Category Archives: Enterprise

We love TED(x)

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If there’s one thing better than a free lunch, surely it’s a free lunch sandwiched between talks from some of the world’s most inspiring people.

That was Wednesday in a nutshell, thanks to Digital Union and TEDx Gateshead, who streamed TED Global 2013’s sessions into the Northern Design Centre in Gateshead, with food kindly provided by lunch sponsors Ward Hadaway.

The sheer depth and diversity of this world-famous conference makes it impossible to choose ‘favourite’ speakers as such, but we found ourselves really moved and amused by the ‘Listening to Nature’ segment.

Kicking things off was Bernie Krause, whose Wild Sanctuary project records soundscapes from natural habitats all over the world, giving us humans a fresh sensory perspective on the damage we are doing to many vulnerable species.

And we heard about bees and the massive role they play in our own, precariously balanced food chain. Marla Spivak brought to life the plight of this industrious and ecologically vital creature (of which there are over twenty-thousand species, by the way) and we were reminded of the global-headlining-grabbing research being carried out at Newcastle into the relationship between pesticides and bee pollination.

From there on, speakers and topics diverged and delved into wild animals’ sexual behaviour, Middle-Eastern politics, urbanization in Latin America, post-Chernobyl societies, and many, many other realms.

That’s the great thing about TED: regardless of your chosen career or hobbies, just one afternoon of talks broadens your frame of reference, connects issues you might never have thought about at once, and leaves you feeling that little bit more inclined to change the world for the better.

If you haven’t already, check out the videos from this year’s TED Global and if, like us, you want to take part but can’t make the main event, keep in touch with TEDx to find out when and where your next local screening is happening.

 

Dr Fiona Whitehurst reflects on the importance of being ‘civic’

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Newcastle University aspires to be a world-class civic university delivering benefits to individuals, organisations and to society as a whole, so it was a delight for the Business School to host Professor John Goddard OBE, Emeritus Professor of Regional Development Studies and former Deputy Vice Chancellor of Newcastle University to speak about his recently published book The University and the City  co-authored with Paul Vallance.

John is a leading proponent of the civic university concept, arguing in a 2009 NESTA Provocation that all publicly funded universities in the UK have a civic duty to engage with wider society on the local, national and global scales, and to do so in a manner which links the social to the economic spheres.

John revealed three tensioned themes emerging from his research – passive local physical, social and economic impacts of universities (campus footprint, student purchasing power, employment generation) vis a vis their active engagement in the development of the city; economic vis a vis more holistic views of engagement with civil society and the ‘external’ civic role of the university vis a vis ‘internal’ processes within the university and state higher education policies that shape these external relations.

John’s distinguishing attributes of a ‘civic university’ are:

  1. It is actively engaged with the wider world as well as the local community of the place in which it is located.  This engagement is achieved through dialogue and collaborations with individuals, institutions and groups locally, nationally and globally.
  2. It takes a holistic approach to engagement, seeing it as institution wide activity and not confined to specific individuals or teams.
  3. It has a strong sense of place.  While it may operate on a national and international scale, it recognises the extent to which is location helps to form its unique identity as an institution.
  4. It has a sense of purpose – an understanding of not just what it is good at, but what it is good for.
  5. It is willing to invest in order to have impact beyond the academy.  This includes releasing financial resources to support certain projects or activities, or to ‘unlock’ external sources of funding.
  6. It is transparent and accountable to its stakeholders and the wider public.
  7. It uses innovative methodologies such as social media and team building in its engagement activities with the world at large.

Plenty of food for thought, especially for a Business School. What does a ‘civic’ business school look like and how well does Newcastle University Business School fit that description?

Those are questions for a later post, but as I was pondering them I came across an article in the Financial Times (15 April 2013) by Della Bradshaw on German Business Schools. She notes that while Germany is the fourth-largest economy in the world, the country has no world-renowned business schools or top-ranked MBA programmes. In the article Robert Wardrop, research fellow in sociology and finance at the Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, ascribes this to the stakeholder value model of German business, which is incompatible with the methodologies that drive most Business School rankings. The MBA rankings tend to have an emphasis on salary maximisation, the traditional US individualist justification for undertaking an MBA. So, another question, does the third of John Goddard’s tensioned themes – the external role of a civic institution vis a vis internal processes and state policies have an added dimension for Business Schools?

Do Business School rankings take sufficient regard of an institution’s ‘civic’ role? In a time of unprecedented societal challenges globally I would like to suggest they should.

Dr Fiona Whitehurst, Director of Accreditation

 

Budget reaction from Professor John Wilson

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Penny for your thoughts 

As with any budget, the devil is in the detail.

And after watching today’s Budget for an ‘aspirational nation’, I feel that while the political analysis takes up the margins of our newspapers, as a region and nation we must stick together to make this work for us.

