Newcastle University Business School Magazine | www.ncl.ac.

uk/nubs Issue 05: Autumn/Winter 07

From the
In this issue: South Pole to
— New Goldman Professor
Fiona Cruickshank shares her
the North Pole
formula for success. p9 Another Marketing and
Management graduate sets
—N
 CL to NYC
Putting classroom theory into practice. p13 out to conquer the Pole p17
— Bringing Business Skills
to the Charity Sector
Why the charity sector needs more
Business graduates. p21
 INTRODUCTION
From the Director’s Desk
Welcome to the fifth issue of
NUBusiness. Since our last issue
there have been some changes in
the Business School. After seven
years as Director of the School,
Professor Ian McLoughlin has
taken a year-long research leave.
In his absence, I have taken over as
Acting Director of the School, and
Dr. Hugh Metcalf as Acting Deputy
Director.
As a school we have been re-working
and reformulating our vision and we
have now encapsulated it in the
phrase: “To be regionally rooted,
nationally influential and globally
respected.”
Our inspiration for this has come
from the Angel of The North.
Beneath the steel superstructure are
thousands of tons of concrete which
root the statue in place. Recently the
British Culture Secretary named it
as one of the UK’s top ten cultural
icons, and obviously it now has world
wide recognition.
At the Business School we seek to
emulate this achievement by also
being regionally rooted, nationally
influential and globally respected.
A Word from the Editor
Hi everyone and welcome to the
fifth issue of NUBusiness. I hope
you like the new layout for the
magazine.
As is always the case, it is difficult Professor and advice from alumnus David Rankin on
to fit all that’s been happening at
the Business School in one issue! Our we have updates on research focus, NUBusiness
alumni around the world are making briefings and our ever popular alumni archive.
a name for themselves, and it doesn’t Thanks to everyone who shared their thoughts,
get any better for Brian Douds who
has just returned from a trip to the
North Pole or David Locke who is
making a world of difference by
working for one of the oldest
charities in the UK.
01 — NUBUSINESS MAGAZINE AUTUMN/WINTER 2007
CONTENTS
Regional roots are demonstrated by the connections we
have with many local organisations through the The PoPs Have New Goldman A pharmacist at the head of a multi-
million pound drug manufacturing
Executive MBA programme. Graduates from this
programme exercise the leadership and management
Arrived: A Professor Shares business is the latest high profile
entrepreneur to become the
skills they have developed by helping the organisations
that they work for to grow and develop. We are also
Different Kind Her Formula for Goldman Visiting Professor
of Business Innovation.
linked in to the Newcastle Science City vision to translate of Professor p7 Success p9
scientifically-based intellectual capital into economic and Newcastle University is committed
social benefit for the North East of England. We have now Professor John Leopold to become a university “open for
appointed four Professors of Practice (PoPs), one for each Acting Director NUBS business” for Newcastle Science City.
of the Science City theme areas. These PoPs are people
who have been able to combine scientific research with
entrepreneurship and now have the task of connecting NCL to NYC p13 From the Human Resources
science to business and business to science. You can read
more about this on pages 7 and 8 of this issue. South Pole to Management Is
One example of many where we are able to influence
policy decisions of government and business at national
the North Pole p17 Just a Click Away
Following on from similar
level is Professor Mike Jones-Lee’s position as specialist consultancy trips in Europe, COVER STORY p19
adviser to the House of Lords Select Committee on students from the Executive MBA You may have a great business
Economic Affairs, which is conducting an inquiry into
undertook a consultancy project Another Marketing and Management idea, but have you any experience
Government Policy on the Management of Risk. Another with Thomson Financial. graduate sets out to conquer the Pole. in managing people?
colleague from the ESHER research group, Professor
Sue Chilton, has been a policy adviser to DEFRA on the
health benefits of reduced air pollution. A Round Table The Rise of Win a Digi Memo
Together with Dr. Hugh Metcalf, Professors Jones-Lee
and Chilton are also now part of the Norwegian
Discussion p21 Metaverses p24 Notepad!
Government research centre into risk management. p30
This shows how we can expand out from national to
international significance and influence.
Many of the other activities reported on in this issue are
related to this vision, which will be the inspiration for our Is the International Summer School Are three dimensional worlds
future work. meeting expectations? the next generation web?
Full contents:
News...................................................... 03 From the South Pole Research Focus:
The PoPs Have Arrived: to the North Pole................................... 17 The Rise of Metaverses......................... 24
We have introduced a new discussion series with A Different Kind of Professor............... 07 Love Newcastle LIVE Newcastle!…....... 18 Alumni Archive..................................... 25
this issue, the first of which is about the University’s New Goldman Professor Shares Her Human Resources Management Alumni Events....................................... 27
International Summer School. We also bring you Formula for Success.............................. 09 Is Just a Click Away............................... 19 Book Review:
highlights of the Executive MBA trip to New York, Bringing Business Skills A Round Table Discussion.................... 21 The Tiger That Isn’t.............................. 28
news on the appointment of the fifth Goldman Visiting to the Charity Sector............................. 11 Profile: Making the MOST NUBusiness Briefings........................... 29
NCL to NYC........................................... 13 for the Region........................................ 23 Competition Page.................................. 30
online human resources management. And, as always,
Sharmishta Chatterjee-Banerjee
NUBusiness Editor Credits and Thanks
Many thanks to BMS World Mission, Special thanks to the Editorial Board, Cover photograph courtesy Daniel R.
contributed articles and helped me put this, National Geographic Traveller Magazine, Karol Marketing and our hardworking Westergren, Senior Photo Editor for
our second anniversary issue, together. Shalinee Chatterjee, Kristen Bradfield, team at SUMO. National Geographic Traveller Magazine,
Mick Warwicker, Dan Howarth, Stuart One-North, Singapore.
