12 business & enterprise
Business school offers career enhancing qualifications
Southampton Solent Business School is a dynamic, professional and inclusive business school which supports learners to become ‘graduates with impact‘. In the second of a series of profiles, Sue Hughes spoke to director Georgina Andrews and enterprise manager Stephen Brown
Professional skills with academic underpinning comprise the mix at Southampton Solent Business School, but it‘s not a case of relying on past content. Georgina Andrews cites the brand new courses which have just started this month for business and marketing, which include the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), the Communication, Advertising Marketing Foundation (CAM), and Google Analytics accreditations and certifications. Other courses are accredited by the CIPD, ACCA, ILEX, the SRA and Bar Council. Parents of newly- enrolled undergraduates may well find themselves envious, as their children work through professional qualifications which they aspire to – and it‘s a good bet that those parents did not begin developing career enhancing qualifications until after university.
With approximately 1,750 students (undergraduates, post graduates, professional course students and PhDs) and 122 full and part-time academic staff, Andrews explains that CBI-required skills and attributes have been built into every one of the latest units: “It‘s what industry and organisations are looking for and our USPs are: links with employer, professional accreditation, making learning fun, extra-curricular activities and the social enterprise element.“
At the School, real-world experiences, consultancy projects, work placements, business games, simulations and live briefs are embedded within courses. It offers undergraduate, postgraduate and professional learning opportunities in areas such as business, law, accountancy and finance, marketing, and HR management. The mix also stretches to the provision of non-traditional short courses, such as that devised recently for Southampton University Hospital NHS Trust.
www.businessmag.co.uk
Andrews continues: “From January we are also offering an MBA programme over six weekends a year, supported by virtual learning.
It will benefit
from multiple start dates and offer opportunities to specialise in finance or entrepreneurship.“
Supporting student businesses
Enterprise manager Stephen Brown oversees undergraduate and postgraduate students at different stages who are starting a business: “The tutorial programme comprises: 20 hours‘ training/mentoring – the ‘how to‘ bit – plus everything from writing a business plan and bookkeeping to protecting IP. Each year students receive £2,000 from the University‘s Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF) to spend on a fixed asset, which can vary from a van or computer to a sewing machine.“
Georgina Andrews
The School has been working in close collaboration with University Hospitals Southampton for a number of years. Andrews says: “We accredit three professional courses that can be studied as standalone ‘professional development units‘ or put towards a foundation degree such as The FdA in Business, which we offer over five weekends a year, supported by our virtual learning environment. The units are delivered by UHS NHS on site at the hospital or on campus at SSU.“
Jane Carter, management and interpersonal skills‘ leader at UHS NHS, adds: “Solent has been accrediting our management courses since last November and this partnership has been very successful.
It has been
responsive and flexible to our requirements and able to accredit our two existing management courses to university modules. Solent is very supportive of our students, some of whom are returning to learning after a break.“
Professor Jane Longmore, deputy vice chancellor, continues: “The NHS work represents a real departure for the University,
Stephen Brown
working with exactly the new types of student we aimed to attract through the SDP.“
The School also hosts a suite of educational courses, including the SEDA accredited postgraduate certificate in blended learning. This educational expertise has allowed the School to develop flexible learning opportunities, including the FDA in business and MA in business which combine face-to-face weekend delivery with online learning.
Marketing and retail have been identified as the two sectors that are expected to grow most strongly in Southampton during the next decade. “We are currently developing a retail qualifications‘ framework together with partners at Brockenhurst College and a number of major regional employers, after a successful bid for £80,000 of funding,“ says Andrews.
It‘s also one of five universities in the country to be a Prince2 Project Management Accredited Training Organisation, which is not only offered to undergraduates, but also commercially to external clients.
Starting a business is valuable experience: “It can put you well ahead of the game when it comes to sales, finance and time management, plus a host of other skills.“
Three years ago, when Brown surveyed start-ups which emerged from Southampton Solent, he found 40% still going strong, also 35% had remained in the region: “With business network support, managed office space at College Place, social media marketing and guidance from alumni, Southampton Solent has already made a difference in keeping local talent local and creating the next generation of entrepreneurs.
“This is real-life learning from a genuinely entrepreneurial university.“
Details:
Georgina Andrews
georgina.andrews@
solent.ac.uk
Stephen Brown
stephen.brown@
solent.ac.uk www.solent.ac.uk
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – SOLENT & SOUTH CENTRAL – OCTOBER 2012
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36