I am a business historian and have analysed many fiscal policies and Budget announcements over the last sixty years; I’ve seen the good, the bad and the ugly.

What is clear from Osborne’s budget today is the need to ‘fix’ our state through monetary activism, supply-side reform and fiscal policy.

From curing the ethics within our banks to attracting new businesses to our shores, as a nation we need to be ensuring that confidence in investment is the foundation on which we build our reformed state.  And how do we get this confidence? Through innovation stimuli, is how. Innovation acts as a bedrock for demand, job creation and, ultimately, assurance in the system that generates real wealth.

Many commentators will be discussing the implications of Osborne’s policies, but I want to talk about what we can control.  And that is our networks and knowledge economy.

As part of a civic university, the Business School needs to work with business and regional policy makers to build an industrial and business strategy that can work for us.  From cutting edge research, leadership and management training to harnessing innovation, the Business School’s doors are open to support the needs of the region to help us grow again.

In this spirit, open collaboration between higher education and businesses can lead to some of the most disruptive and ingenious work: bringing with it vital market share and wealth creation.

The importance of academia, industry and commerce working together as a triple helix for success can also be seen in Heseltine’s review ‘No stone unturned in pursuit of growth’.  And with Osborne’s nod to Heseltine’s suggestion of creating a single funding pot for skills, housing and transport, I am looking forward to further details being released.  Regions need to know how much and when to expect this to be implemented.

Moreover, with emerging business models like employee ownership and cooperatives operating in a rapidly changing business world, universities and businesses need to work together to decide how we can best do things differently.

As Osborne said today ‘Britain is open for business’, but what I would like to stress is that, yes the economic and fiscal policies outlined today will have some impact in the coming months and years, but we are the people who can add value through being ‘truly’ open for business through collaborative networks leading to innovation.

Newcastle University Business School announces David Goldman professors of innovation and enterprise

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A duo of enterprising talent has been appointed as the Business School confirms its chairs in innovation and enterprise

An innovation guru with unrivalled experience in building the world’s biggest brands, Professor Roy Sandbach is set to be the 10th David Goldman Visiting Professor of Innovation and Enterprise: continuing the tradition of the David Goldman endowment’s highly regarded contribution to enterprise and innovation in the region.

The David Goldman endowment was established at the Business School in 2001 to create a legacy in memory of David Goldman, founder of software company Sage Group Plc. Professor Roy Sandbach is to be welcomed to the Business School as the 2013-14 Goldman Visiting Professor, at his inaugural lecture on 13 March.

It is almost certain that you will use everyday products at home that were conceived and developed by Professor Roy Sandbach. For over 30 years he has led global innovation programmes at Procter and Gamble (P&G), the $80BN multinational and the biggest consumer products company in the world.

Beyond the realms of P&G, Roy brings his skills to bear across the business, science, design and education sectors throughout the UK.

Currently, he leads business engagement for the Centre for Competitive Design at Cranfield University. Roy’s lifelong commitment to science remains strong, he is: a Trustee at Newcastle’s Centre for Life; sits on the Industry Council of the Royal Society of Chemistry; and is a business ambassador for NetPark, the hi-tech science park in County Durham. He is also a non-executive director of NCFE, the national qualifications body, and a governor at Seaton Burn College.

In March he will take the David Goldman Visiting Professor reins from James Timpson OBE, chief executive of the family firm Timpson Group.

Professor Roy Sandbach said:

“I am honoured to accept the David Goldman Visiting Professorship. It offers a wonderful opportunity for me to share broadly my knowledge of strategic business innovation to support enterprise for wealth-creation and social benefit. It is a particular pleasure for me to be able to do this in my home region, among friends and at the university where I gained my Ph.D. Most of all, it will be an honour to build on the legacy of David Goldman.”

The Goldman Endowment funds: a permanent Professorship role within the Business School; the David Goldman Visiting Professor of Innovation and Enterprise; a David Goldman Doctoral Studentship, and the Annual David Goldman Lecture.

The Business School has also announced that its new, permanent David Goldman Professor of Innovation and Enterprise is Savvas Papagiannidis.

As an alumnus of the University, with over 16 consecutive years of studying at the University, Savvas has achieved two PhDs, two Masters, and founded three e-businesses.

Professor Papagiannidis’ research interests lie in the e-business discipline, where he aims to investigate how e-business technologies affect social and business environments, organisational strategies and underpinning business models, and how these are implemented in terms of functional innovations.

Professor Papagiannidis said:

“I am delighted with my new role as the permanent David Goldman Professor of Innovation and Enterprise. 

“I hope that in my new position I am able to make an impact by leading the development and delivery of the innovation and enterprise agenda of the Business School, by encouraging sustainable relationships with internal and external stakeholders.