Please continue to send in your suggestions Garratt. Gwilym Mumford, Aarushi Nigam
and contributions to nubusiness@ncl.ac.uk. and Nick Pitsiladis.
Enjoy the issue!
NUBUSINESS MAGAZINE AUTUMN/WINTER 2007 — 02
 News
New Vice-Chancellor Takes the
Helm at Newcastle University
Newcastle University has a new Vice-
Chancellor. He is South-African born
mathematician Professor Chris Brink,
who became the university’s executive
and academic head on 1 August.
Professor Brink was formerly Rector
and Vice-Chancellor at Stellenbosch
University in South Africa, where he
led a “transformation agenda” which
resulted in Stellenbosch emerging as
one of the country’s leading research
universities and gaining a reputation
for promoting equality of opportunity
by attracting more black students
into higher education.
Professor Brink said that while in
South Africa, he became aware of the
reputation of Newcastle University
for “excellence and relevance.” He
aims to build on this commitment by
applying teaching and research to the edge of the Kalahari Desert. At the
benefit of people and businesses.
“It was the vision of this university where he gained a first degree in
that brought me here,” said Professor mathematics and computer science.
Brink. “I am enthused by the idea of a He continued his postgraduate study
marriage between excellence and
relevance, and committed to the ideal Rhodes University, Grahamstown,
of a university that is a driver for
development and economic growth
through the internationally
recognised quality of its research
and teaching.”
03 — NUBUSINESS MAGAZINE AUTUMN/WINTER 2007
Professor Brink is successor to
Professor Christopher Edwards, who
retired after six-and-a-half-years as
Vice-Chancellor. The University has
achieved sustained growth under
Professor Edwards’ leadership.
Olivia Grant, Chairman of Newcastle
University’s governing body, Council,
said: “Chris Brink is a renowned
academic with an international
reputation in higher education who
has demonstrated outstanding
leadership at Stellenbosch. The
Council believes he shares our
commitment to the crucial regional
and local role of the University whilst
strengthening our international
excellence and diversity.”
Professor Brink was born and raised
in a small rural town at the southern
age of 18 he moved to Johannesburg,
in mathematics and philosophy at
South Africa, before being awarded a
prestigious scholarship to
Cambridge, where he completed a
PhD in Algebraic Logic in 1978.
Left:Professor
Chris Brink,
Vice-Chancellor of
Newcastle University
His career since then has divided
between academic and management
positions in South Africa and
Australia, with frequent contacts
in Britain and Europe.
In 1998, he was appointed Pro-
Vice-Chancellor (Research) at
the University of Wollongong in
Australia, where he restructured the
University’s activities in research,
innovation and commercialisation.
Following the decline of the steel
industry, the University was key to
the rebirth of Wollongong as a
knowledge-based city.
He was appointed Rector and Vice-
Chancellor of Stellenbosch University
in South Africa in 2002, which he has
led through a transformation agenda
while at the same time increasing its
research and academic profile
nationally and internationally.
Professor Brink himself is a logician
with a strong commitment to
interdisciplinary work who has
published widely in the fields of
mathematics, logic, philosophy and
computer science. He is a Fellow of
the Royal Society of South Africa,
a former President of the South
African Mathematical Society and a
Founder Member of the Academy of
Science of South Africa.
He is married with two daughters
and a son.
School Advises Third Sector Pathfinder Grant
for Lecturer
Business School Lecturer Rob
Wilson, who is also the leader of
the Social and Business Informatics
research group which sits in the
School’s Centre for Knowledge
Innovation Technology and
Enterprise (KITE), was recently the
keynote presenter at two national
conferences aimed at the voluntary
and charity sectors.
The title of his keynote speech was
“Balancing the Mission with Funding
Priorities.” His talk outlined the
challenges facing the third sector, in
particular the problem of surviving
in the “organisational aquarium” of
public sector service delivery, where
ongoing issues for third sector
organisations include sustainability,
mission drift and finding the balance
between competition and networking
activity.
These conference events have
coincided with the launch of a new
research project where the Business
School’s KITE research centre is a
partner with Age Concern,
Nottingham Trent University and
Manchester Metropolitan University.
Business School’s
New Research
Seminar Series
The Business School is buzzing with
research activity, which is reflected in
the seminar series planned for this
academic year.
The seminars are for both Business
School staff and invited speakers
from the UK and overseas to present
their current work well ahead of
publication. They are therefore an
opportunity to keep abreast of the
most recent developments in
academic thought.
News
Joanna Berry, Academic Director of
the Executive MBA Programme, has
become the first successful applicant
from the University for a North East
Higher Level Skills Pathfinder grant of
£15,000. This will be used to deliver a
series of short courses to practitioners
in the cultural and creative industries,
to provide them with the business
skills and knowledge which will
support this critical sector of the
UK economy.
