Huddersfield Business School recognised with Small Business Charter award
Huddersfield Business School has been awarded the Small Business Charter award, a national accreditation for the UK’s world-class businesses schools.
The Small Business Charter is an award granted to business schools after they have undergone a rigorous assessment which determines the effectiveness of their small business support, entrepreneurship education and engagement with their local economy.
Huddersfield Business School is delighted to have received this award for the maximum five years and to be recognised against all 31 Small Business Charter accreditation criteria. The significant breadth of enterprise and entrepreneurship activity in the School and wider University was recognised by the assessment panel and the support delivered to SMEs and small businesses was considered extraordinary.
Professor Jill Johnes, Dean of Huddersfield Business School, said, “To be awarded all 31 dimensions of the Small Business Charter is testament to Huddersfield Business School’s breadth of support for and impact on SMEs, the community and our students. We are located in an area where SMEs predominate and it is therefore a central part of our mission and vision to support the SMEs community. As such, I’m delighted that we have been awarded the Small Business Charter for the maximum five years and look forward to working with the Small Business Charter in extending our support of SMEs further through, for example, the Help to Grow initiative.”
The visibility of Huddersfield Business School as a source of advice for small businesses is extensive and partnership delivery is key to this. Not only does Huddersfield Business School work proactively as a partner with other business schools regionally, nationally and internationally, but it has forged strong relationships with the Sir George Buckley Leadership Centre, 3M Buckley Innovation Centre and Leeds City Region Supply Chain programme to deliver executive training, business advice and business support.
Professor Jill Johnes, Dean of Huddersfield Business SchoolAt a local level, Huddersfield Business School takes a lead role in the delivery of the Kirklees Top 100 and has director level representation on the board of Huddersfield Unlimited, a company formed to support the interest of local companies in Huddersfield and attract inward investment to the town.
Encouraging students to be enterprising and entrepreneurial is a key objective of Huddersfield Business School and the wider University. The School’s commitment to this is demonstrated through curricular activities such as the credit-bearing Undergraduate ASPIRE modules and Masters level Consultancy Project.
These initiatives involve extensive engagement with small businesses who set live projects and challenges for students as well as workshops and mentoring. A more recent development is the School’s Entrepreneurs in Residence scheme, which will bring local entrepreneurs into Huddersfield Business School to provide students with industry knowledge to enhance their learning experience.
From an extracurricular perspective, the University’s Enterprise Hub, based in the 3M Buckley Innovation Centre, has supported 377 student entrepreneurs over the period of the Small Business Charter assessment. An Office for Students Higher Education Innovation Fund award of £250k was secured (ICE+) to develop SME challenges for students and Huddersfield Business School is a key delivery partner. The University’s Global Professional Award, delivered by the University’s Careers and Employability Service, was launched in 2019 and to date has supported 6708 students.
In achieving the Small Business Charter, Huddersfield Business School is now part of a network of accredited business schools serving the 5.8 million SMEs trading across the UK.
Anne Kiem OBE, Executive Director of the Small Business Charter, and Chief Executive of the Chartered Association of Business Schools, said:
“We are delighted to award Huddersfield Business School the Small Business Charter for five years; testament to their commitment to supporting students and local business. We look forward to welcoming the school to our network of accredited schools delivering the government’s Help to Grow: Management Course, and seeing the school further extend the impacts it has in the regional economy.”
If you would like to get in touch with Huddersfield Business School’s Business Development team about any future collaborations or support, please contact them at hbsenterprise@hud.ac.uk
