Management School News

Annual figures from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education have shown further success for Management School graduates.

Of our most recent UK undergraduates to enter the labour market, 87% are engaged in activities for which a degree is essential, a three per cent growth on last year’s results. This figure also demonstrates a 10% jump over three years in this area*.

Merryn McGregor, Employability Manager at the Management School, said: “We’re very satisfied with the 2015/16 results. It’s reflective of our ongoing commitment to building the employability of our students.”

The survey also reports 96% positive outcomes for our students, which relates to graduates in any positive activity six months after graduation.

Associate Dean for Learning and Teaching, Dr Robert Wapshott, said: “These are very encouraging figures, testament to the hard work of Merryn and her team. The School’s Employability Hub goes from strength to strength and its ongoing efforts are mirrored by the success of our graduates in a competitive market.”

Students: Click here to find out more about building your employability at the Management School.

* 2013/14 Graduate Prospects figure: 75%

Breaking down barriers to business creation – the Centre for Regional Economic and Enterprise Development (CREED) is joining eight organisations from across Europe in piloting a digital course in social entrepreneurship for women and students from non-business studies backgrounds.

The initiative, called Open Mind, is an Erasmus+ project which over two years will develop a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) in social entrepreneurship; a gamified online platform which serves as an inspiring learning environment, and an impact assessment report. Members of CREED, Dr Robert Wapshott, Dr Chay Brooks, Kate Penney and Prof Tim Vorley, attended the kick-off meeting in Athens with other academic partners. Tim said: “This is an excellent EU project drawing on CREED’s collective experience in entrepreneurship teaching and research. We are excited to be part of the partnership, aimed at developing new ways to foster entrepreneurship for social change.”

This project is key for social and economic progress in Europe. Despite the positive impact that social enterprises have, the majority of entrepreneurship courses are offered in business and economic studies so most students can’t take part. Data shows that two-thirds of young people and women in EU believe they do not have the knowledge or skills to start a business – the outcomes from this project will address this gap.

Kate said: “The MOOC will introduce students to the fundamentals of social entrepreneurship, as well as covering areas such as identifying opportunities, creating a business model and business plan, attracting investors and getting your enterprise off the ground. An e-book featuring 50 inspiring female start-up entrepreneurs will also inspire the learners.

“The game elements incorporated into the learning environment will create a participative environment where students can explore business concepts, develop key skills and work on real-world case-studies. It will also operate in five languages, expanding the reach of the project.”

At the end of the two-year development stage, the team will outline the project’s major outcomes and establish support to sustain the project.

Click here to stay up-to-date with project news.

Project No: 2016-1-BG01-KA203-023754. This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This communication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Sheffield University Management School is hosting the 2017 EFMD Entrepreneurship Education Conference, from 8- 10 March 2017.

As home to the Centre for Regional Economic and Enterprise Development (CREED), a team of researchers focused on enterprise and entrepreneurship, whose expertise feeds into our Masters in Entrepreneurship and Management, the School is committed to advancing knowledge through research insights and communicating its work to policymaking and practitioner communities to promote stronger entrepreneurial environments in the UK and internationally.

Director of CREED, Professor Tim Vorley, is leading the event. He said: “Researchers and practitioners in the field of entrepreneurship continue to push the boundaries about what we understand about entrepreneurs and how they operate. This has important implications for entrepreneurship education, both in terms of what leading businesses and management schools teach and how they teach it.

“Entrepreneurship education is no longer characterised by classes on start-up and business plan assessments. Over the past five years the EFMD Entrepreneurship Education Conference has showcased a range of pedagogic approaches and practices at the frontiers of the field. In 2017 the theme of the EFMD conference focuses on ‘Entrepreneurship inside Organisations’ as an area of entrepreneurship and management education that is growing in interest.”

Working closely with businesses and organisations of all sizes, both on our doorstep and globally, is essential to all aspects of Sheffield University Management School; by doing this our research is informed by practitioners, our students benefit from a comprehensive employability programme, and we know we’re teaching cutting-edge material across all courses.