The Sector Skills Council recognises
that over half a million people work
in these industries, which contribute
£23.5bn annually to the UK economy,
but businesses in this sector suffer
from a very high failure rate due to
The ESRC funded project is titled “Delivering Public an identified lack of administrative
Services in the Mixed Economy of Welfare: Putting
and management skills.
Research into Practice.”
The short course theories will be
Some of the materials will be piloted in two regional known as “Jigsaw” in order to allow
training workshops in the East Midlands and the North for its development into an industry-
East. The North East event will take place at Newcastle specific, flexible format with a
University on January 24th, 2008. common core of subjects. As well
For more information see the project website as using the University’s internal
at www.socialwelfareservicedelivery.org.uk. teaching resources, practitioners from
For more information on KITE within and outside the sector will be
please visit www.ncl.ac.uk/kite/. providing up to date and informed
advice and commentary
on these and other subjects.
This year, the seminars in the broad
management subject area have been
(including venues) will be made available on the School
website: http://www.ncl.ac.uk/nubs/research/
coordinated into a single series to
encourage participation and facilitate
researchseminars.htm
All students, alumni, partners and friends
dissemination of ideas. External
speakers for the October seminar
of the Business School are cordially invited!
series included Professor Ted Fuller, Upcoming Seminars:
Professor of Entrepreneurship and November 12th
Strategic Foresight, Teesside; Dr. Dr Lorraine Warren, Senior Lecturer,
Stefanie Reissner, Lecturer in School of Management, Southampton University
Management, University of Topic: Academic Entrepreneurship: career
Sunderland; Colin Herron, One transformation through the practice of
NorthEast; and Wayne Delaforce, entrepreneurial identity
Assistant Director, Development
November 28th
School of Humanities and Human Dr Graham Dietz, Lecturer in Human Resource
Services, Queensland University of
Management, Durham Business School
Technology, Australia. Topic: Trust repair after an organisational failure
The seminar series will be run during The School is always interested to hear from people
term-time with seminars taking place
who would like to appear as one of our speakers.
almost every Wednesday, from 4 p.m. For more information on the seminars please contact
to 5 p.m. The details of all seminars Kasia Zdunczyk at kasia.zdunczyk@ncl.ac.uk.
NUBUSINESS MAGAZINE AUTUMN/WINTER 2007 — 04
 News
Sowing the Seeds for the Next
Generation of Business Leaders
Newcastle University Business School
alumna Kate Partridge has been given
a leadership role by her employers.
Kate is a familiar face on the
networking scene in the North East in
her role as business manager at The
Bridge Club and has helped hundreds
of fledgling North East firms make
new contacts over the past two years.
Now she will have the opportunity to
tackle the tougher aspects of running
a company after being appointed as a
director of The Bridge Club,
networking specialists for early-stage
businesses. The move will enable the
twenty-four year old to put in to
practice much of the business advice
she has learnt from many of the North
East’s most successful entrepreneurs,
who have graced the couch for the
popular “In Conversation With…”
events that The Bridge Club is
renowned for hosting. The most
recent event saw Greggs managing
director Sir Mike Darrington cover
the challenges and successes of a
career spanning four decades.
Other high flyers to take to the Bridge
Club stage include Jocelyn Maxfield of
Tom’s Companies, Simon Heptinstall
of Storey Carpets, Paul Callaghan of
the Leighton Group, Alan Timothy of
05 — NUBUSINESS MAGAZINE AUTUMN/WINTER 2007
Rocket Science and Lisa Hart of
Acritas Research.
Caroline Theobald, Bridge Club
founder, said: “The North East has
set itself a target of finding 20,000
new business leaders over the next
decade and this newly created role is
one small step towards that. It is a big
step for my company and for Kate,
who has proven over the past two
years that she is an incredible
employee and team player who has
the potential to be an even more
incredible leader.”
Kate graduated from Newcastle
University Business School in 2005
with a degree in International
Business Management, during which
time she spent a study year abroad in
Germany. Kate worked throughout
her time at university in various
roles, including running her own
domestic cleaning company in her
home town of Harrogate.
During her final year at University,
Kate took on an Enterprise
Internship with the University’s
Enterprise Centre. Here she was
responsible for developing an interest
in enterprise and entrepreneurship
amongst the student body. It was
Girls Prefer Pink —
Or At Least a Redder
Shade of Blue
Photo reproduced courtesy of The Journal, Newcastle upon Tyne
Kate Partridge (right)
pictured with Caroline
Theobald (left)
A new study by scientists from
Newcastle University gives substance
to the old adage “Pink for a girl,
during her internship that she met blue for a boy.”
Caroline and set about securing a job
Evolution may have driven women’s
for herself post-graduation.
preference for pink, according to the
Keen to stay in the North East, Kate study published recently.
actively sought potential employment “The explanation might date back to
opportunities away from run of the humans” hunter-gatherer days, when
mill graduate schemes. Kate has
women were the primary gatherers
always taken an interest in the topic
and would have benefited from an
of leadership. The 2000 Fulcrum
ability to hone in on ripe, red fruits.
