International Student Magazine

Representing NBS at University Court

Dreams Of Olympic Success In London

International Food Event

Publishing Success In South Africa

Delivering Accounting In Bahrain

Welcome from the

Executive Dean

Published by Northampton Business School. T. 0044 1604 892036 E. businesswise@northampton.ac.uk

Editors: Hayley Hunter and Michelle Smith. Design: Stamp

www.northampton.ac.uk

Every effort has been made to ensure that all of the information contained in this edition of Business Wise is correct a the time of going to press. Please note that The University of Northampton accepts no liability for the accuracy of statements in this and other marketing publications.

Would you like to comment on any of the stories featured in this edition of BUSINESSWISE? Got an idea for the next issue? Let us know –email businesswise@northampton.ac.uk

Comments

@ianbrooks6

Featured in this edition...

Dreams Of Olympic Success

In London P2

International Food Event P.6

Delivering Accounting In Bahrain P8

Publishing Success In South Africa P10

Welcome to this edition of BUSINESSWISE. We are delighted to bring you news

from our international students and share with you some of their successes, as

well as informing you of our work around the globe.

This year has witnessed amazing global developments; we are partnering three

elite Vietnamese universities to exclusively deliver our MBA. No other university

has such an arrangement in this highly dynamic and growing economy. In April

2012, NBS joined forces with Stafford Associates; situated in the Knowledge

Village Dubai to exclusively deliver our MBA in centres spanning the Arabian Gulf

to South East Europe. We are also working with Ernst & Young, the prestigious

global accounting firm, in Bahrain to deliver our accounting degree.

2011-12 has also seen the introduction, unique in Guangdong Province

(China), of a BA (Hons) Business Entrepreneurship degree on a

two-centre shared delivery basis.

The work of the Global Student Society continues to provide all

students with many excellent opportunities to integrate with life

in the UK, such as a recent trip to Bentley, a talent show and an

international food event. You can view the pictures of these events

and many more on our Facebook page, so take a look and join

our online community.

Dr Ian BrooksExecutive Dean, NBS

/nbsuninorthants

BUSINESSWISE - International Edition Page 2

John’s dream of Olympic success in London

A BA Business and Marketing student from The University of Northampton’s Business School is eagerly awaiting the announcement of whether he

has made it onto the 2012 U.S. Olympic team. John Gibbons, 22, is in Year 2 of his degree and has been studying part-time over the last four years whilst he trains with the U.S. Pentathlon team in America. John will find out in June whether he will be representing the U.S. at London 2012. He commented:

“I’ve been swimming competitively since I was eight years old and winning a few county championships. I then progressed to take part in the U.S. Pentathlon national championships in New Mexico in 2007 and represented the U.S. in both the Youth and Junior World championships when I was 18. “I was asked to attend the U.S. Olympic Training Centre in Colorado Springs from September 2010 – July 2011. The top 5% of athletes are invited to this facility for training at Olympic level, so it was a great honour for me to be selected. I had already started my studies at The University of Northampton but they allowed me

to defer for two years and have been extremely helpful with this flexibility for my studies. “You could be training for 6 – 7 hours a day, so I found my textbooks a great help to focus on something else. I wanted to keep up with my course and the reading. I also know that eventually all this sport will end and I’ll be doing something after that – having a degree in Business and Marketing will be very valuable.” A pentathlon is a competition featuring five different events – typically shooting, swimming, fencing, equestrian and cross country running. “I enjoy swimming a lot,” John stated, “Pentathlons are a real test of endurance as they last all day. I have a ‘psyched mix’ on my iPod to get me ready, which gets the job done! Before a competition, sleep is also vital, as is a lot of pasta.” John returned back to the UK and his studies at The University of Northampton’s Business School in September 2011. He plans to go straight into Year 3 of his course in September - hopefully with unforgettable experiences of competing for his country in London 2012.

Students from Northampton Business School were invited to represent the school at University Court on the 4th

May 2012. The University Court is a very special event held annually, guests include the local MP, the Mayor and distinguished members of the business community. As part of the event Dr. Ian Brooks, Executive Dean introduced three of our students; Xihui Chen, Tanish Thakker and Dominyka Zemaityte. The students talked about their experience at

Northampton Business School as well as the many ways in which the Business School has helped them to develop their employability skills through placements and workshops to improve interview techniques and CV writing. Dominyka told the audience of her experience

with Nissan last year and her hopes of securing full time

employment with them when she graduates. She also stressed how important it was

for members of the business community to support students by offering them these valuable placement opportunities to help them better prepare for the world of work.

