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The University continually offers innovative courses, workshops, seminars and training days to the Bedfordshire community. We believe it is important to provide adult education that will be beneficial to local people and local businesses, and encourage development on an individual and overall basis.
Led by the Psychology Department and co-ordinated by Dr Patricia Roberts and Isabella McMurray, the Consultancy and Training Unit (CTU) is running a series of workshops and bespoke consultancy services, which draw on a wide variety of expertise from within the department.
CTU workshops are open to researchers, academics, health and social services, local businesses and not-for-profit organisations, as well as individuals wishing to enhance their career prospects.
The workshops are held on a monthly basis and cover a wide range of topics, including: Thinking and Decision Making, Coaching and Stress Management, Instructional Design and Analysing Data using Excel or SPSS.
Isabella McMurray, Lecturer for the Psychology Department and CTU Consultant, said: “We have created a programme of workshops that are varied, interactive and practical.
Our aim is to provide consultancy and training that will enhance personal and professional development, tailored specifically to the needs of the individual and the business.”
To find out more about the workshops and other services offered by the Consultancy and Training Unit, call 01582 489153 or visit www.beds.ac.uk/ctu.
Luton Borough Council, in conjunction with Central Bedfordshire Council and Bedford Borough Council, are providing workshops that will enable your company to acquire realistic solutions when tendering for public sector work.
Find out how your business can overcome barriers to this tendering process and discover how other businesses have won a range of contracts from the public sector.
To book a place at one of these events or for more information, please contact below:
LUTON
Date: 17th February 2011
Time: 3pm – 5pm
Venue: Basepoint Innovation Centre, 110 Butterfield, Luton, LU2 8DL
Cost: FREE
Contact: Paul Chalkly/Sue Fitzpatrick
Email: paul.chalkly@luton.gov.uk
or sue.fitzpatrick@luton.gov.uk
Tel: 01582 547332/546122
CENTRAL BEDFORDSHIRE
Date: 9th February 2011
Time: 3pm – 5pm
Venue: Rufus Centre, Steppingley Rd, Flitwick, MK45 1AH
Cost: FREE
Contact: Caron Kendall
Email: caron.kendall@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk
Tel: 0300 300 8079
BEDFORD
Date: 22nd February 2011
Time: 3pm – 5pm
Venue: Bedford Athletics Stadium, Barkers Lane, Bedford, MK41 9SB
Cost: FREE
Contact: Simon Dunning
Email: simon.dunning@bedford.gov.uk
Tel: 01234 276261
The construction of the new Campus Centre in Luton, which opened for business in October 2010, has not only enhanced the University with an inspiring setting for both staff and students, but also added to the space available for local businesses to take advantage of.
The £34m state-of-the-art building forms part of the £89m redevelopment project to freshen up our Luton campus and includes a 240-seat lecture theatre, informal social spaces for students, ‘Think Tanks’ and an open area dedicated to exhibitions (to find out more, click here).
Sarah Waller, Knowledge Hub Business Development Manager, said: “It’s an exciting development for the University and offers a great space for local businesses to utilise.
“We’ve worked with a number of organisations who have used the Campus Centre and its facilities for workshops and seminars, team-building days and client meetings. We’ve also hosted a number of product launch events; an exciting occasion for both the client and the University,” continued Waller.
The Campus Centre forms only a small part of the facilities available to businesses from the University, including the Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning and the Theatre. We are able to support events with high quality audio visual equipment and catering to allow you to concentrate on ideas, imagination and communication in a comfortable environment.
For enquiries about the hiring of University facilities please call 0800 328 5334.
A new year, a new start and a time of celebration for the 100 participants who recently completed the Supporting Graduates in Employment training project. The University held a final dissemination event to celebrate their achievements.
The graduates, who are all from local companies in Bedfordshire, completed the programme in December 2010, gaining a Chartered Management Institute Level 5 Certificate in Management and Leadership.
The innovative project has been a great success and has been met with enthusiasm by both the graduates who have participated and the local authority in Central Bedfordshire. The graduates received an accredited qualification with a comprehensive, bespoke training programme delivered by local business consultants, and lecturers and careers advisers at the University.
The event was attended by all participants, as well as local graduates, business owners and funding agencies in the region. The successful participants were presented with their certificates, followed by a selection of presentations by some of those involved, discussing their positive experience during the Supporting Graduates in Employment programme.
The final dissemination event for
Supporting Graduates in Employment was held on Thursday 13th
January 2011 at 6pm at the Putteridge Bury Campus. For more information, please click here or alternatively
contact Rita Mascia.
