Northumbria
University, Newcastle, has achieved re-accreditation with the prestigious Small
Business Charter Award in recognition of its support for start-ups,
students and small businesses.
In 2015 Northumbria became
the first university in the North East to receive the Award. Re-accreditation
for a further five years means Northumbria remains the only university in the
region to hold the Award. And following
its latest submission, Northumbria also secured exemplar status for its
student-led consultancy service The Business Clinic and for its on-campus Incubator hub set up to
support entrepreneurial graduates and start-ups.
The Small
Business Charter is a mark of excellence that recognises the role
UK business schools play in supporting small businesses, student entrepreneurship
and regional economic growth. Northumbria’s re-accreditation will also create
opportunities for the University to access additional funding and support for a
range of training programmes it is helping to deliver with the Small BusinessCharter. These include the Government-backed Help to Grow Management, aimed at helping 30,000 SMEs across the
UK respond more effectively to the pandemic.
Lucy
Winskell OBE, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Employability and Partnerships at Northumbria,
said: “Having
become the first university in the North East to achieve Small Business Charter
accreditation, we are immensely proud to have regained the Award for a further
five years. Gaining the maximum score in our reassessment and securing
exemplar status for our Business Clinic and Incubator Hub are also stand-out
achievements that reflect the quality of support Northumbria provides to the
North East business community. It highlights the significant contribution we
are making to the regional economy and employment, as we build back stronger
from Covid-19.
“The Small Business
Charter is also a badge of excellence which opens additional funding
opportunities to support our transformational knowledge exchange and leadership
training programmes aimed at helping our businesses grow and thrive.”
The Business Clinic at Northumbria’s Newcastle
Business School was established as an innovative educational programme for
final-year business students. Since its inception in 2013, the value of the
students’ free consultancy advice and reports – given to more than 500 clients
– has been estimated to exceed £2.7m. The programme both enhances the learning
experience and employability of our students and delivers considerable benefits
for clients.
Opened in
December 2019, Innovation Northumbria: Incubator hub is a pre-accelerator for
aspiring entrepreneurs. Located next to the University’s main campus, the
state-of the-art facility provides high quality support for students and
graduate entrepreneurs looking to establish new and innovative businesses and
enterprises.