Associate Dean for Learning and Teaching, Dr Robert Wapshott, said: “Students at business schools, from graduates to executives, are increasingly concerned with the question of how to foster entrepreneurship inside organisations, which for academics and entrepreneurship educators leads us to rethink the learning environments we’re developing. Through the conference participants will be encouraged to reflect upon their own professional practice.”

The notion of entrepreneurial practices occurring within organisations is increasingly regarded as a driver of productivity and profitability. During the conference, keynotes, sessions and workshops will explore how companies have come to approach the challenge of becoming more entrepreneurial and what this means for entrepreneurial education and entrepreneurial educators.

Click here to find out more and book your place.

The Management School has a new Associate Dean for Learning and Teaching.

Dr Robert Wapshott, who was awarded an Early Career Senate Award for Learning and Teaching in 2014, is taking on the role following Professor Paul Latreille’s appointment as Deputy Pro-Vice Chancellor for Learning and Teaching for the University of Sheffield.

On his appointment, Robert said: “I’m really looking forward to building on excellent learning and teaching activity already happening in the Management School.

“It is a time of significant change in the economy and the higher education sector. By advancing Sheffield’s excellent reputation for student experience underpinned by high quality research and teaching I am confident we will continue to develop knowledgeable and employable students who are socially aware and who impact positively on organisations and society.

“I am keen to thank Paul Latreille for his fantastic contribution and to wish him the best of luck in his new role – with colleagues, he has built a strong foundation of innovation and support in learning and teaching at the Management School. Thanks also go to all of my colleagues, who have welcomed me into this role with enthusiasm and positivity.”

Robert invites feedback and ideas from Management School staff and students, and beyond. Contact him on r.wapshott@sheffield.ac.uk.

Dr Chay Brooks from the Centre for Regional Economic and Enterprise Development (CREED) has been leading the European Entrepreneurship Summer School held at the University of Sheffield’s International Faculty in Greece. The summer school, now in its seventh year, is held in conjunction with our international partners from University of Groningen (Netherlands), High School of Economics (Russia), and the University of Twente (Netherlands).

Dr Brooks said: “It has been amazing week with the students learning about entrepreneurship in the sun! We have had a great range of international speakers sharing insights from their research.”

Across the week students were involved in a series of lectures, workshops and debates in different areas of entrepreneurship. This year the central theme of summer school was the socio-economic impacts of migrant entrepreneurship, which is an important issue in Europe. During the week students had sessions by academics on research including informal entrepreneurship, technology entrepreneurship, corporate entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship and public policy.

Dr Robert Wapshott, who also taught at the summer school, explained: “The aim of the event is to bring together students from across Europe to learn about and debate cutting edge entrepreneurship research.”

During the week students worked in international teams to develop in-depth presentations on some of the big questions facing entrepreneurship research. As the teams explored their topic in depth they sought to unpack the complexities of creating more entrepreneurial individuals, organisations and societies. The team awarded the best presentation included Ann Lozovaia and Alexander Kalita from HSE, Tuong Nguyen from Leipzig and Zhuang Jing from Sheffield, who gave a critical account about the importance of informal entrepreneurship.

Reflecting on her participation in the summer school, Kelly Lawrence, a Sheffield student, said: “The summer school was a fantastic opportunity to meet other students interested in entrepreneurship research. The programme was excellent and we all had a brilliant week.”

The CREED team participating in the summer school this year led by Dr Chay Brooks. It also included Dr Robert Wapshott, Dr Peter Rodgers, Cristian Gherhes and Professor Tim Vorley. Next year the summer school will be held in Moscow and the topic will be on green and sustainable entrepreneurship. If you’re interested in applying to take part, watch this space.

Gerardo, Lena, Cristian and Emad

For 48 hours, four of our postgraduate students are ‘cut off’ from the world – working on a business case in an international competition in Canada.

The fifth International Graduate Competition (IGC), held annually by HEC Montreal, has brought together a number of student teams from world-leading universities to collaborate and compete around a live business case on the themes of network economics, marketing, strategy and IT management.

As one of the first UK teams to attend the competition, the Sheffield group join attendees from Australia, America, Canada and all over Europe. The Management School-funded trip, run and also attended by members of the Centre for Regional Economy and Enterprise Development (CREED) provides a fantastic opportunity for the students who underwent a rigorous selection process.

