiences and research will be invaluable and we look forward to this exciting period.


Research & Enterprise

New Social Enterprise Scheme At Northampton Business SchoolNorthamptonBusinessSchool strides forward in its social enterprise activities through a new scheme,designedtobenefit graduates and employers from across Northamptonshireandsurrounding counties.

Graduates, unemployed executives and young people can take advantage of one of three programmes being run by Northampton Business School in conjunction with social enterprise 3e. The Graduate Boost scheme gives graduates the chance to apply their learning and help make improvements to a real business through a paid work placement.

Following the success of the first Graduate Boost cohort in January 2010, the second round of placements

has been launched. This round involves 200 graduates undertaking a placement for a period of up to 12 weeks. Working in a paid role in local SMEs, graduates will gain valuable experience whilst undertaking a module from Northampton Business School’s Master of Business Administration (MBA) programme. This module, ‘The Effective Manager’, will further equip graduates to tackle work based problems in a structured and measured way. During the placement, successful applicants will work on a specific project selected by the host company. They will be guided and supported throughout their placement and on successful completion will meet with a head-hunter who will put them forward (where relevant) to companies with vacancies.

Funded through the European Social Fund, Plan B is an Enterprising Skills Programme for Young People aged 16–24 which seeks to develop enterprise opportunities, attitudes and strategies.

In addition to the valuable contribution made by the above schemes, Northampton Business School also offers a programme designed to help students set up their own business. Enterprise Inc. has been running for the past two years through the University’s Enterprise Club and has seen 52 undergraduates and recent graduates receive bursaries to help them start up their own business. Successful applicants receive a cash bursary of £2,500 alongside £3,000 worth of business support including advice, training and mentoring.

There have been a wide variety of businesses started up through this scheme including podiatry practices, photographers, new product development and a children’s book illustrator who has developed and marketed her own children’s character. The scheme will continue into 2011 with another cohort of 25 placements.

Dean Morrison, a recent graduate of 3e, commented:

“I entered the 3e programme with few preconceptions; an enthusiasm to complete a relevant business qualification and the hope to eventually re-enter the workforce in a meaningful way. What I actually discovered was a team of committed individuals who, not only possessed the skills necessary to support those of us whose career direction was floundering, but individuals who seem to revel in the

chance to lead, guide and sometimes even push their contemporaries down a road of greater expectation. For anyone who has been patronised by a typical recruitment organisation, this may seem too good to be true – it’s not.

The Postgraduate Certificate of Management was a fantastic experience and a real confidence booster; studying with like-minded

people on a course that proved to be highly regarded by my eventual employer. The confidence comes from being able to draw on so much of your past experience - understanding that so much of it is still relevant, whilst at the same time, gaining an insight into new methods and processes, tools and techniques.

Of course, it’s definitely not all about being spoon fed. The more you personally put into it, the more you will definitely get out of it. I found this to be especially the case with regards to the work placement. I chose an assignment early and committed to it for a full three months. Whilst there were times when I asked myself “why am I doing this” (which I think is normal in most jobs), for the most part, I found a project that was challenging and rewarding.

I found people who valued my help as much as I valued their humour. It is a real journey: gaining a new job, a new perspective and hopefully some new friends. I would have no hesitation in recommending this program to anyone who is prepared to take an engaging and positive approach to re-building their career.”


Ric Ellis, Business Development Manager at Apex, a renowned social enterprise, based in

Leicester commented on the success of their graduates through the Graduate Boost scheme:

“We have offered placements to six graduates since 3e began and they have been producing excellent work. Our first cohort of Reena, Raj, Dina and Asad produced some fabulous projects. All were presented with very good testimonials from us and three have applied for jobs at the company. All are considering volunteering with us in the future. Between them, they have produced the following: • Onenewfundingandinvestmentdatabase(forinternal use and for external sale) • Oneanalysisreport• Multipleusefulanalysisandresearch

Our second cohort (Anne and Hinal) will be completing the following projects:

• ResearchandinputtoourCafébusinessplan

• ResearchandinputtoourTrainingbusinessplan The work that the graduates undertake for us is vital in that it informs our business planning for the future. Graduates under the 3e scheme are motivated and committed; attributes which are invaluable within our organisation.”

