Leeds shortlisted for <i>THE</i> Business School of the Year
Leeds University Business School is thrilled to be shortlisted by the prestigious <i>Times Higher Education</i> (<i>THE</i>) Awards 2021 for Business School of the Year.
The Business School is one of six UK and Irish Universities to be shortlisted for the Business School of the Year award at the 17th annual THE Awards with a successful entry based on a flagship interdisciplinary module as an exemplar of the Leeds approach.
The ‘Innovation, Thinking and Practice’ module enables final year undergraduates from across the University to develop innovation projects, engage with industry partners and improve their employability. Students collaborate in diverse teams to solve innovation challenges developed with local, national and international partners, and use Design Thinking to create human-centric solutions. The module culminates in a Dragons-Den style pitching workshop to industry and academic leaders, the successful pitches securing industry experience and product viability sesions.
The flagship module, which was carefully redesigned for online delivery in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, has seen great success and wide-ranging impacts, embuing learners with creative problem solving, commercial awareness, change management, collaboration and communication skills, whilst engaging with industry partners and improving employability. The new online format has enabled additional international partners, such as the United Nations Environment Programme, to participate.
Executive Dean of the Business School, Professor Julia Bennell commented:
I am thrilled to see Leeds University Business School recognised as one of six UK and Irish Universities shortlisted for Business School of the Year. The Innovation, Thinking and Practice module gives our students key employability skills and opportunities to develop their ideas with support and feedback from industry leaders.
“Importantly, the module demonstrates the hands-on approach at Leeds in developing business students who are not only theory-informed but uniquely positioned to enter industry and develop innovative solutions using their learning experiences and creativity.”
Joint module leader Associate Professor Tony Morgan commented:
“We're delighted to be shortlisted. This is clearly a reflection on the brilliant work of our students and the fantastic support we've received from local, national and international partners from industry. The capabilities the students have developed, including new digital and online collaboration skills, will be increasingly important to their future careers.”
THE editor John Gill commented:
“This is the 17th year that the THE Awards will recognise the best of the best in UK higher education, across 20 categories covering all aspects of university activity. But this year’s awards will reflect a period of turmoil and innovation necessitated by the pandemic, making it quite unlike any previous year.
With almost 600 institutions, teams and individuals nominated, it really is a fantastic achievement to make it onto this year’s shortlist.
We look forward to celebrating the incredible response of university staff in exceptionally tough circumstances when we gather for the Oscars of higher education in November.”
There are 20 categories in total, covering a wide range of university activity across leadership and management, administration, and academia.
This year’s ceremony will take place on the evening of 25 November 2021 in central London.