The students in attendance are Lena Suess (MSc Creative and Cultural Industries Management), Cristian Gherhes (PhD student with CREED), Gerardo Taboada (MSc Logistics and Supply Chain Management) and Emad Ejielat (MSc Entrepreneurship and Management).

Prof Tim Vorley, who is attending the competition in Montreal as a mentor with Dr Robert Wapshott, said: “The six-day event has begun with a series of ice-breaking, team-building sessions, followed by lectures and workshops which are relevant to the themes. Following this, the students were given the brief and have been put into a period of 48 hours with no contact from the outside world, apart from the opportunity to interview experts from the company that has set the business case.

“On Wednesday, the students present their projects. They prepare a 60 page analysis and recommendations and pitch it to the organisation.

“It’s a great opportunity for the students and has given the Management School a presence on this international stage, where we can build links with similar, accredited schools.”

L-R: Arindam Ghosh, Thomas van den Boezem and Theodor Beutel from the Breathar team

Following a successful summer of digital academies around Europe, the Startify7 project gathered teams with potentially successful ideas in Brussels at the start of October.

The nine winning teams of young digital entrepreneurs from all three Startify7 academies – held in Sheffield, Trento and Munich/Nuremberg – participated in a three-day acceleration boot camp by fine-tuning their business models, setting up their start-up profiles and finally pitching to high profile investors at the event.

Supported by experts and mentors, the 45 selected participants followed an intensive programme enabling them to improve their business models and sharpen their business plans in order to become venture capitalist (VC) ready. They received advice from a former VC on funding, discussing everything from how to find the right investor to establishing a good term sheet. They also had targeted and professional mentoring to enhance their pitch decks and pitching abilities.

Each Startify7 academy focused on a different entrepreneurial subject. The Sheffield Digital Health Academy identified entrepreneurial solutions to healthcare challenges and supported participants in pursuing their own ideas. The three winning Sheffield teams came up with digital business ideas; one to support healthcare in rural Africa, a second which is an asthma detection aid, and finally a digital microscopic aid that one of the judges commented ‘could revolutionize healthcare’.

Dr Robert Wapshott, one of Startify7’s co-investigators who supported teams at the Brussels event, commented: “Sheffield teams were awarded first, second and fourth positions in Brussels – a fantastic result which reflects very well on the successes of the digital health academy. Breathar, the asthma detection aid, took top spot so the team has been awarded a presentation slot at the European Venture Summit in December.”

Startify7 is a Horizon 2020 project from the European Commission aimed at training young future ICT entrepreneurs in Europe. It organises seven thematically focused summer academies in seven different European cities that follow a lean-training structure and emphasise strong team-building as well as learning-by-doing processes. You can follow the progress of the teams at www.startify7.eu and @startify7.

Forty enterprising young people from across Europe are in Sheffield to kick-off a series of EU-funded workshops, aimed at training and developing innovative ICT entrepreneurs.

The delegates, from 19 countries, are using their time on the Startify7 project at the University of Sheffield to work on entrepreneurial ideas around digital healthcare. After spending last week developing concepts in teams, they will do further refinement and pitch to a panel of judges on Thursday.

Three teams who are deemed to have the most innovative ideas then attend a follow-up workshop in Brussels in September. Professor Tim Vorley, Chair in Entrepreneurship at Sheffield University Management School, is leading the project which was funded by a European Commission Horizon 2020 grant. He said: “It’s so inspiring to see budding entrepreneurs explore the complex but burgeoning world of digital healthcare innovation. The international nature of the project ensures that we’re considering cultural and budgeting factors and all attendees are benefitting from a global exchange of ideas.

“This is the first in a full programme of workshops to be held all over Europe, at partner organisations in Italy, Germany, Spain, Greece, Poland, Belgium and the Netherlands. I have taught on this programme, alongside my colleagues Dr Robert Wapshott and Kate Penney, and it’s been amazing hearing the initial ideas coming from teams, exploring areas such as innovative delivery through the use of drones, and digital products such as apps for vulnerable groups such as the elderly or disabled.”

