BGA | BUSINESS IMPACT
hen he isn’t pursuing agritech research with the potential to
two, week-long sessions every academic year consisting of more than 60 skills-based workshops and masterclasses that are offered free. These are delivered by sector experts, our industry partners, guest speakers and alumni to boost our student’s employability, networking and enterprise skills. Your School is placing emphasis on making management education more inclusive and accessible. Why is this an area of importance and what do you hope to achieve from your current initiatives? We have, from the outset, always been known for our progressive approach to business education. We are the first Business School in England to receive joint accreditation from AMBA & BGA, and the second in the UK. This achievement signifies our ambition in delivering impact and value creation for students, businesses and communities alike with a focus on responsible management which is inclusive and accessible. Our flagship Distance Learning MBA (DL MBA) programme is our exemplar of making management education inclusive and accessible and was ranked – for the second year running – as first in the world for 'value for money' in 2020’s online MBA rankings from the Financial Times . While we maintain high standards of recruitment, we aim to ensure that financial considerations are not a barrier to individuals who wish to engage in management studies, and this is reflected in the course fees, and students’ ability to pay in instalments over a two-year period. The online and flexible model of the DL MBA has attracted and provided access to learners from 99 nationalities across the globe from Barbados to Australia. We want to continue to develop and ensure that we provide quality responsible management education that is affordable and accessible by everyone. Do Business Schools need to do more to address social inequality and provide opportunities for social mobility? Absolutely. Business Schools have become widely recognised for the role that they play in stimulating social and economic growth. Key within many of these roles are ways in which Business Schools connect with the community and co-exist to address socioeconomic inequality and promote social mobility. Hence, equality, diversity and inclusion should be at the heart of every Business School, and it is certainly in our ethos, as is reflected by the wider University of Bradford being recognised as the 2020 University of the Year for Social Inclusion by Times Higher Education. Some of the School’s commitment has been centred around creating an inclusive and thriving learning environment for our students, as almost 85% of our undergraduate students come from the most socioeconomically deprived areas by postcode, as defined by POLAR 1-3 [a UK initiative measuring participation in higher education by local area] and around 70% are from BAME backgrounds, with many being first-generation university attendees. How are faculty members involved in the School’s Community Career Booster Programme and how do you think they benefit from their involvement? The Community Career Booster (CCB) Programme is a free programme that is open to all, including charities, community groups, faith groups, voluntary organisations and parents' groups. The programme aims to enrich people’s lives in Bradford by providing accessible learning opportunities to the local community through a diverse range of skills
transform farming, or teaching students the distinction between
‘circularity’ and ‘sustainability’, Sankar Sivarajah is excited by his institution’s ‘ambitious’ five-year strategy and its ‘bold actions… to empower change’: ‘We want
to continue to focus on supporting economic and social regeneration, suited to the real-life challenges of society by supporting non-traditional students’ engagement with local, regional and international businesses and communities,’ says Sivarajah, Head of the School of Management at the University of Bradford, UK. In this interview, Sivarajah tells Business Impact about the ways in which his School connects with its community – something he believes is critical to a Business School’s role in stimulating social and economic growth. He also details the approach towards inclusivity taken by the School’s online MBA and its commitment to fostering a thriving learning environment for students from underrepresented segments of society. How has Covid-19 changed the demand for, and availability of, business education and what further changes should we expect to see in this year? Without a shadow of a doubt, Business Schools in the UK and across the world have had to rapidly adapt and respond to the changing needs of learners, employers and governments in the current uncertain and evolving landscape. I am certain that there is a long list of changes on every Business School’s agenda, be it of redesigning and enhancing curricula and programme offers, developing staff capacity and capabilities, or even rethinking their business model and strategy. Business Schools will need to give serious thought to their own business model and build in agility, readiness and scalability to cope with fluctuations in business education uptake. Business Schools will also need to continue to evolve and meet the flexible demands of the new generations of learners. Most importantly, the role of Business Schools in delivering social and economic value is more important than ever to maintain their place in society. What do you think makes your portfolio of programmes stand out from others that are available in the UK and Europe? Our programmes are co-designed with extensive consultation and direct input from a range of stakeholders including existing and potential students, industry partners (e.g. Morrisons, IBM and Coca-Cola), alumni, School advisory boards, employers and academics. An example of our programme innovation is the recent conversion master’s programme in applied artificial intelligence and data analytics which received £700,000 GBP in scholarship and programme design funding from [UK public and governmental bodies, including] the Office for Students, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), and the Office for Artificial Intelligence, as well as from industry contributions in the UK. Our programmes stand out by integrating skills development opportunities where possible to allow for attaining microcredentials (from, for example, the Project Management Institute, Amazon AWS Academy, or SAS certification) through the School's unique Career Booster (CB) Employability programme. The CB programme consists of
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