Representing NBS at University Court

Look at him go

The Global Students’ Society arranged an educational visit to the Bentley factory in Crewe. Students from across the university took part and BUSINESSWISE caught up with three students from Northampton Business School to see what they thought of the experience. “I had really looked forward to the trip to Bentley and found the tour amazing and very informative. We saw how the factory equipment reduced production time and ensured the high quality Bentley is known for. It was interesting to see how Bentley is expanding their customer base by entering the Chinese markets. As a management student, I found this trip to see such a successful brand very helpful”. Yin Fang, MA Management (Tourism) “I had heard about Bentley from my father who is a crazy fan of cars. I have been interested in a variety of cars since I was little so joining the trip was very interesting. I learned a lot from the visit and can see how Bentley has become the most famous car in the world, because of the rigorous tests, the constant innovations and the belief of the brand in every employee”. Song Yao, International Accounting

“People spend a fortune to have the ‘Bentley Feel’ but we were among the handful of lucky ones to experience it for free. After an early start we arrived in Crewe and met our guide for the factory tour, Mr. Alan who has been with Bentley for the past 36 years, he was our ‘Pied Piper’ for the day. Every car that goes out to the customer is passed through a process of quality assurance that eliminates the probability of any error or damage to almost zero. The Bentley exhibition centre has on display their first ever racing car which was able to accelerate up to 120 mph in 1920, as well as another Bentley that was gifted back to the company by an elderly couple, this car was a wedding gift to the bride from the groom. We would like to thank the Global Student Society committee and the staff at Bentley for providing us with an opportunity to have the ‘Bentley Feel’. Rehman Aslam, MBA

Run by students, for the students, the Global Students’ Society provides a common ground for home and

international students to interact through social activities throughout the year. The Society arranged a talent show and Gaurav Ravindra tells BUSINESSWISE “I was given a chance to play the guitar and sing. Not only did I get a lot of exposure from the event, but I also made a lot of new friends from different countries having similar interests and had a phenomenal time with them! I am glad there is such a spectacular society to bring us all together. No doubt there is a strong Unity in Diversity!” Tanhe Yuan also took part in the talent show and said “As an international student studying engineering at Avenue campus, I was happy to have an opportunity to play harmonica at the talent show, the night was great because I met a wonderful singer Gaurav who has an amazing singing voice.” Students expressed gratitude to their President, Xihui Chen, who encourages students to get involved in the activities of The Global Students’ Society. It is sometimes difficult for international students to gain the confidence to socialise with people who speak English. The Global Students’ Society provides a platform for students to familiarize themselves in English life.

THE BENTLEY FACTORY

TOUR

The Global Students’ Society Talent Show

BUSINESSWISE - International EditionPage 3

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Justina Petkeviciute is studying BA Accounting and Finance and we asked her about her placement year with Faurecia, an International automotive parts manufacturer. “When I first heard about work placements I thought what an amazing opportunity that would be, but was it something I would be able to do? The NBS Centre for Employability held a number of seminars where we could find out more about work placements, it was after attending these that I set my mind to find a placement. I realised a year’s work experience would have huge potential for me, from enhancing my CV to giving me priceless hands on experience. It took a lot of effort and motivation to secure myself a placement, I was unsuccessful on a couple of occasions but my determination paid off and I secured a job at Faurecia, one of the largest international automotive parts manufacturer’s in the world. Employed as an Accounts Assistant at Faurecia, I get to experience every field of accounting from inputting non-production and production invoices, month end, creating debit and credit notes, helping with money recharge to other plants and lots more. During my time here I have learnt to be more responsible, professional and manage my time better. As for technical skills, I have mastered Excel and learnt how to work with two accounting systems and I’m about to learn a third one! This placement has given me an amazing opportunity and made me realise what I want to do in the future. I believe this experience will help me to secure a job which I will really enjoy and I can’t wait to start looking for one again. To sum it up, I am very happy that I took this opportunity and the staff at Northampton Business School were so helpful with everything. Only one warning to those who are thinking about doing a placement- be prepared to grow! A lot!”

