New era of enterprise

A new era is dawning in the Southampton Business School, one in which enterprise is at the heart. Re:action sat down with some of the Business School team, who explained the vision for the University’s thriving business hub.

“Enterprise, and the many guises that it comes in, is increasingly important across the University as a whole. Within the Business School we have much expertise and knowledge that we want our colleagues to utilise,” explained Toby King, new Enterprise Director in the Business School. “Southampton Business School is currently an untapped resource for much of the wider University and business communities, both locally and nationally.

“This year we have worked hard to recruit a raft of new Enterprise Fellows to accompany the wealth of expertise already in the Business School, and we have all worked together to create a five-year strategy to take our enterprise activity to the next level. We are starting from a good base; we know we are internationally recognised and we undertake research that leads to real-world business impact but we can do more.”

Toby’s enthusiasm and experience comes from a career at technology start-ups in the UK and Silicon Valley. Having started in research and development, he has held the positions of Chief Technology Officer, Chief Operating Officer and CEO, so he knows what makes good business.

He continued: “The new enterprise strategy for the Business School has a few key focuses. A big one of these is our executive education and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programmes. For example, as part of our Executive Learning Partnership, we offer a wealth of courses in some very key and timely subject areas, and these have been refreshed and updated to offer even more value. Individuals from within the University and those outside in the UK and abroad can access these remote courses which offer sharing of best practice, in addition to bespoke modules and development opportunities for collaborative research.

“We will also be introducing a new topical seminar series covering areas such as the post-COVID workplace and wellbeing; Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and unconscious bias; and Cryptocurrency and Blockchain as a way of showcasing the expertise we have within the Business School and highlighting the scope for collaboration with industry partners.”

Local community Gillian Saieva, Director of Executive Education in the Business School, is new to the team. She has joined the University with a wealth of both industry and higher education management knowledge and experience. Having developed executive education as national industry programmes for the Retail and Asset Management sector and leadership and management programmes in conjunction with levy funded routes, she has further delivered small business leadership programmes via Government-funded routes.

Gillian is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, board member of the Certified Management and Business Educator Award, and board member of the Chartered Management Institute South East Region. Having worked in global HR management before coming into Higher Education, she is passionate about how people can be developed by education to support effective organisational growth.

Gillian said: “From the new five-year strategy, I have come on board to drive forward the elements relating to our offering to the local and regional business community and to increase our engagement with small and medium size businesses, particularly as these are the organisations that make up 90 per cent of the UK economy. We can add value to the UK economy given the challenges from Brexit and the pandemic.

“By playing a pivotal role in the region we can support businesses with access to top talent from our student body and expertise from our staff in helping solve some of the real pain points that they are experiencing out there.”

The Business School is making this happen through collaborations. It is driving forward relationships with civic partners such as Hampshire Chamber of Commerce, Southampton City Council and Hampshire County Council, Business South and New Forest Business Partnership so that Business School members are involved in the conversation.

“Our research-led curriculum embeds enterprise within it, including opportunities for industry professionals and alumni to engage with the students to share experiential learning and inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs and business leaders,” said Gillian. “These collaborative relationships support students working on live briefs from industry and engaging in placements and internships to aid their future employability. By doing so, it allows organisations to build a talent pipeline with the Business School, which is critical for organisations moving forwards.”

Ecosystem approach The Business School prides itself on providing the opportunity to build the knowledge and skills of students to be successful entrepreneurs and business leaders, with the strong research-led education approach provided. Additionally, with a focus on sustainability, preparing students for industry in this way and enabling them to work with organisations from the offset means those companies and their future employees are properly equipped to go from start-up to scale-up to delivering future success, it’s an ideal ecosystem.

The most recent Business South Annual Conference saw the University’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Mark Smith, join a panel discussion about future challenges and opportunities for the Central South following Brexit and the pandemic. Professor Smith was keen to put the spotlight on the numerous ways in which the University and the Business School can play a lead role in the region’s recovery into 2022 and beyond.

Toby added: “The Business School has had an exciting and progressive year. We are looking forward to driving forward with our strategy to evolve even more next year, particularly increasing our engagement within the University and beyond.”

SPINNING OUT FROM THE BUSINESS SCHOOL

Southampton Business School MBA student Nic Corey, and Dr Phil Wu, a Postdoctorate Research Fellow in Engineering, recently spun out their innovative company from the University. Absolar Solutions Ltd helps companies to reduce their carbon footprint. The company’s state-of-the-art software can be used by businesses to assess the current carbon output of their buildings. Absolar also offers practical soutions to minimise businesses’ impact and offers practical solutions to minimise their impact on the environment and slash costs.

Since its launch, Absolar has received a wide range of support including from the Royal Academy of Engineering, Portsmouth City Council, Southampton City Council, and its original home – the Sustainable Energy Research Group at the University. This includes seed funding from the Royal Academy of Engineering and a group of investors who share the same vision and determination to contribute to a more sustainable world. The business also recently received two awards at the Test Valley Business Awards – New Business of the Year and Small Business of the Year.

Absolar now plans to start selling its packages to local authorities and other organisations that own estates where energy savings can be achieved.

ECO HAIR AND BEAUTY

The UK’s £6.2 billion hairdressing industry has a huge environmental impact, through its use of water, energy and chemicals. Denise Baden, Professor of Sustainable Business in the Southampton Business School, has been working with hairdressers over the last eight years investigating how they can reduce their environmental impact and inspire their customers to save energy, water and use fewer chemicals at home.

Denises’s Eco Hair and Beauty project to encourage hairdressers to embrace sustainability won the £10,000 Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Celebrating Impact Prize 2018 for Outstanding Impact in Business and Enterprise.

In 2017, Denise launched an online sustainable salon certification and virtual salon training programme for salons and stylists. So far more than 100 salons and 2,000 stylists have gained this certificate, which is endorsed by key industry bodies such as the Hairdressing Council, the Hair and Beauty Industry Authority and the Vocational Training Charitable Trust.

“Hairdressers are in a unique position to combat climate change,” said Denise. “As they chat to their clients while styling their hair, they have an ideal opportunity to highlight practical ways that individuals could adopt a more sustainable lifestyle.”

Denise is now working with Green Salon Collective to explore the use of posting eco-tips on mirrors to prompt conversations between stylists and clients about sustainable hair care practices.

“Hairdressers are in a unique position to combat climate change. As they chat to their clients while styling their hair, they have an ideal opportunity to highlight practical ways that individuals could adopt a more sustainable lifestyle.”

Denise Baden Professor of Sustainable Business, Southampton Business School

For further information, visit: www.southampton.ac.uk/business-school