Supporting Enterprise in Corby

Enterprise Coaching is a new project being delivered by the Funded Projects Unit to encourage and support enterprise to the residents of Corby.

This is a free service, funded by the European Regional Development Fund to run to March 2012.

The objective of Enterprise Coaching is to increase the levels of economic activity within disadvantaged communities; assisting individuals to start up their own business, become self employed or make a significant change in their life.

To achieve this, the programme aims to support individuals to make a positive ‘enterprising’ change in their life through access to various coaching activities. This is not a business support programme but a programme which supports individuals to effect positive change in their lives.

Since May of this year, 32 clients have engaged in the project receiving a total of 151 hours support.

Actual support comprises of 1-2-1 coaching and 1-many coaching workshops. These help break down any barriers the client may be facing such as self confidence, self esteem and communication skills which may be preventing them from making that change.


Be INSPIRE(D)Internal Network of Student Publication for Integrated Research Excellence

INSPIRE was created in June this year by Linda Lee-Davies (following an idea from Professor Nada Kakabadse) that student publications could be used more effectively in our overall research activity.

Linda and Nada felt that Northampton Business School could maximise on the increasing quality of Masters level dissertations and other good work. Opening doors to publication for these many talented students would not only enhance their CVs but also add to the research quantity, quality and robustness for Northampton Business School. In addition, NBS anticipates that relationships with local businesses will continue to increase as collaboration with employers develops.

With the further observation that there were also many talented lecturers who could be encouraged to increase their research activity, Linda created INSPIRE to be flexible enough to accommodate their interests too. In addition to the original ideas and guidance from Professor Nada Kakabadse, Linda has been fully backed by a very strong foundation panel.

Dr. Ian Brooks offered his full support and suggested that this becomes a cultural norm. Dissertation supervisors are now pre-empting publishing possibilities with their students as they develop.

Dr. Grahame Fallon has isolated a number of quality dissertations for INSPIRE and several publications are already in embryo stage. Deborah Mattock is assisting with legal matters and Dr. Izabela Robinson, Ross Thompson, Dr. Simon Burtonshaw-Gunn, Prof. Simon Denny and Dr. Kathleen Mortimer furnish the research advice.

INSPIRE will become a focal point for NBS to encourage, gather, monitor and increase its research/publishing output. The project has started well because of the collective effort of a modern thinking and proactive team who want to make research more accessible for all.

As part of the funding agreement, the project must provide minimum support of 12 hours to 140 people.

The key to making the project work is to engage with the Corby community at grass roots level. It has become clear the project is an extension of what existing community groups are already doing. With this in mind, the project is looking to recruit four community groups as delivery partners. In doing so, we will support and develop them to deliver 1-2-1 coaching and in return they will develop the team to become community development workers - big society at work!

One recent case study saw an unemployed couple from Corby start their own business in the Industrial Cleaning Industry. The couple, who had recently moved from Coventry to Corby, engaged in the project after picking up a leaflet at the local TA Centre. Enterprise Coaching worked with the client to utilise their previous experience in the contract cleaning industry to increase self esteem and confidence whilst offering practical solutions to their aspirations of owning their own business. After a period of short term employment, the couple generated enough funds to get their business underway on a part time basis initially, with a view to becoming a full time enterprise in the future.

For further information, please call the Enterprise Coaching team on 01536 527427 or email: [email protected]

Dr. Brooks, Prof. Kakadadse and Linda Lee-Davies discussing potential research papers


Strategic Partnerships

NBS consistently makes its programmes relevant to the world of work through links with professional bodies and institutions.

