The University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) has a new Business Development Team tasked with developing partnership working across Lancashire and the wider region. Kevin Boles, recently appointed as Head of Business Development, together with Business Development Manager Ruth Slater and a team of three Business Development Officers, are busy raising the business-boosting profile of the University.
The main focus of the team so far has been awareness raising of the new Degree Apprenticeships (DA), which have been introduced in response to a recent Government initiative. They are excited to report that they currently have 32 apprentices on the BA (Hons) Business Management (Chartered Manager) DA with a further 7 studying the BSc (Hons) Digital Solutions DA. Other degree apprenticeships in Quantity Surveying and Health Practitioner are also well subscribed.
UCLan has a huge offering to SME’s in Lancashire, many projects funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), ranging from the Investment Readiness Team who help prepare businesses for launch and for growth, DigitMe and Digital First to help businesses embrace the digital changes necessary to keep up-to-date with growth in technology.
Ruth is particularly passionate about Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP). She has a wealth of experience in bringing together cutting-edge university research and companies seeking to fill a gap in their knowledge which is preventing them from taking that next big step forward. Government funding is available to enable a graduate to be employed directly in the business, whilst also working closely with academic staff at UCLan, to work on a specific project to fill the knowledge gap; enabling the company to use innovative solutions to grow, making them more competitive and therefore more profitable.
Kevin’s team, Gina McDonald, Emily Hawkins and Charlotte Duffell, intend to meet as many businesses as they can in the area to understand the challenges businesses face and to identify opportunities of working together for business growth across the region. If you would like any information about how UCLan can help your business do get in touch email business@uclan.ac.uk or call 01772895500.