Challenge offered her the chance to
Culture may exploit and compound
go on an expedition to China and
this natural female preference,” says
Mongolia as well as an intense
Anya Hurlbert, Professor of Visual
personal development course during
Neuroscience at Newcastle University.
her A-levels. She is also a founding
member of JCI North East England The study, published in “Current
and a member of the CBI Young Biology,” provides new scientific
evidence in support of the long-held
Leaders Council.
notion that men and women differ
Kate said: “This is a tremendous
when it comes to their favourite
opportunity to become a company
colours.
director. The Bridge Club has been
on an upward spiral and these are “Although we expected to find gender
extremely exciting times to be differences, we were surprised at how
involved. I look forward to having a robust they were, given the simplicity
major impact on the future success of our test,” says Professor Hurlbert.
of the business.” The study is the first to show that
colour preference can be broken down
into two elements: red-greenness and
blue-yellowness. These are the
biological mechanisms that underlie
colour. Girls and boys differ in the
emphasis they give to these two
fundamental components.
In the test, young adult men and
women were asked to select, as rapidly around themes in ethics rather than
as possible, their preferred colour from by sector, i.e. “transparency and
each of a series of paired, coloured
rectangles. While the test revealed that stakeholder impacts” rather than
the universal favourite colour appears “ethics in the public sector.”
to be blue, the researchers found that
females had a preference for the red
end of the red-green axis.
“This shifts their colour preference
slightly away from blue towards red,
which tends to make pinks and lilacs
the most preferred colours in
comparison with others,” says
Professor Hurlbert, who carried out
the study along with research associate ethical issues by local organisations.
Dr Yazhu Ling.
The test included a small group of
Chinese people among the other 171
British Caucasian study participants to services, SMEs, public sector, third
establish whether gender differences
in colour preference depend more on
biology or culture. According to
Professor Hurlbert, the results among
the Chinese participants were similar,
strengthening the idea that the gender
differences might be biological.
Overall, the differences between men
and women were substantial enough
that the seasoned researchers can now
usually predict the sex of a participant
based on their “favourite colour”
profile. The researchers plan to modify
the colour-choice test for infants to
further test the “nature versus
nurture” theory.
News
Newcastle University’s
Forum for Business
Ethics Launched
In recognition of an increased
demand for guidance and input on
ethical issues, the Business Ethics
Network will offer a forum for
discussion of subjects around
organisational ethics.
The forum, essentially a series of
participative lectures, will have a
virtual centre at Newcastle
University, and it will aim to act as a
catalyst to attract external people
with an interest in organisational
ethics to the University. The lectures/
seminars will be as inclusive as
possible, offering a regional “best in
class” resource.
The sessions will be facilitated by an
invited guest speaker and subjects for
discussion sessions will be arranged
probity in governance’ or “measuring
The erstwhile Sunderland Centre for
Business Ethics which regularly
attracted 30-40 people, the success of
a recent Corporate Social
Responsibility strategy day held at
Newcastle University and a pilot
Business Ethics Network seminar
held in April this year have all
signalled the importance placed on
It is anticipated that regular
attendees will comprise local (to the
North East) corporates, professional
sector, education and HE people.
The first of the quarterly seminars
will take place in Autumn 07.
To register your interest, please
email Stuart.Garratt@ncl.ac.uk
or call: 0191 222 8745.
NUBUSINESS MAGAZINE AUTUMN/WINTER 2007 — 06
 Features
The PoPs Have Arrived:
A Different Kind of Professor
Estelle Chatard and Feng Li
When Newcastle University got involved in Newcastle Science City, it
committed to become a university “open for business.” One of the many
signs that transformation is happening is the recent appointment of four
Professors of Practice.
Over the past decade, the title
“Professor of Practice” has been
adopted at a number of leading
research universities. This title,
traditionally adopted in professional
schools or colleges in fields such as
architecture, design or business,
is now used in other disciplines
such as arts or science. American
universities are using Professors
of Practice to further enhance the
quality of teaching and put “real
world” practitioners in front of
students. These Professors are also
seen as an efficient bridge between
academia and industry, giving
access to talent for companies and
placement opportunities for students.
At Newcastle University, the
Professor of Practice (PoP) concept
has been taken to a new level.
07 — NUBUSINESS MAGAZINE AUTUMN/WINTER 2007
Newcastle Science City has been
the catalyst for the formation of an
unprecedented partnership between
Newcastle University, One North
East, Newcastle City Council and
industry leaders. This Triple Helix
between academia, industry and
government is set to accelerate the
transformation of Newcastle and
North East England as a vibrant
location for state-of-the-art research
and high-tech businesses for the
benefit of everyone. As part of this,
the University is undergoing one of
the biggest changes in its history.
Not only is it embracing its new
mission of economic and social
development, it is also setting
the pace to transform the way it
interacts with industry through
translational research and
commercialisation programmes.
The Professors of Practice are
one of the enablers for this change.
They are scientist entrepreneurs
with strong academic credentials
and research interests whose
expertise can help strengthen both
the research as well as technology
transfer capabilities of the university.
These Professors integrate business
and academic roles and collapse the
university-industry divide, turning a
conflict of interest into a confluence
of interest. PoPs are employed part-
time, allowing them to maintain
dual careers in business and
academia. And as agents of change,
they will foster new industrial
networks, develop translational
research programmes, identify
commercialisation opportunities
and act as role models for staff
and students.
The Professors integrate
business and academic roles
and collapse the university-
industry divide, turning a
conflict of interest into a
confluence of interest.