Students studying with NBS at either undergraduate or postgraduate level are assured that the teaching is of the highest quality and benchmarked to industry standard. Our courses are designed to maximise exemptions (where possible) and to offer rigorous content which ensures that students are prepared to go straight into their chosen career. We offer the following:

Marketing and Entrepreneurship

We are delighted to announce that our BA (Hons) Marketing programme has been granted ‘Dual Award’ status by the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) in recognition of the professional relevance of our curriculum. Students joining the programme from September 2011 and passing with a minimum ‘Upper Second’ classification will gain exemption from two of the four units of the CIM Professional Diploma in Marketing. This will give our graduates a head start in their continuing professional development. More details about Dual Award will be available on the Northampton Business School website shortly. We are also in continued discussions with the CIM to offer students taking specific modules the opportunity to gain the CIM/CAM Diploma in Digital Marketing.

Northampton Business School already offers a route to Chartered Marketer status through our delivery of the following CIM qualifications: Professional Certificate, Professional Diploma, Chartered Postgraduate Diploma, and MA Marketing (top-up).

Diploma in Public Service InterpretingOn successful completion of the examinations, students are awarded the DPSI qualification from the Institute of Linguists. The DPSI is accredited at NVQ level 6 by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority.

Accounting and Finance

The strategy of the field is to develop programmes of study that best meet industry needs in the 21st century. This is achieved by either developing programmes in association with key professional bodies or benchmarking teaching, learning and assessments against professional body standards. The Field has entered into formal agreements with the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, The Institute of Chartered Accountants, The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, The Institute of Financial Accountants, The Association of International Accountants, The Association of Accounting Technicians, The Institute of Accounting Technicians of Canada, The Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators, the Chartered Insurance Institute and Chartered Institute of Public sector accountants.

Examples of links with specific courses include:

Our BA Accounting & Finance course offers maximum exemptions from the ACCA.

If you hold any of the professional qualifications above you will receive enhanced standing onto one of the field’s undergraduate or postgraduate programmes. For example, the field has an agreement with the IFA to accept holders of the “Professional Financial Accountant” qualification onto the one year BA (Hons) International Accounting degree programme that is delivered on campus or by distance learning. Members of ACCA and CIMA will gain significant exemption from the MSc Accounting and Finance also available on campus or by distance learning.

Editorial Contact and School Manager: Jennifer Catlin Tel : 01604 892921email: [email protected]

www.northampton.ac.uk


Leisure Management and Languages

NBS holds membership of the Association of Events Management Education (AEME), the National Outdoor Events Association (NOEA) and Eventia.

Our new Leisure Management and Lifestyles course for 2011 (subject to approval) will be accredited by the Institute for Sport and Recreation Management (ISRM). In addition to robust specific knowledge, this course is coupled with an extensive variety of qualifications such as a Supervisory Recreation Management qualification, Spa Management, Employment awareness in Active Leisure and Learning Sector (QCF) and many more. At the end of the three year degree pathway, students will be accredited with the title as a diploma member of the institute which will allow them to carry the title, as well as BA (Hons) but also M.inst. ISRM.dip. Needless to say this greatly improves employment prospects for graduating students.

Our Travel and Tourism courses offer strong links with the European Union of Tourism Officers, Tourism Management Institute and English Heritage as well as marketing organisations such as the Chartered Institute of Marketing.

Human Resource Management and Management

PostgraduateDiplomainHRM(Level7),MAHRM(Level7)andCertificateinHRM(Level5)The CIPD have approved the content of these courses as fulfilling the knowledge and understanding requirements for Associate Membership. In order to gain full membership of the CIPD, students need to gain experience in an HR role at an appropriate level. This is done through the CIPD, and not through the University. During 2010/11 we intend to include some modules in BA HRM (single or joint) as fulfilling the knowledge and understanding requirements for Associate Membership of the CIPD, as well as the above qualifications. In addition, we will be seeking to gain Chartered Management Institute (CMI) accreditation for BA Management.

Information Sciences / Business Computing Systems

Our courses are linked closely to the IT Service Management (itSMF), Association for Project Management (APM) and Skills For Information Age (SFIA). Northampton Business School was the first academic partner for SFIA and the MSc ITSM programme recognised as Innovative by itSMF in 2008. This has provided students with a unique opportunity to align their skills with industry standards and to have access through their studies, to current and relevant material from itSMF, APM and SFIA. The Information Sciences team are qualified in ITIL® up to Expert level and in Prince2® and SFIA.

(E&OE)

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