International accountancy placement

The spring term saw Pre-sessional English students using their Project module to create personalised films on the student experience at The University of Northampton. Students worked in small teams and were tasked to show the quality of the student experience. To support the students in their task, they used the film editing suite installed in NBS. They also received expert assistance from the Business School’s E-Learning Multimedia Developer. Not only did the students have the hands on experience of directing, starring and filming their video, they were also taught how to use the editing equipment properly. They had the chance to use up-to-date software and further develop skills for their future study. The end result of the eight week project was a varied and enjoyable set of videos. The films were judged on how well they met the assignment brief, the use of language and the use of editing software. A prize of a day out paintballing was awarded to the top two submissions. This prize was kindly donated by NBS.

Lights! Camera! Action!

BUSINESSWISE - International EditionPage 5

The MSc IT Service Management (ITSM) course helped me realise how service industries like IT in particular enables organisations to return real value. As a technology professional with over ten years experience working in the public sector, I now realised my views have always been isolated and focused on the technology rather than considering the whole picture. I am now exposed to frameworks such as ITIL that form the basis for continual service improvement (CSI) needed to monitor and report organisational value and benefit. I chose the University of Northampton, because I wanted a course that helps you align organisation’s needs and information systems as early as inception of the business case all the way to implementation. The environment in Northampton has been conducive and a great adventure for me. I am from the Gambia in West Africa and head the IT Department of the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education. The Ministry sponsors my studies with The University of Northampton.

Alpha Bah

Iveta Senkevicha is studying BA Fashion Marketing with Northampton Business School and has just finished her second year. As an EU student from Lithuania she spoke to BUSINESSWISE about her experience of combining work and study. “In the beginning I was very concerned how I would manage to combine my studies and work as I wasn’t able to apply for the home student loan. I decided to look for job opportunities within the University and found out about the Student Ambassador role, which I’m doing at the moment, this has been a great experience for me. Being an ambassador

has helped me to improve my English and be more confident when it comes to talking in front of large groups of people. I have also met many people while working on the open days and it’s a big friendly team who are always happy to help each other. In addition I have been working as a Course Representative, which has given me a chance to actively participate in my course, address the issues or questions from my fellow students to our tutor and it looks good on my CV, combining these roles has enabled me to become more organised and responsible. I am pleased that the University are able

to offer me so many different opportunities and support during my studies; these have given me lots of different experiences and knowledge. For example I have been working as an assistant stylist for the fashion graduates promotional video, which helped me to get an insight into the industry where I want to work, this is especially helpful as I can’t afford to go on an unpaid placement. For these reasons I am very grateful that The University of Northampton could provide me all these amazing opportunities for self-development.

A GREAT ADVENTURE

Working opportunities

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BUSINESSWISE - International Edition Page 6

International Food Event

Northampton Business School, The Students Union and The Global Students’ Society hosted an International Food Evening in March 2012. This inaugural event, which hosted over 100 students and staff, was a celebration of food, music and culture from around the world. Those in attendance sampled the delights of Indian, Chinese, Spanish, Caribbean and British food whilst watching traditional dances from around the world.To see more images from this event visit www.facebook.com/nbsuninorthants

Over the past few years Professor Simon Burtonshaw-Gunn has contributed a number of practitioner articles to the South African web-based

journal ‘Human Capital Review’. Late last year he was approached by an editor requesting that

two of these articles are reproduced as book chapters in a series of books

covering topics such as strategy, management, change, leadership and

HR. In February this year Simon was pleased to report that his chapter ‘Performance Management: Processes AND People’ was published in ‘Managing Performance in Organisations’ and his chapter, with

his regular co-writer Dr Malik Salameh,

‘Change management contributions to organisational performance’ was published in ‘Managing Change in Organisations’. Both titles are published

by Knowles Publishing, Republic of South Africa.

Over the past few years Professor Simon Burtonshaw-Gunn has contributed a number of practitioner articles to the South African web-based

journal ‘Human Capital Review’. Late last year he was approached by an editor requesting that

two of these articles are reproduced as book chapters in a series of books

covering topics such as strategy, management, change, leadership and

HR. In February this year Simon was pleased to report that his chapter

‘Performance Management: Processes

AND People’ was published in ‘Managing Performance nagement contributions to organisational performance’ was published in titles

Over the past few years Professor

Simon Burtonshaw-Gunn has contributed a number of practitioner articles to the South African web-based journal ‘Human Capital Review’.Late last year he was approached by an

editor requesting that two of these articles

are reproduced as book chapters in a series

of books covering topics such as strategy,

management, change, leadership and HR.

