Major business award accolade for University of Brighton

The School of Business and Law (SBL) gained the Small Business Charter Award for its influential support of local enterprises, SMEs and start-ups, along with its commitment to local growth and regeneration, which is at the core of both the school and the university. The school will hold the award for three years.

Based in an architecturally-stunning new home at Elm House, the School of Business and Law is at the heart of University of Brighton's bold mixed-use Moulsecoomb regeneration project - the largest in Brighton & Hove for 60 years.

The school drives Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs), innovation-led growth projects, and employer-focused skills programmes such as the Brighton Research Innovation Technology Exchange (BRITE) which support both student entrepreneurship and the local small business community. Its diverse offering includes apprenticeships via degrees, peer-to-peer learning for business executives, and a highly successful PhD programme.

Professor Toni Hilton

The University of Brighton has delivered over 250 Knowledge Transfer Partnerships with companies across the UK. Local companies who benefited from the university's expertise in 2021 included health monitoring company Mint Diagnostics, who worked on hormone measurement for cancer management with researchers Dr Melanie Flint, Dr Fergus Guppy and Professor Valerie Jenkins. Lewes-based Falcon Coffee's KTP, meanwhile, engaged Dr Tim Laing, Dr Sushil Mohan and Brighton research students to help measure and mitigate the carbon impact of the company's supply chain.

Brighton-based security company Control Freq, meanwhile, credited workshops, coaching and an action plan developed with School of Business and Law experts with guiding their successful transition from a web-based company to a fast growing business now with a physical HQ in the city.

The School of Business and Law also supports small businesses through the Green Growth Platform, which has now seen 1,600 enterprises joining the network, generating £1.74 million of income through 84 research and development projects, and creating 155 jobs across a further 47 projects.

The school’s Centre for Change, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management (CENTRIM), meanwhile, is internationally recognised for furthering innovation and performance for business, government, and third sector partners – and received special praise in the Small Business Charter accreditation for “high impact, practical research projects”. A dedicated Responsible Enterprise and Innovation cluster further develops and delivers teaching and research that build innovation and entrepreneurship to support creative and original strategy.

Professor Toni Hilton, Dean of the School of Business and Law, University of Brighton, said: “We are delighted to be awarded the Small Business Charter by the Chartered Association of Business Schools. The charter recognises the passion and dedication of our lecturers, students and professionals across the university’s central services, our alumni and the businesses connected to us, and all their great work with SMEs. We are proud to be part of the vibrant SBC community and are looking forward to building on our achievements to establish an education and management development hub, connecting and supporting SMEs to drive regional innovation and growth.”

Professor Debra Humphris, Vice Chancellor of the University of Brighton, said: “Congratulations to the School of Business and Law. This achievement reflects many years of commitment by the school to our local SMEs with its research and consultancy work supporting business innovation, carbon emission reductions, business start-ups and, now more than ever, we need to do more to support training people of all ages to become enthusiastic and highly skilled graduates”.

Anne Kiem OBE, Executive Director of the Small Business Charter, and Chief Executive of the Chartered Association of Business Schools said: “We would like to congratulate everyone at the School of Business and Law at Brighton University on attaining their Small Business Charter Award. They have demonstrated commitment to their mission to support student entrepreneurship and SMEs, and it is clear from the evidence the tangible high level of impact this has on their local economy.”