The Professors of Practice have been appointed in the
University’s strategic research fields in science and
technology and are hosted by the Business School. They
are working very closely with the scientists, Business
School faculties and Newcastle Science City to develop
new commercialisation opportunities for the University.
These appointments represent a key milestone in the
transformation of Newcastle University, which will lead
to a culture that not only encourages but also actually
rewards academic entrepreneurs.
Harry
Bradbury
Dr Harry Bradbury is founder
and Chief Executive of Intelligent
Energy, a company in fuel cell
technology and hydrogen
generation technologies. Harry
founded the company in August
2001 and personally raised
around £30 million in equity
financing for technology
development and corporate
growth. He has ten years’
experience in teaching and
research in universities in the
UK and USA, and has worked
in more than fifty countries
worldwide for and on behalf of
local companies and global
corporations, including Shell,
L’Oréal, Rolls Royce and Suez.
Harry has also acted as advisor
to ten national governments
including that of the UK.
David Leahy
Dr David Leahy has over 20 years’
scientific experience in the
bio-informatics and chemo-
informatics applied to drug
discovery. After working for world
leaders such as AstraZeneca,
David went on to form Cyprotex
to pursue his ideas for improved
technology for drug discovery.
Under David’s leadership
Cyprotex grew and was eventually
floated on the London Stock
Exchange. David is now working
with universities and commercial
organisations throughout Europe
and the USA on developing new
research programmes.
NUBUSINESS MAGAZINE AUTUMN/WINTER 2007 — 08
Features
Peter Gore
Peter Gore has an Engineering
Design Masters degree from
Loughborough University and
has over 25 years’ experience in
medical product design. In 1990
he became the Director of R&D
and Quality for the BOC Group in
Atlanta. In 1993, he founded and
became the Managing Director of
Cane & Able Ltd that specialised
in assistive technology. In 2002,
he founded ADL Smartcare Ltd
to match people and technological
solutions currently available.
Andrew
Lyddiatt
Dr Andrew Lyddiatt has over
30 years’ scientific experience in
biochemical engineering and has
a PhD in molecular and cellular
biology from Durham University.
He pursued his interests in
postdoctoral research on microbial,
animal and human proteins at
Trinity College Dublin, Imperial
College and in the commercial
environment of Cambridge Life
Sciences. He established the
Biochemical Recovery Group at
the University of Birmingham in
1985, and as Professor of Process
Biotechnology subsequently
directed the Birmingham
Centre for Bioprocess Engineering.
In February 2003, he joined
Millipore Biopharmaceutical
Division in county Durham
and managed 25 research
& development personnel
in the UK and USA.
 Features
New Goldman Professor Shares
Her Formula for Success
Team NUBusiness
A pharmacist at the head of a multi-million pound drug manufacturing business is the latest
high profile entrepreneur to become the Goldman Visiting Professor of Business Innovation.
As a founder of the only North East
company to break into The Times
Fast Track 100 — a list of Britain’s
fastest growing private companies —
Fiona Cruickshank is urging budding
entrepreneurs to lose their fear and
launch the business of their dreams.
As managing director of
pharmaceutical business
The Specials Laboratory,
Northumberland, Fiona has been
selected by the Business School to be
our incoming Goldman Visiting
Professor of Business Innovation
this year. She says she will use this
position as a platform to encourage
others to take the plunge and set up
on their own.
The role of Visiting Goldman
Professor involves working within
the School to provide leadership and
mentoring to our students and
faculty, as well as delivering the
David Goldman Business School
lecture at the annual event which
will take place on November 8th
at 6pm at the Research Beehive,
Newcastle University.
Fiona says: “I have been there; I have
put my money where my mouth is
and I know the North East is a great
region for launching science and
technology businesses. I am thrilled
to join the Business School and feel
my knowledge of what it’s like to
build a business in the real world
would inspire more people to do the sales this year of £11m, an increase
same themselves. You should not put of 40% on last year and now
barriers up between you and your
dreams, if you have an idea or have
spotted an opportunity just get on
and do it.”
09 — NUBUSINESS MAGAZINE AUTUMN/WINTER 2007
Features
The Goldman Endowment
David Goldman took a company of his own creation Through their gift, the Goldman family have
She adds: “As an active supporter of It has more than 5,000 of the UK’s 12,000 independent from extremely modest beginnings and built one of established a permanent memorial to David through
the local knowledge economy, I feel high street chemists on its books and more than 120 the most successful companies in the North East of the David Goldman Chair of Business Innovation,
it is very important to invest in the NHS Trusts. England. This year Newcastle University celebrates the David Goldman Visiting Professor/Fellow of
future and also a privilege to play a Fiona Cruickshank is the fifth holder of the post of the 5th Goldman Visiting Professor and the Goldman Business Innovation and the David Goldman
role in the educational development Visiting Professor, which is offered to high profile and family making the decision to give a gift to the Doctoral Studentship.
of young people.” successful entrepreneurs in the region. Business School in his memory. It was done in the
Originally from Newcastle, Fiona hope that it might inspire other entrepreneurs to do
graduated in pharmacy from as David did and establish opportunities for those
London University in 1987. living in the region where David was born and began
his working life.