“I am looking forward to welcoming Professor Roy Sandbach to the Business School.  As an expert in open innovation, brand building, and networking for competitive advantage, Roy’s high- calibre career is one that makes him very suited to the demands of this visiting professorship.”

David Goldman Visiting Professor 2012-13, James Timpson OBE said:

“This role is all about imparting knowledge and more importantly, inspiring enterprise.  However, it isn’t a one-way process: I have also been educated by the students and businesses I have met over the past 12 months.  It has been a great experience, and I am delighted to have been given such an esteemed role. 

“I wish Roy a very enjoyable and educational year!”

If you would like to book your free ticket to the Goldman Lecture please email: bsevents@ncl.ac.uk

 Past David Goldman Visiting Professors of Innovation and Enterprise:
2012- 2013 – James Timpson, OBE, chief executive of Timpson Group
2011-2012 – Tom Maxfield, entrepreneur and former Sales Director for Sage Group
2010-2011 – Will Dracup, founder and chairman of Nonlinear Dynamics
2008 -2010 – Dr Tony Trapp, chairman of IHC Engineering Business.
2007-2008 – Fiona Cruickshank, co-owner and director of SCM Pharma.
2006 -2007 – Paul Callaghan, chairman of Leighton Group.
2005 – 2006 – Chris Thompson, managing director of Express Group.
2004 – 2005 – Mark I’Anson, technology entrepreneur.
2003 – 2004 – Paul Collard, chief executive at Creativity, Culture and Education

Business School teacher bags place on BBC documentary

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A serial entrepreneur, who teaches at Newcastle University Business School, and her innovative company Baggers Originals is one of 18 businesses out of 7,000 to make it through to the final of a BBC documentary called Be Your Own Boss.

Angela McLean and her re-launched company Baggers Originals – rainwear and swimwear that fits into an attached pocket to make a handy bag for children to carry – is part of the new BBC 3 series fronted by Richard Reed, co-founder of Innocent Smoothies.

Be Your Own Boss will see Richard Reed follow the 18 businesses seeing the winner clinch £1million investment, in a bid to nurture and invest in the next wave of young entrepreneurs.

Following the team, the film crew will capture the business ups and downs of the re-launch.

Angela McLean said: “Taking part in this BBC 3 show has been brilliant.“One of the main reasons for re-launching Baggers is down to the fact that I have told the Baggers story to over 3,000 students over the last 12 years and the feedback about the product range is always fantastic, and I am always asked ‘where can I buy it’?”

And with the BBC cameras present, Angela – who has worked with the Business School for over 12 years teaching enterprise, entrepreneurship and marketing – invited students who take part in the Partners Summer School to hear about the re-launch of Baggers Originals: a company she started over 22 years ago.

Angela continues: “I was delighted to involve the Partners students as I have taught the Summer School for over eight years now and have always been impressed with the standard of the students.  They are a delight to teach and were excited to have the opportunity to be on television.  It was a great experience for them and that is what learning is all about.”

As a business, Baggers ran in to difficulty the first time-around, not due to profitability but due to cash flow – one of the main reasons new businesses fail.   Angela believes that these lessons are invaluable to students or anyone starting up in business, and nascent entrepreneurs need to understand the risks of starting an enterprise and running a business. 

The new clothing range is similar in design to the originals, retaining the bright, bold colours that made Baggers so recognisable 22 years ago, but the colours have been updated to ensure they are on trend. 

The business model has been adapted with a strong internet presence and an e-commerce site, www.baggersoriginals.com, is due to launch this month, with an active social media campaign to engage customers ahead of the website launch.  

Baggers Originals will also be selling in key retailers nationwide including Fenwick and has secured export sales into a children’s retail chain in Ireland.

Angela commented, “I am a great believer that once you have a good idea it is always a good idea, and the students’ response did inspire me to give it another go.” 

Newcastle University Business School Alumni, Anelise Siddle, who has worked alongside Angela since graduating in 2011, will be heading up the re-launch with Angela and her daughter Jessica. 

A current Business School student and former Partners student, Natalie Diver has also been integral to the development of the new brand, working with Baggers on a summer placement.

Angela is adamant that without the business knowledge and acumen of Anelise and Natalie the company would have struggled to restart and she plans to employ more students from the Business School in the future. 

Anelise Siddle, a first class honours Business Management graduate said, “I have learnt so much in my time working with Angela in the field of enterprise and entrepreneurship, and re-launching the business has furthered my personal belief that many of the skills needed in running a business can’t be learnt out of a textbook.

“Baggers acts as a live case study and makes our teaching more relevant, current and exciting for students, allowing them to develop transferable skills that are much needed for the workplace.”

To find out what happens to Baggers Originals tune into BBC3, Be Your Own Boss, from Wednesday 12 September, 21.00.  The series lasts six episodes.