In February this year Simon was pleased

to report that his chapter ‘Performance

Management: Processes and People’ was

published in ‘Managing Performance in

Organisations’ and his chapter, with his

regular co-writer Dr Malik Salameh, ‘Change

management contributions to organisational

performance’ was published in ‘Managing

Change in Organisations’. Both titles are

published by Knowles Publishing, Republic of

South Africa.

Publishing success in South Africa

Page 7

Over the last five years 100s of students from all over the world have graduated with a MSc IT Service Management or a Post Graduate Certificate in ITSM from The University of Northampton. During this time the research carried out by these students, especially in their dissertations, has been extensive, innovative and exciting. Now is the time to share this with the ITSM community.

The University of Northampton is delighted to announce that it will stage its first ITSM conference, the day before the current graduates’ award ceremony.

Keynote speakers, include Dr Don Page and Ben Clacy from itSMF. There will also be a poster

exhibition and presentations from students whose academic work has challenged or reinforced current thinking in the service management arena.

Susan Bailey, Principal Lecturer and Course Leader says “We have been delighted with the quality of research that students have undertaken and much of the work is now suitable for publication. We are encouraging the students to prepare posters and academic papers that are dynamic and thought provoking. We would like to welcome visitors, students and alumni alike.”

To register go to

IT Service Management Conference 19th July 2012

itsmconference.eventbrite.co.uk

Dr He Shaowei is busy preparing for a trip to visit three of the largest universities in Brazil; UNESP, Universidade de São Paulo, and University of Fortaleza to participate in research seminars and attend the Brazil-Africa international forum. In addition Shaowei will be visiting various inward investment agencies and Chinese companies investing in Brazil including Huawei and Sany and talking to colleagues about potential collaborations.

BUSINESSWISE - International Edition

Research in Brazil

BUSINESSWISE - International Edition Page 8

The University of Northampton

has agreed a joint degree

delivery with Ernst & Young

Training Centre in Bahrain. Ernst

& Young is one of the ‘big four’

accounting services firms in the

world and are the most distinct and

widely recognised brand, operating

in over 140 countries with global

clients. Ernst & Young, Bahrain employs

470 staff and provides its clients

with a broad array of services

relating to audit and risk, business

community training (BCT), tax,

technology and IT security and

transaction advisory services.

The partnership will enable E&Y

through the BCT centre to provide

tuition to students with existing

accounting qualifications such as

the AAT diploma to top up to UK

degree level. These students will

study modules for the award of BA

(Hons) International Accounting.

The tuition will be provided by

the BCT team and supported by

University staff in Bahrain.

It is expected that the degree

will attract a significant number

of local and other Middle Eastern

students. The degree will have

two intakes, September and

February and is due to commence

September 2012. It has also been

agreed that some students may

wish to complete their degree

studies in Northampton.

BCT is situated on the

prestigious Al Moayyed Tower

and has established itself as a

well known and respected training

centre, attracting a large number

of locals as well as an expat

community in the island including a

considerable number of overseas

candidates for its varied training

course offerings. The University has developed

a number of partnerships with UK

Accounting professional bodies

to enable the enhancement of

professional body qualifications

to degree level. One such

arrangement is with the Association

of Accounting Technicians where

holders of the AAT diploma can

study for a UK Honours degree.

Delivering Accounting in Bahrain

Dr. Holger Siemons, who teaches Cross-Cultural Management with us has just returned from a month long teaching trip to Pakistan and Vietnam.

In Lahore Holger taught “Critical Thinking and Reflection Skills” to a group of activists and university lecturers for a political foundation that supports public democratization processes in different countries. In Hanoi, where Holger is a visiting professor with the National Economics University, he taught International Business Strategy in the Advanced Educational Program, which exposes its students to an international faculty and works toward a high degree of praxis orientation. Holger implemented an interactive teaching methodology that encouraged all students to actively contribute to collective learning. During the module, students increased the frequency and complexity of their oral and written contributions to the group. One student in the cohort expressed: “In the beginning I was reserved in

contributing to the open discussion that Holger initiated in the class. Through him giving us the challenge to gradually increase our contributions we built the confidence that was needed to finally reduce our inhibitions to share our opinion.” While the exposure to different learning styles may be challenging, over time such interventions support the multi-level ability of the student to participate and contribute to cross-cultural work environments. Therefore increasing the global employability of these students. Holger paired this learning approach by involving students in real life business scenarios in which students share their understanding. This format of teaching was well received among students and faculty of NEU, as well as by the delegation of the Vietnamese Ministry of Education that attended Holger’s class.