“I was desperate to work in
industry,” she says, “and I managed The Sage Group Plc, as it is now known, was the
to secure one of the six industrial “I have put my money where my result of David joining forces with Graham Wylie,
then an undergraduate from Newcastle University’s
placements available at the time
with the Wellcome Foundation.
mouth is and I know the North East computing department, to devise an integrated
Starting in sterile products is a great region for launching hardware and software package thus lead to the
manufacturing at their Dartford launch of the Sage brand.
site I gained experience of quality
science and technology businesses.” After his death, it was David’s belief in business,
control, development laboratories, branding, marketing and entrepreneurs which led his
tableting and packaging.” sons Daniel and Andrew and his wife Cynthia to
Having spent ten years working establish a permanent memorial to him in the North
across the UK in community East. A deep responsibility to remain involved in the
pharmacies, hospitals and in social development of the North East was also a
industry, Fiona moved back to the strong driving force behind Cynthia, and her family,
North East to set up her business. in making the gift to Newcastle University Business
After an unsuccessful attempt to School.
buy-out the Specials Laboratory –
a pharmaceutical manufacturing
facility where she worked at the
Newcastle Royal Victoria Infirmary -
she decided to set up on her own.
She says: “I felt that after failing
to buy the business, the market
opportunity for niche medicines
was too good to miss and decided to
start from scratch.” Her father who
had been in business all his life said:
“Why don’t you just start up on your
own?” It is this move that has
catapulted her to prominence
amongst the region’s business
community.
The Specials Laboratory began
with four staff in 1999 but has
grown dramatically with expected
The Specials Labratory
The Specials Labratory
employs about 150 staff.
NUBUSINESS MAGAZINE AUTUMN/WINTER 2007 — 10
 Features
Bringing Business Skills
to the Charity Sector
David Locke
Business School alumnus David Locke explains why
the charity sector needs more Business graduates.
So what shall I do with this life? A bit of a dramatic
opening line but it is one of the questions we are all
faced with.
In 1999 I found myself asking a few questions about
what direction to take in my life…to quote the famous
David Byrne song… “And you may ask yourself how do
I work this? And you may ask yourself, where is that
large automobile?” I found myself as a graduate from
Newcastle, a senior manager with Ernst & Young, a
Chartered Accountant and qualified in IT security,
asking some of the big questions.
You can have the car, the house and all that goes with
it, but for some folks this doesn’t “scratch the itch” and
you want to do something with the skills and abilities
that you have for the benefit of your fellow man.
11 — NUBUSINESS MAGAZINE AUTUMN/WINTER 2007
So instead of opting for a career
ladder move to work in the United
States I opted to work for one of thesector has many exceptionally
oldest charities in the UK: BMS
World Mission. BMS is a Christian
charity working with the poor and
needy in over 30 countries around
the world.
Originally I went into my new role
as Finance Director with a level of
arrogance. This was based on my
preconceived idea that I had lots of experience of working with some
superior knowledge to bring from the of my colleagues helped steer my
business world to the “poor cousin” own learning curve in a strong
known as the charity sector.
Helping fight hunger
in Uganda
This belief was soon negated when
I found that in reality, the charity
talented, gifted and modest
individuals with business
qualifications, who share a
common passion to help those in
need. As a result, I found that on
one hand while my training and
experience helped me to contribute
to the team, on the other, the
upwards direction.
Within two months of arriving at
BMS I found myself en route to
Nepal and visiting one of our
Engineers (Ex Shell) who was
leading a $200m hydroelectricity
dam project. This one project alone
means that over 10% of the Nepalese
population now have access to
electricity. If you can’t imagine the
impact on people’s lives, then wait
until you get home tonight and try
to live without anything powered
by electricity.
As a further result a clinic was set
up which means that instead of a
50 mile journey to the nearest town
(by which time even a simple bone
fracture could have developed fatal
complications), the local citizens now
have somewhere to turn to for
essential medical treatment. When
you see hope in a person’s eyes rather
than despair that is definitely worth
more than a bigger company car!
While working in a Professional
Accounting firm I had developed
deep levels of technical ability in one
specific area (in my case IT security).
However, working in the charity
sector required much more than just
technical expertise. Here one needs
to bring and apply a full width of
business acumen, insights,
entrepreneurial zeal and techniques.
Above all one has to be prepared to
learn quickly.
I thus found myself using skill sets
that read more like an MBA course
outline. Working with a small
Director team in the first two years
of my time at BMS we completed
a corporate re-branding review,
developed a new website and
implemented a new database
development, agreed a five-year
strategy with the Trustees and
developed a new £2m training centre
in the Midlands. The list goes on…
There is a buzz when one closes a
new sales deal in the business world
– in the charity sector the buzz is
about helping people in need who
might otherwise have suffered much
Features
more severely. You will recall the David at the Khimti
tragic consequences of the Boxing hydroelectric project
Day tsunami in 2004. The incident in Nepal
was tragic but the response from our
team and supporters was enormous.
Because of the new web technology
and database structures that we had
implemented only a few years earlier
we were able to get our emergency
appeal out in “double quick time.”
And it is at this point that one starts
to see the result of applying the
knowledge and skills that have been
attained over the years in developing
the correct strategy.
So what about the MBA? Well an
This one project alone
interesting development in the
charity sector is that many of the top
now means that over
UK Charities have Chief Executives
and Directors who have an MBA.
10% of the Nepalese
My colleague, Mark Craig, population have access
Communications Director, has an
MBA. Our Chief Executive, Rev to electricity.
