At the University of Bradford, their final-year undergraduate students are looking to tackle wide-reaching, social and business issues that may be troubling your community or organisation. Supporting the University’s ethos of being a ‘civic university’ and its commitment to making an impact on the local community and economy in Bradford, the programme simultaneously prepares its graduates to contribute to the world of work through dealing with real-world problems

With ethics, sustainability, and responsible management at the heart of its actions, the University of Bradford School of Management is committed to making an impact on and serving the diverse range of communities, wherever they are in the world, through identifying and co-creating solutions for local problems that resonate globally.

Prof Vishanth Weerakkody, Chair of the Bradford Business and Social Enterprise Board stated: “The Bradford Business Challenge initiative is a good example of how we work in partnership with our local community to co-create solutions and address challenges that are impacting our society, economy and industry in Bradford.”

The School of Management’s Bradford Business Challenge Initiative could help you; so what do you need to know?

Engaging with Communities

This civic mission and commitment are of utmost priority to the School of Management due to its highly socio-economically diverse student body and the University of Bradford’s commitment to social mobility. At least 8 out 10 students in the school come from the socio-economically disadvantaged areas (by postcode), where around 70% are from BME backgrounds. Driven by this, the school plays a central role in engaging actively with communities including businesses, enterprises, charitable organisations, various not-for-profit organisations and non-traditional students.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Laura Dinu (2019/20) worked with IProSurv (drone data capture and analysis expert based in South Yorkshire), on proposing ‘education marketing’ as an approach to increase awareness on the importance of ‘net-zero underwriting’ among the insurance companies.Laura Dinu (2019/20) worked with IProSurv (drone data capture and analysis expert based in South Yorkshire), on proposing ‘education marketing’ as an approach to increase awareness on the importance of ‘net-zero underwriting’ among the insurance companies.

Awards

The University of Bradford School of Management is the first business school in England to receive joint accreditation from the Association of MBA (AMBA) and Business Graduate Association (BGA), whose Charter prominently validates the school’s commitment to quality and responsible management practices of an institution, particularly in driving social transformation and impacting communities. In February 2021, the School was granted Small Business Charter status, which recognises the school’s enduring commitment to working with businesses and entrepreneurs in the city, region and more widely, and its support for them through various initiatives.

Two months following this, the school was awarded ‘Business School of the Year 2020’ by the Educate North Awards – an awards event that celebrates, recognises and shares best practice and excellence in the education sector in the North of the UK.  Most recently the school was named the UK Business School of the Year at the annual Times Higher Education Award in November 2021.

In this spirit, the school has a determination on bringing business and students together in learning and teaching activities - both inside and outside the classroom that positively impacts our local community.

The Bradford Business Challenge

The Bradford Business Challenge, BBC, is a three-way collaborative partnership between the School of Management at University of Bradford, final year business and management undergraduate students, and local organisations. BBC is focused on helping address a particular business or a societal challenge that is relevant to Bradford and resonates with other global locations of our students. Working together, academic staff and final year students discuss the challenges that organisations, typically small and micro businesses, face. The challenges requiring additional research to better understand the potential strategies and/or solutions that need to be developed are assigned as BBC projects. 

With supervisory guidance from an experienced academic staff member, typically specialising in the subject area of the BBC project undertaken (e.g. finance, marketing, internationalisation, digital innovation, new business models), the final year students conduct a rigorous and in-depth investigation of a current business issue and applies the learning from their programme to formulate potential strategies or roadmaps. Projects tackle important, real issues, identify areas for strategic development, and culminate in a comprehensive strategic report with recommendations for the organisation.

While students are allocated with an academic supervisor from the School of Management, the organisation is required to allocate a sponsor to offer guidance and support throughout the project. This academic approach to investigating and formulating business and management solutions is then translated into the final year business project report (dissertation) for assessment as part of the BSc in Business and Management degree requirements.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Ammar Ali (2018/19) worked with Shoo Social Media on developing Vanity Metrics, Brand Engagement, And The Accessibility Of Social Media using Data Analytics. Ammar Ali (2018/19) worked with Shoo Social Media on developing Vanity Metrics, Brand Engagement, And The Accessibility Of Social Media using Data Analytics.

Examples of typical projects completed during the last two years include competitor analysis, marketing strategy, strategic issue analysis, blueprint for change, and academic-led practical recommendations for a societal issue such as case analysis on digital exclusion among the local society. The idea is to promote seamless knowledge transfer between the School and organisations and thus, enable meaningful impact on the community, while equipping the students with invaluable transferable skills for employment.

Since its launch in the 2018/19 academic year, the Bradford Business Challenge has delivered a degree of impact to more than 50 sponsors and has helped participating students to develop a range of transferrable skills and improve their employability. An internal study shows that more than 50% of these students have successfully secured graduate-level jobs within six months of the study completion, and a further 30% said that the research skills acquired have supported them in their postgraduate study.

Examples of the impact

Project sponsors, including third sector organisations have acknowledged that the work undertaken by students have significantly benefited them. A local marketing and advertising company that sponsored a project in the 2018/19 academic year, for example, reported an improvement in profitability. This organisation’s project focused on investigating marketing challenges faced by Financial Advisory Services and led to the formulation of a marketing strategy for financial advisers to market their services. This strategy is now used by the company and has resulted in an increase in cliental.

Another case was a project with a luxury slow-fashion start-up that is today an award-winning SME. The market research undertaken by the student as part of the BBC initiative provided the company with new insights which helped them with the launch of new products. A third example is a student who worked with an established Bradford based charity organisation to understand and provide mitigations to a crucial HR challenge caused by remote working due to the national lockdown during the pandemic. The project provided the organisation with significant insights enabling the continuous operation and its sustainability during one of the most challenging times for the economy.

The recommendations made by the project indirectly impacted the vulnerable people locally, who were counting on interrupted counselling services provided by the organisation to continue with their lives.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Alkestid Sterjo (2020/21) worked with YEME Architect to understand tackle challenges impacting organisational culture due to remote working during pandemic. Alkestid Sterjo (2020/21) worked with YEME Architect to understand tackle challenges impacting organisational culture due to remote working during pandemic.

In a recent correspondence with the School, the student stated: “my research was exceptionally well received, and I graduated with a first class honours degree and a job at the organisation that I developed the project with. It’s such a brilliant environment and I have been able to grow and learn so much in my role. I am glad that through the Bradford Business Challenge programmes created by the University I was able to unlock my future potential”.

Committed to addressing the skills gaps among the students and attending to challenges faced by the communities – including business, societies, public and private organisations, the School warmly welcome sponsors for projects that would benefit from the Bradford Business Challenge initiative.

Contact us to find out more at bace@bradford.ac.uk.