The Guildhall School of Business and Law has been awarded the Small Business Charter award, it has been announced today.
Date: 12 June 2018
The Guildhall School of Business and Law (GSBL) has been awarded the Small Business Charter award in recognition of its excellence and commitment to delivering business and enterprise education.
GSBL, which is one of six Schools at London Metropolitan University, has also been awarded the Small Business Charter (SBC) Exemplar for its commitment to supporting small businesses.
The national accolade is in recognition of the work of the University’s Employment Outcomes team, headed by Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor Dominic Palmer-Brown. He said: “It is great news that SBC have recognised London Met’s distinctive approach to building work experience and small business start-up activity into the curriculum.
“All our undergraduates undertake a work related learning module, and the Guildhall School of Business and Law, our Accelerator and Careers teams work together in an exemplary way to support both our students and businesses.”
The SBC submission was led by Vanessa Airth, Head of Business Partnerships and Employment. She said: “The work related learning modules undertaken by all undergraduate students allow them to benefit from accredited work experience. This is often within local small businesses or through business start-up training via the University’s business incubator, the Accelerator.”
GSBL has also been awarded an Exemplar in recognition of The Accelerator’s contribution to enterprise education, work related learning opportunities and start-up programmes for students and graduates, including the Big Idea Challenge, a competition which offers students the opportunity and experience to pitch for funding, and Hatchery, which engages with more than 1,000 students each year has directly created more than 10 start-ups each year.
Since 2015, the Accelerator has housed 67 start-ups that have collectively raised £14.5 million in equity investment, created 236 jobs and directly supported more than 850 entrepreneurs.
Professor Dean Bartlett, Interim Head of the Guildhall School of Business and Law, said: “London Metropolitan University aims to transform lives through excellent education. We are delighted this has been recognised through winning the Small Business Charter award.”
London Met is one of four universities who have won an Exemplar, alongside Cardiff Business School, Cardiff School of Management (Cardiff University) and Sheffield Business School.
Anne Kiem, Executive Director of the Small Business Charter and Chief Executive of the Chartered Association of Business Schools, said: “We congratulate the Guildhall School of Business and Law on achieving the Small Business Charter award and an Exemplar for its Accelerator.
“The Management Board were particularly impressed by the positive and far reaching impact of the Accelerator by offering opportunities for start-ups and businesses. We are proud that another UK business school has been able to evidence its contribution to job creation and our vibrant small business economy.”