Doctor Alistair Brown, studied for
an MBA after he got the job and has
testified that without it he would not
have felt able to lead the organisation Father at the Khimti
to take the decisive strategic steps Clinic happy to
that it needed to take at that time. see his daughter
recovering well
My next step… Well it won’t surprise
you that I’m talking with Alistair
about doing an MBA as part of my Below: Fishermen in
on-going personal development. In India get new nets
both my current role or as a CEO in after the tsunami
the future an MBA looks the best
route to further enhance my skill sets.
My challenge to you: if you are going
to use an MBA in business, then be
outstanding; make lots of money and
give it away! But, if you are asking
some fundamental questions about
what you do with the life you have,
then think about using your MBA for
the service of those in need – you
may not find yourself waking up a
millionaire but you may find yourself
intellectually challenged and
incredibly fulfilled.
NUBUSINESS MAGAZINE AUTUMN/WINTER 2007 — 12
 Features Features

This is exactly what the cab ride

was like although instead of your
NCL to NYC life flashing before you it was the
famous New York City skyline.
Ally Robson

Following on from similar consultancy trips in Europe to Krakow, Gdansk and The First Twenty Four Hours Day One Day Two – Focus Groups
Cork, students from the Executive MBA undertook a consultancy project with
It is 2am and my alarm is ringing. After a subway ride and quick coffee The second day at Thomson
Thomson Financial this year, thus marking the course’s first link with an This signals that I have less than stop in one of New York’s thousand Financial involved another series
American institution. The students’ remit was to produce a report on staff an hour to get from my house to coffee shops we arrived at Thomson of focus groups, followed by a
perceptions of the impact on the “culture” and “communications” of Thomson Citywall, the Business School’s new Financial’s headquarters at 195 meeting with the Chief Executive
headquarters where a coach will take Broadway to begin our consultancy of the Organisation Sharon
Financial following the recently announced merger with Reuters. The report was the group to Edinburgh airport for project. It was an amazing feeling to Rowlands, an alumna of
based on focus group sessions with staff members, which the students ran. our eight-hour flight to New York think we were there to offer support Newcastle University. Sharon
City. This was our first taste of the to a multinational company. taking time out of her day to see
One of the students, Ally Robson, gives his account of turning classroom theory harsh side of life as consultants. We went straight up to one of their us showed how important the
project was to Thomson Financial.
into practice. After the amazing feat of getting to boardrooms, where we waited to
the coach in time I was met by the meet members of the senior When we met with Sharon we
rest of the course. To onlookers we executive team. It still didn’t feel real, already had some key themes
must have looked like a group of more like we were pretending to be which we could share with her.
extras from Shaun of the Dead, but consultants rather than actually It was a slightly surreal experience
with excess amounts of luggage. being them. as in the space of a few days we
We landed in Newark airport and This feeling didn’t last much longer had gone from learning about
were now only functioning on the however, as after what felt like only a consultancy to real life
large amounts of coffee supplied to short briefing, it was into the first set implementation, with all the
us on the flight. However we still had of focus groups. There was no doubt responsibilities that come with it.
to get to our accommodation. about it, we were here to work and a Without a doubt this truly was
This part of the journey ended up lot was being expected of us, it was turning out to be an experience
being the most dangerous part of the time to get stuck into it, which is none of us would ever forget.
trip as it involved travelling with exactly what everyone did. The second day marked the end of
Death, otherwise known as a New By the end of the first day we had the normal working week, but not
York City Cab. run four focus groups, two looking for a group of high powered
Just before you die, you are meant to at culture and two looking at consultants like us! We had to
see your whole life flash before your communication. In each session we prepare a presentation and report
eyes. This is exactly what the cab ride would either be taking notes on what for Monday. The decision was
from the airport was like although individuals were saying or actually taken by the group to enjoy Friday
instead of your life flashing before leading one of the sessions. This night and Saturday in New York
you at great speed it was the famous involved asking the staff a series and to get back to work on Sunday.
New York City skyline. of open-ended questions. Needless to say we made sure we
Grateful to be alive, we arrived You would not expect sitting in a all lived it up on Friday night and
at the Columbia University halls room asking people questions to be celebrated all the work we had
of residence almost seconds after so exhausting – but it is, and by the already done. The details of this,
leaving the airport. By this point end of the first day we were all tired like all work nights out, are best
all illusions of consultancy involving(partly due to jet lag) but sheer kept vague; however this evening
business class flights and chauffeur adrenaline had got us through until did involve a search for some cups,
driven cars had been very much 6.00pm. So in a true professional a trip to “the village” and a bizarre
blown out of the water. style it was an early night for the incident involving a snake and
a parrot!
However, through all of this everyone group, with only a few nightcaps
was still excited and eager to get in the local bar near our
started on the project. We would accommodation.
have to wait until the morning before
we could start so, in a bid to blend
into the New York City culture, we
EMBA students at Thomson Financial with Sharon Rowlands, CEO; got changed and headed into the
Kimberly A. Bates McCarl, VP Individual Effectiveness and centre of the Big Apple.
Sarah Dunn, EVP Human Resources and Organisational Development. Right: The thrills
of New York City

13 — NUBUSINESS MAGAZINE AUTUMN/WINTER 2007 NUBUSINESS MAGAZINE AUTUMN/WINTER 2007 — 14

 Features
It would have been a crime to come
all this way and not see any of the
sights, or in the case of the girls on
the trip, the department stores.
