University of Bradford School of Management named Business School of the Year

The School of Management at the University of Bradford has been named Business School of the Year 2020 by the Educate North Awards.

The award is in recognition of the School’s outstanding performance in the areas of financial performance, teaching, research, student experience, innovation and economic impact.   

Professor Sankar Sivarajah, Head of the School, said: “This is a real testament for all of the dedication and hard work that our staff have contributed to the success of the School. This award recognises the School’s outstanding performance in the areas of financial performance, teaching, research, student experience, innovation and economic impact. This honour goes to our staff, students, and community. This is our commitment to excellence.”

Some of the key highlights that formed part of the awards submission included:-

• Its Career Booster programme, which enables students to learn industry-relevant skills and take part in vocational training in areas such as AI and Big Data, psychometric testing and mock assessments - last year there were 7,500 hours of activities, with an increase of 35% on bookings
• New programmes at the University are co-created with industrial partners, ensuring regional, national and global relevance through the Co-create@Bradford initiative
• School and college pupils have been involved in developing programmes of study in areas such as logistics, data analytics & supply chains (working with partners such as SAS, Google and ASDA)
• The School was also chosen to host the Amazon Web Services Academy, supporting students and delivering free digital skills development to local businesses as part of its community and business engagement strategy

Prestigious success

One of the world’s original management schools, established in 1963, Bradford continues to be part of the elite group of triple-accredited institutions (AMBA, EQUIS and AACSB). More recently the School became one of only six in the UK to receive the prestigious NHS Leadership Academy kitemark for Management Education.

With over 50 years experience - 45 of those teaching MBAs - in 2020, it was also the first business school to receive a joint accreditation by AMBA and BGA and its MBA was ranked No.1 in the world for value for money by the Financial Times.

In addition to delivering its platform of 25-plus programmes to over 2,000 students, it has created an enviable network of links to local businesses through ventures such as the Barclays supported Knowledge Transfer Network, built up over more than a decade and now spanning thousands of SMEs, running regular workshops to show local businesses how to make the most of new technology.

Community engagement

University of Bradford School of Management is distinctive in being an example of a leading business school engaging actively with communities, non-traditional students and small regional enterprises.

Some 85% of the School’s students come from the most socio-economically diverse areas by postcode; around 70% are from BME backgrounds - the University of Bradford was recently ranked #1 in England on the Social Mobility Index.

In addition, the School has identified several key objectives for the future, including an urgent need for Bradford to move away from a low-skills, low economy position towards raising educational aspirations and attainment in the local area; a need to tackle demographic decline in the number of 18-year-olds nationally; and addressing the changing needs of employers, looking for flexibility, resilience, commercial nous and new skills relating to the digitisation of work, big data and AI.

For more information about School of Management programmes, visit: www.bradford.ac.uk/management/study

Additional information

The Educate North Awards is a prestigious awards event which celebrates, recognises and shares best practice and excellence in the education sector in the North.

There are 27 categories open for entry, with a final closing date for submissions on 31 January 2020. The awards are staged by Carm Productions working in partnership with Prolific North and Don’t Panic.

The event attracts over 300 education professionals from Further and Higher Education institutions from across the North, together with a range of suppliers to the sector including financial institutions, professional services providers, IT and infrastructure providers and construction and property firms.