INTERVIEW “I think business has a poor reputation now, people don’t


trust big corporations and business leaders are often perceived negatively,” argues Dana. “There’s a lot of uncertainty in the world with Brexit and


the changes in the roles of corporations so it is time for radical change. We need new voices and leaders in the picture and that’s what I want our business school to achieve and I think that’s why a lot of people stay in education. The best part is in playing a role in someone’s life, helping them move from having potential to realising that potential and giving them the opportunities and support they need.” Moving forward, it’s clear that education and business


will need to continue to collaborate very closely and that the link will need to be increasingly strengthened, with a lot of good work at all levels already taking place. Maintaining a clear line of communication is something that, Dana believes, is of fundamental importance. “I think at this juncture we all need one another.


Businesses don’t have room for slack at the moment and business needs are changing very quickly. The only way you get skills is through talking with education providers, so we need to have a conversation and it is imperative for education providers to know what the needs are going to be in the business world, otherwise we’re providing irrelevant skills and then we become irrelevant ourselves as providers, so that conversation is absolutely essential and it needs to be much tighter than it has been in the past.” If an uncertain business landscape causes challenges and opportunities for businesses up and down the country, the same can be said for further education providers. Dana argues that adapatability and innovation will be key in ensuring such providers are successful and ultimately provide the business leaders and workers of the future. “If you’re teaching modern business then you have to be


dynamic in your teaching materials and in what you’re saying. We have to really push ourselves to be responsive in that way. “In past eras, I think business schools knew where their


students were going and they knew what their career trajectories would look like, so, as providers, we knew what we were preparing them for,” explains Dana. “What we’re essentially now doing is preparing them to


cope with uncertainty in the business environment and providing them with a set of skills so they know how to constantly upgrade their own capabilities and where to look for opportunities as it is likely that this generation of students coming out of university will have multiple jobs as they go along.” Having lived and worked around the world, what is it


about the East Midlands as a region, and Leicester in particular, that has resonated with Dana and what is it that makes it such a popular option for students? “There is a lot happening in this region. First of all,


Leicester is a beautiful place, it is a really neat city with a very rich history and a lot to offer. We’re right in the centre of England and there are lots of consumers around us, lots of markets and opportunities to develop. “The strong universities, I think, play a huge


role in developing the region and they will continue to do so. If you look at any area of the world where there has been successful economic development, universities have played a huge role in cultivating innovation, supporting new start-ups and attracting businesses to the region, so I think universities such as DMU can play that role in the East Midlands. “If you look to London and the South


East and other places you might want to go to grow or develop a business, they are very overpriced. Leicester offers something extremely attractive to new business people and those who want to set up a career and find a home base that is not just conveniently placed geographically but also a nice place to live.” While there’s a togetherness when it comes to business in


32 business network September 2017


the East Midlands, can the same be said for education providers in the region and how important are relationships with other stakeholders? How much is collaborative and how much is competitive? “We’re competitive and bullish but, practically speaking,


the universities in the region are very much of the same mind and on common ground,” explains Dana. “We have Leicester University, DMU and Loughborough


University here in the city and those institutions join forces in a number of ways in terms of employability, corporate relations and working with the city. “There’s a group that has formed recently as a


consequence of the Midlands Engine called the Midlands Enterprise Universities and that is seven universities from the East and West Midlands, which meet regularly to talk about engagement between our cities, and we use it as a forum for discussing best practice and joining forces on bigger projects that we may be looking to implement. “Relationships are really important to us. Engagement


with the Chamber is particularly important right now. We have got to think about the future of Leicester and we have to make it together. Partnerships between the university and businesses and Government in a city like Leicester can be extremely powerful. If we all act separately, it is a lot harder to make change.” So what of the future? How far ahead can further


education providers plan and strategise, and how much will involve effectively reacting to an ever-changing climate? "You can react and say ‘I don’t know what is


going to happen and I am the recipient of all of these changes and I have to react to them’ or you can say 'I am a part of this system and I am going to shape the future’” argues Dana. “UK higher education institutions are one


of the greatest exports for the UK economy right now. If you think of us as a sector, we are a very strong and powerful sector, so we need to be a part of the future story and to shape it, rather than waiting for change to hit us hard and that’s how I see our engagement with the future. “Will there be uncertainties and


shocks? Definitely. We need to be ready to absorb that and that, again, is a function of organisational flexibility and strategy and the ability to respond to changes in the environment.”


Leicester Castle Business School


‘If you look at any area of the world where there has been successful economic development, universities have played a huge role in cultivating innovation, supporting new start-ups and attracting businesses to the region’


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