Going global
Events such as the annual International Food festival highlights the cultural diversity on the campus
Wed, 05 Jun 2013 15:23:00 BST
Business has gone global and so has business education. And the University of Huddersfield has turned itself into a major player.
The spectacular growth of its Business School – following an ambitious programme which has seen numbers of overseas students more than triple over the course of three years – has led to recognition in the shape of a Queen’s Award for Enterprise, a badge of excellence that is recognised worldwide.
The award was made in the International Trade category and the Business School was the focus of the University’s highly-detailed submission, running to some 15 pages of facts and figures.
“We are obviously very proud to have got this mark of recognition, not only for our recruitment but also for our support of international students,” said Professor Chris Cowton, who is Dean of the University of Huddersfield’s Business School. “We are hoping that it will further increase our profile, because The Queen is such a well-recognised and respected figure internationally.”
But Professor Cowton added that the School’s goal now was not vast expansion, but controlled, sustainable growth. One element in this is that entry standards will continue to be raised for home and international students.
“This means we have well-qualified, motivated students and this helps to ensure a good experience in the classroom for everybody, and a great learning experience at the University,” said Professor Cowton.
Emphasis was also being laid on diversity.
“We have students from more than 80 different countries at the moment and we have had a deliberate strategy of trying to enter new markets, where we see future potential,” he added.
In 2008, the Business School had just 350 international students, contributing 18 per cent of its income. Then came the ambitious expansion programme, which resulted in international income rising by 50 per cent in every one of the past three years. The School now has 1,200 overseas students from 88 different countries, making up a quarter of its student body.
The course development and international marketing strategy adopted by the Business School and the University’s International Office meant that the growth in student numbers was delivered two years ahead of the planned schedule. There has been a tenfold increase in the number of Chinese students – from 40 to 500 in three years – and there has also been marked growth in the numbers from Libya and Saudi Arabia. Other key countries for recruitment have included Nigeria, Vietnam, Iraq, Ghana, Kazakhstan and Jordan. Professor Cowton spells out the benefits of diversity within the Business School, which he describes as “veritable laboratory of global business”.
In addition to attracting students from overseas to Huddersfield – helping to inject an estimated £20 million into the local economy – the Business School also delivers University of Huddersfield-accredited courses in Hong Kong, India, Russia and China, and it has major research projects running in Ethiopia. Working in such varied and dynamic parts of the world helps ensure that staff are able to bring up-to-date international experience into their teaching in Huddersfield.
“Increasingly, business is a global phenomenon, not only in terms of trade between countries,” said Professor Cowton. “It is also the case that when you work in large companies you will find there are people from all sorts of countries and cultures. So one of the benefits of studying here, for home as well as overseas students, is that they meet people from many different cultures.”
Professor Cowton believes that Britain will benefit from providing business education to large numbers of overseas students.
“We know that if they come here rather than another country, then that gives ties to the UK. There are business schools where you can study and be examined in English throughout Continental Europe – including even France – so it is great that they come to the Huddersfield and the UK and develop affection for the University and the town.
“It also means that they understand us and our culture and that will make it easier for them to do business with Britain in the future.”
