5 minute read
The Big Interview
Business school extends reach into Croydon
It’s safe to say that Sarah Moore-Williams is part of the furniture at London South Bank University (LSBU). She may have been dean of the university’s business school only for the last three years but she has been working at LSBU for around 14 years and in the late 1990s she graduated from there with a degree in accounting and finance.
Sarah returned to LSBU in 2013 to complete a master’s degree in the same subject, graduating with distinction, and by then she had carved a successful career in the accountancy industry. A qualified accountant, she gained valuable industry experience at British Gas, Lloyds of London, a road services company and a telecoms firm, where she rose through the ranks and eventually became operations director.
Throw a teaching qualification into the mix and it all adds up to a successful, eclectic career.
Now, however, Sarah’s primary focus is the business school, which is based at LSBU’s Southwark campus and recently extended its presence into Croydon.
Sarah says: “We’re really excited to be extending our reach into Croydon. We pride ourselves in the work that we do with our local community and we want to take this ethos into Croydon and add real value to the community which we serve. To this aim, from September the business school will be running our BA (Hons) Business Management and BA (Hons) Accounting and Finance courses from our Croydon campus.
“In addition, we’ll be running digital upskilling workshops and Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD), Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) and Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) courses. We aspire to be a hub for the business community and we really look forward to working with everyone within the local area, growing together to have a really positive impact on lives here.”
The Business School in Southwark already works extensively with the local business community, helping companies to upskill their staff and offering a new consultancy service that gives them access to the skills and talent they need to solve real-world problems.
It has around 2,500 students – two thirds of whom are undergraduates, with the rest studying for postgraduate qualifications – as well as around 60 PhD students.
The Big Interview ❛❛We’re also developing our Help to Grow Programme, designed to help small local businesses recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a governmentled initiative to promote business performance through leadership, management, marketing, organisational and financial development. We’re looking to start running the programme in our Southwark and new Croydon campuses from September and are currently looking for participants.❜❜
All of the main subject areas are covered: marketing, accounting, finance, economics, human resources management (HRM) and business strategy. The accent is firmly on practical experience to add value to the academic learning, with live briefs, simulations and case studies recreating workplace situations to give students real-world experience of industry life.
“We focus very much on applied learning,” says Sarah. “All of our courses have the opportunity for a placement and/or some form of work-based learning. We also use gamification to enhance the student experience.
“In recent months we’ve placed 16 accounting students on placement with local NHS trusts, we’ve worked with Tree Shepherd to support the relocation of Elephant & Castle traders and we’ve worked with Lewisham Council to provide valuable market data on high street footfall. “We’re also developing our Help to Grow Programme, designed to help small local businesses recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a government-led initiative to promote business performance through leadership, management, marketing, organisational and financial development. We’re looking to start running the programme in our Southwark and new Croydon campuses from September and are currently looking for participants.”
So, what of the future? The only certainty is that the world is changing fast and businesses are having to adapt. Technology is taking us all further into the digital age, governing the way we shop, work, interact and do business with each other. The need to tackle climate change is forcing individuals and companies to be more environmentally conscious and find ways of reducing their carbon footprint. All of this is providing opportunities for businesses – and tough challenges. The rapid pace of change has resulted in some businesses struggling to find the skills needed to capitalise on these opportunities. This has created an even greater requirement for colleges and universities to work with companies so they can urgently fill these skills gaps. “The way the business world works is constantly changing,” says Sarah. “As a modern business school, we’re focused on the impact that digital innovation and disruption are having on industries nationally and globally. We’re committed to staying at the forefront of developments and investing our time and money to make sure our courses are always up-to-date to meet the needs of businesses both now and in the future.”
The Inside Story: Sarah Moore-Williams
• Favourite food?
Italian food is my favourite: pizza, pasta and ice cream.
• Favourite tipple?
I don’t drink alcohol anymore, so a really nice coffee is great.
• Favourite holiday?
Barbados.
• Describe your family life?
Chaotic! One husband, two children, two cats, a dog and a horse – so very busy all of the time.
• How do you spend your downtime? • What are your key strengths as a manager?
Not sure, you would have to ask my team.
• And your limitations?
Patience and the need for sleep.
• Best thing about doing business in the borough?
The huge diversity, creativity and potential for growth.
• Famous person you’d most like to spend dinner with?
Elvis.