After a successful start in 2009, the University’s graduate internship scheme continues to place young, enthusiastic and able graduates into local businesses. Due to the popularity of the scheme, which is subsidised by the University and has already supplied 100 businesses with keen-minded graduate interns, places are now limited and we are urging all who are interested to apply now.
The scheme forms part of ‘Backing Young Britain’, a national initiative to give companies a helping hand during these times of financial instability and provide a platform for graduates to put the skills they have learnt into practice, as well as gain valuable experience in industry.
The scheme provides an excellent opportunity for businesses to see what a graduate can bring to your company, getting a high-calibre resource without making a long-term commitment. Internships last between eight and twelve weeks with funding provided by the Higher Education Funding Council for England.
You may be a company looking to start a short-term project and would benefit from an intern who would be able to assist; or you may require extra staff to help move the business forward, but the additional cost has deterred you.
Maria Kennedy, director of cremePR who took part in the scheme last year, said: “Good quality PR graduates who don’t want to move to London are like gold dust. This scheme found me exactly the right candidate locally, who has since been recruited by us. It was a very cost effective way of recruiting and I would recommend this to anyone else looking for a graduate, or even an extra pair of hands.”
Tony Moliterno is now settled in his new position as PR executive at cremePR and said: “Having completed other unpaid internships in the past, it was refreshing and motivating to be paid a wage for my work and be able to put the skills I’d learned at University to good use. The internship gave me the ideal opportunity to start my career with cremePR, where I am able to continue learning on the job in a supportive environment.”
The graduates provided by the University can offer expertise to a range of sectors, including: the digital industry, life sciences and pharmaceuticals, professional and financial services, construction, health care for our ageing society, computer services, electronic engineering and creative businesses.
To apply for one of our graduate interns, shortlisted on your behalf from a pool of pre-screened candidates with relevant skills, click here, or alternatively call 0845 328 5334 or e-mail knowledge@beds.ac.uk.
Good customer service. It’s something all consumers seek and business owners wish to bestow, but it’s not always easy to find. Customer satisfaction has long been the key objective in marketing with the majority of resources – both in terms of financial and staff input – being directed at gaining higher levels of satisfaction from products, services and customer experience.
However, the latest research from the University has some very different findings that demonstrate that this is not what ultimately influences consumers.
In response to the current economic situation, the Knowledge Network will focus its second event in 2011 on helping businesses to understand how effective marketing can aid growth in these highly competitive times. The event, ‘Customer Satisfaction is Dead’, is designed to look at how to target and maintain customer loyalty in 2011.
“The event will give businesses a clearer understanding of how best to market their company and achieve sustained economic growth,” said Professor Jillian Farquhar, Professor of Marketing Strategy at the University of Bedfordshire’s Business School.
Professor Farquhar who will present on the importance of value co-created with customers as forming the basis of a successful, sustainable marketing strategy for businesses. Professor Farquhar will be joined by Anthony Prior of Sheridan Global Ltd who will discuss new innovations in market research technology, following his company’s development of camera technology using glasses fitted with a small camera. The glasses provide feedback on the shopping behaviours of the consumer and how they view supermarket products on display.
The event is open to all businesses, large or small, as well as marketing professionals from the public sector. It will be held on Wednesday 23rd February 2011, 5.30 PM at the Putteridge Bury Conference Centre. For more information on the event or to book your place, please click here, email the Knowledge Hub at knowledge@beds.ac.uk or call 0800 328 5334.
The University is offering a series of free seminars to give a helping hand to those looking to start up their own business. The Basics of Building a Business (B3) seminars will use a mixture of theory, case studies and interactive exercises, encouraging and assisting delegates in establishing and growing their business enterprise.
The series has already completed a successful term in Luton and is made up of eight evening seminars on topics ranging from ‘Business idea formation and vision creation’ to ‘Costing and pricing’ effectively.
“These seminars are designed to give individuals with entrepreneurial ideas some guidance on the daunting task of taking a good idea and turning it into a great business,” said Dr Wesley Randle, Innovation Director for the University.
The series will also give delegates the opportunity to enter the University’s B3 Business Plan Competition 2011, in which the entry with the most innovative and robust business plan will receive £1,500 from the University of Bedfordshire’s Knowledge Hub.
Sessions will be held on Thursday evenings, starting at 6:15 PM and finishing at 7.30 PM at the Bedford campus. For the full list of seminars or to register your interest, click here, email the Knowledge Hub at knowledge@beds.ac.uk or call 0800 328 5334.
