ian wooton, strathclyde business school and paula whitehouse, aston business school

Models of effective

business engagement to

drive local economic

growth

Ian Wooton

Professor of Economics

Vice-Dean (Research)

Strathclyde Business School

Just as castles provided the source of

strength for medieval towns, and factories

provided prosperity in the industrial age,

universities are the source of strength in the

knowledge‐based economy of the

twenty‐first century.

Lord Dearing

September 2002

In a globally competitive economic

environment, we need to have

● a talented, enterprising workforce

● constant innovation in product and service

development

● a thriving culture of entrepreneurship

● dynamic, leading‐edge, scientific and

technological development

● world‐class research that attracts investment

What’s needed for growth

A thriving knowledge economy depends

upon its universities in 3 critical dimensions

● applicability of the knowledge and skills of all

its graduates

● developing an enterprise and entrepreneurial

culture amongst students

● the application and exploitation of research

capability

Role of universities

Universities must offer learning

environments with

● educational programmes that are prized by

students, alumni and employers alike for

● high quality of the learning experience

● global outlook

● readily transferable knowledge and skills of

the graduates

Effective teaching

High quality research has to be

of significance to

● policy makers

● business and management practitioners

● other researchers

Increasing focus on the contribution of

research beyond the academy

● on economy, society, public policy, culture

and the quality of life

● formed 25% of assessment in REF2014

Relevant research

Recognition of key role of entrepreneurship

in economic regeneration and prosperity.

● useful research informs our design and

delivery of teaching at all levels

● active involvement in entrepreneurial

ecosystems

● including strong engagement with

entrepreneurs their supporters

● ensuring research, learning and

development programmes are

relevant and have impact

Translating useful learning into

entrepreneurial actions

Small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) represent:

● 99.9% of all enterprises

● 58.8% of private sector employment,

● approximately £1.5 trillion turnover

Challenge for economic growth is to identify those companies that have the capability, the capacity, and the motivation to grow

University engagement through the Small Business Charter● promoting student entrepreneurs

and small business

Connectivity with SMEs

Comments or questions?ian.wooton@strath.ac.uk

Thank you

BUILDING CAPACITY IN

SMES FOR GROWTHPAULA WHITEHOUSE

DIRECTOR, CENTRE FOR GROWTH

ASTON BUSINESS SCHOOL

ACCREDITATION – QUALITY STANDARD FOR BUSINESS SCHOOLS

• Recognises levels of effective engagement – 30 dimensions

• Eligibility to run Government business support programmes:

Small Business Charter Growth Vouchers

Start-up Loans

SMALL BUSINESS CHARTER

KEY ELEMENTS OF ASTON’S SME

ENGAGEMENT

• Leading business growth programme – Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses

• BSEEN start-up programme for students and graduates

• Placements programme for students, Graduate Advantage and employability programmes

• Research-led programmes integrating business support and student engagement, e.g. Servitization

• Aston Enterprise, student enterprise activity and Aston Entrepreneurs student society

• Business Partnership Unit and activity across all schools

A CENTRE FOR EXPERTISE IN BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC GROWTH

• Delivering impact for a growing network of SMEs and for the economy of the region

• Programmes, consultancy and research that enhance business and economic performance

ASTON CENTRE FOR GROWTH

• Expert delivery with a practical focus

• Objective to drive growth and build a community of business leaders

• Peer learning environment, alumni networks

• University opportunities – graduates, projects, research, KTPs

• External connections

WHY BUSINESS SCHOOLS?

INVISIBLE THEORY; PRACTICAL

OUTCOMES:

PROGRAMME EXAMPLE

GOLDMAN SACHS

10,000 SMALL BUSINESSES

GOLDMAN SACHS

10,000 SMALL BUSINESSES

• Delivered by four business schools nationally

• 228 participants at Aston since 2011

PROGRAMME IMPACT: PROGRESS REPORT 2014

• 10KSB UK programme increases participating businesses’ growth by between 10% and 25% relative to what their growth would have been without the programme.

• This boost to growth comes on top of the relatively high growth that the participating businesses were already experiencing.

10,000 SMALL BUSINESSES:

THE PROGRAMME IN ACTION

ALUMNI INITIATIVES:

NETWORKING AND EVENTS

STRENGTHENING CONNECTIONS:

VISITING INDUSTRIAL FELLOWS

A WEB OF ENGAGEMENT:

PARTICIPANT EXAMPLE

GARY PARKINSON

WATER ENVIRONMENTAL TREATMENT LTD

M&A seminar at Pinsent Masons Succession Planning at PWC 10ksb national alumni gathering at Goldman Sachs headquarters Servitization 2-day workshop Recruitment via Aston’s placement team Servitization summit TSB application discussions with Iain McKechnie MBA appointed to undertake Servitization feasibility Biomarker project with Microbiological faculty - BacstopTM

Appointed Professor of Microbiology to work on BacstopTM

Launch of 10ksb screen in MBA lounge Recruitment channels for mechanical engineer RBS innovation gateway event at London head office BacstopTM market research with estates director Product testing with Microbiology faculty Case study video filming for 10ksb programme Small business charter assessor panel Manufacturing cohort including hosting More to come...

Graduation

Present

GRADUATION WAS JUST THE START

Connections development -

selfcleanse

Initial feasibility of data solutions

Charity golf day

Supply of EFM and broadband

connectivity

Install of new IT infrastructure

R&D study of antimicrobial coatings

Creation of marketing tools

Re-write of employee contracts

More to come...

ENGAGEMENT WITH OTHER ALUMNI

YOUR COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS

PAULA WHITEHOUSE

p.a.whitehouse@aston.ac.uk