Held at the Interdisciplinary Centre of the Social Sciences (ICOSS), delegates are working with staff from relevant University of Sheffield research teams such as CREED (the Centre for Regional Economic and Enterprise Development) and ScHARR (the School of Health and Related Research) to build on their ideas and benefit from academic expertise in the fields of healthcare and innovation. They also visited the Digital Catapult Centre in London to hear about the work of technologists working at the frontiers of digital healthcare.

A visiting tutor on the workshop, Jorge Gonzalez from partner project GET Health, summed up the timely nature of Startify7: “Events like this are integral to challenging and developing the future of digital health in Europe. It is vital that we engage a bright, technically minded generation in innovations for this area of research as, given the pace of digital, their ideas may be changing lives in just a few years’ time.”

Find out more about Startify7 and its up-coming European workshops here: www.startify7.eu

The Management School’s focus on learning and teaching shows in our fantastic students and the fulfilling careers they go on to. However, the University also recognises those excelling in teaching through the annual Senate awards.

For the second year in a row, a Management School academic has received an Early Career Senate Award for Learning and Teaching. Dr Robert Wapshott (pictured above), Lecturer in Entrepreneurship at Sheffield University Management School, is one of just six people across the University to be awarded this accolade.

Robert said: “I’m delighted to receive this award. Credit should go to colleagues here at Sheffield University Management School and the University for supporting approaches to learning and teaching that engage with new research, as well as incorporate practice and practitioner perspectives.”

Professor Paul Latreille, Associate Dean for Learning and Teaching at the Management School was thrilled to hear of the ‘truly superb achievement’. He also referenced the extremely positive feedback from the Senate panel.

The panel commented on Robert’s impressive range of successful and innovative activities; an excellent approach to entrepreneurship in his students, and excellence in learning and teaching demonstrated by a number of external links. They also commended his use of mentoring with students, and acknowledged his approach meant that he is proactively involved with all stages of the student journey.

Having practical experience under your belt is important when you finish your degree, and Sheffield University Management School is ensuring that its graduates are well equipped when it comes to seeking employment.

As a complement to the school’s comprehensive employability and careers support, it has teamed up with Santander Bank to place top performing students and recent graduates in the region’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The three-month internship programme matches up some of the school’s brightest students and graduates with forward-looking SMEs – students get a CV and work-experience boost, as well as an insight into the career opportunities which SMES can offer. Meanwhile, the company benefits from new ideas and a fresh perspective. The arrangement between Sheffield University Management School and Santander means that we are able to help SMEs with the cost of employing our student/graduate.

Students – What you need to know:

Dr Tim Vorley, Dr Robert Wapshott and the school’s Business Development Manager Rhoda Watson are coordinating this arrangement with Santander. There is an information session on 1 November, 10am, in Meeting Rooms 1 and 2 at Sheffield University Management School – prior to this you can sign up at the Student Experience office.

Should you be successful, your internship will last for a full three months – your role in the organisation will be defined by the employer, but previous interns have worked on projects including: market and financial research; business planning; human resource analysis; e-commerce and database systems and marketing/social media.

This scheme provides an incredible opportunity to improve your CV, experience a workplace first-hand and learn more about SMEs. It will take place during the summer and is available to those who have just finished the first, second or third year of an undergraduate degree.

SMEs – What you need to know:

The University of Sheffield is a popular recruiting ground for companies – this scheme gives you the opportunity to benefit from one of the Management School’s fantastic students, as well as letting them have insight and an understanding of the benefits associated with working in an SME.

From you, we just ask for the following:

• Honour a three-month commitment to host a graduate in your organisation
• Provide a suitable level post or project for the intern
• Commit to fund a share of employment costs each month*

In return, you get one of our brightest students, with subsidy towards their wage across three months, on-going links with Sheffield University Management School and press/PR associated with participation in the scheme. We also provide wrap-around support and will host networking/development events throughout.

If you would like to discuss how this opportunity could benefit your SME, contact Rhoda Watson on 0114 222 3252 or email rhoda.watson@sheffield.ac.uk.

*Information about salary and Santander’s contribution is available on request.