A high level delegation from Da Nang University, led by the

University President, visited on Sunday 11 March to discuss opportunities to form a partnership between our two universities. The delegation enjoyed the experience, including lunch in an old Northamptonshire village pub and a drive around Althorp. Both institutions signed a Memorandum of Association the next day in London which set out the scope for a partnership and we will shortly commence the implementation phase of that arrangement. The exact nature of the development remains a commercial secret but watch this space for further developments with Da Nang and other elite Vietnamese universities.

Cross cultural teaching in Vietnam and Pakistan

Da Nang University delegation visit

BUSINESSWISE - International EditionPage 9

BUSINESSWISE - International Edition Page 10

Dr Chris Andrew, International Development Manager for Northampton Business School spent a week as the guest of Al Farabi Kazakh National University in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Al Farabi National University is widely regarded as the No 1 University in Kazakhstan. Chris met with the First Vice Rector of Al Farabi National University and members of staff from the High

School of Economics and Business. Agreements were made for students to progress from AL Farabi National University to a number of courses at Northampton Business School, including the MBA, MSc Accounting and Finance, MA Management and a number of BA (Hons) top up courses. Al Farabi Kazakh National University will also be partnering Northampton Business School (and

universities from Russia, Lithuania and Hungary) in a European Tempus bid to deliver a Masters programme in International Business Entrepreneurship. Northampton Business School hopes to host a return visit by the Vice Dean for International Relations at AL Farabi Kazakh National University later in the year.

Agreements made with Kazakhstan University

In a recent visit to Kuala Lumpar, Dr. Ian Brooks, Executive Dean of NBS negotiated provisional approval of The University of Northampton MSc Corporate Governance & Leadership by the Malaysian Institute of Company Secretaries and Administrators to provide qualified company secretaries. When ratified, Northampton will be the first University to gain dual approval both by ICSA (London) and MAICSA (Malaysia) and students will study for this qualification in Kuala Lumpur, progressing to Northampton for the second and third semesters of the Masters degree.

Dr Tambu Mangezi (pictured), organised a series of student recruitment events and partnership meetings with education institutions in Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe. The events held at the British Council offices in Gaborone and Harare, welcomed over 400 prospective students and received 60 completed applications on the day and more since the event. Dr. Mangezi met with the Director of the British Council - South Africa to discuss promoting the schools activities to prospective students. In addition, meetings were organised with local accrediting councils and prospective partners, in the region. In Zimbabwe meetings with representatives

from the University of Zimbabwe (formerly a college of the University of London and University of Birmingham, Trust Academy), and Zimbabwe Council of Higher Education (ZIMCHE) had positive outcomes. In Gaborone meetings with the Ministry of Higher Education (Tertiary Education Financing), University of Botswana and AMB University were held and follow up is currently underway. The prospects for delivering supported distance learning and developing long-term partnerships are great.

Malaysian MSc Corporate Governance & Leadership

Recruiting in Southern Africa

BUSINESSWISE - International EditionPage 11

Study Skills Preparation CourseHelping you to become a successful studentAs an international student, studying at university in the UK will be very different from your previous experiences.

This innovative, interactive four week course helps international students understand the differences between how they studied in their home country and what is expected of them at a British university.

“The strengths of the course are quality tutoring, clear and concise course materials and the provision of the Directed Self Study to assist students in studying on their own”. Desmond (Nigeria)

For more information or visit www.northampton.ac.uk/study-skills-preparation-course or email: nbsstudyskills@northampton.ac.uk

Northampton Business School, The University of Northampton’s albums

International Welcome Week Feb 3rd 201224 photos

International Food Event145 photos

Masters Dinner May 1244 photos

Chinese New Year Celebrations 10 Feb 1212 photos

Dr Ian Brooks, Executive Dean - Trip to Dubai and China16 photos

Accounting & Finance Awards22 photos

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