Day Three – Day of Rest
and Sight Seeing
It would have been a crime to come
all this way and not see any of the
sights, or in the case of the girls on
the trip, the department stores.
For the group I was with there were
two important lessons that were
learnt on Saturday.
Number 1: Central Park is massive
and is full of kites and ultimate
frisbee players.
Number 2: It is very easy to end up
in Harlem, especially when you
don’t know where you are!
15 — NUBUSINESS MAGAZINE AUTUMN/WINTER 2007
Day Four – The Gay Pride March
and a Night in the Office
Our extra day in the office happened
to coincide with the annual Gay
Pride March in New York City. As
we all made our way to Thomson
Financial’s main office we were able
to get to see another side to New
York. And this was definitely not just
another typical day in the office!
We started early and ended up
working until late, putting together
the final touches to our presentation
and the bulk of the report. But as
the true professionals we had
already shown ourselves to be,
we were all set for the presentation
on Monday morning.
Taxi to Columbia
University
Christian, Jack
and Steve deep
in discussion
Features
Day Five – The Final Day at
Thomson Financial
Relaxing after a In a space of a few
hard day
We presented our findings and days we had proven
recommendations to senior Below: Sharon
Rowlands answers
our abilities as a
management in the executive
boardroom. This was where all the
students’ questions group and earned the
hard work everyone had put into right to call ourselves
the trip paid off. The report was consultants.
well received by the management
and was seen to be crucial in the
future success of the merger
between the two organisations.
In the space of a few days we, as
a group, had not only produced
a piece of work which exceeded
Thomson Financial’s expectations,
we had proven our abilities as a
group and earned the right to call
ourselves consultants.
In appreciation for our work,
Thomson Financial arranged for
a fleet of private cars (with blacked
out windows) to take us to the
airport. If nothing else this proved
we were now truly consultants
and was a far cry from the original
taxi ride. If only they had also
offered to bump us all up to
business class on the way back,
but then, there is always next time…
NUBUSINESS MAGAZINE AUTUMN/WINTER 2007 — 16
 Features
From the South Pole
to the North Pole
Sharmishta Chatterjee-Banerjee
Another Marketing and Management graduate sets out to conquer the Pole
Cast your mind back to NUBusiness
issue 02, summer 2006, you may
remember reading about Oli
Pattenden, a former Marketing and
Management graduate winning a
priceless trip to the South Pole by
entering a web-based competition
run by local organisation Aspire.
Now another graduate from the
same programme has just returned
from a challenging expedition to the
North Pole which was sponsored by
Stagecoach, Arriva, Nexus, North
Sea Logistics, Northumberland
Strategic Partnership and Houghton
International Electrical Services.
Brian Douds, a 2005 graduate from
our BA in Marketing and
Management programme loves an
adventure. While reading for his
degree he travelled independently
throughout South East Asia and with
his surfboard in tow he hitch-hiked
solo across Australia, from the North
to the Great Ocean Road in the far
South. Brian has tried his hand at
many adventure sports - he is a
qualified scuba diver, an
accomplished Motocross rider, in
his own words, “a not so excellent
surfer” and is trying to master the
17 — NUBUSINESS MAGAZINE AUTUMN/WINTER 2007
Features
Love Newcastle
LIVE Newcastle!
Helen Fleming
International students in the city participate in the
International Community Day and make it a success
art of sky-diving. It is with this On his return from the Pole, Brian
passion for adventure and a dream carried out school tours to inspire
to succeed that at the age of twenty- and educate young North East
four he has just faced his greatest children about the Polar Region January 2006 saw the launch of the The event gave international 356 students from both universities came to the event in
challenge yet. Brian was part of an and its climate, the wildlife, the first ever International Community students the opportunity to air their January this year and made the most of all the experts
international team that skied to the history, the landscapes, the Day, an event run by Newcastle queries as well as have some fun. who were on hand. Apart from university officials and
Geographic North Pole in April 2007. adventure, the future… University, Northumbria University They were able to make friends, get student societies, the stands at the International
The team followed in the footsteps and Newcastle City Council, intended involved in volunteering, talk to Community Day included representatives from the
This tour was a huge success, and
of Nansen, Peary and Cook, trekking to help international students living university services such as careers, Newcastle Gateshead Initiative, the National Trust, the
his experience left the children in
over drifting ice packs on the Arctic in Newcastle become more involved accommodation and the Job Shop, Home Office, and many more. In addition, a series of
awe of the Arctic and ready to
Ocean to the Geographic North in the Newcastle community and way find out what’s going on in the city talks were run throughout the day to give advice and
jump off the sofa to face new
Pole… literally to the Top of of life. Due to its success, the event and the region, and get advice on guidance to international students to help them make
challenges and adventures of their
the World! was held once again in January staying in the UK after they finish the most of their time in Newcastle.
own. It was an influential
Anticipating the challenge that programme that has certainly left 2007, and the third International their studies. As one of the students This autumn Newcastle is looking forward to hosting the
awaited them, the team prepared its mark on the future generation, Community Day is already planned from Newcastle University said: “It biggest International Community Day to date which will
for weeks - the actual experience helping to shape the explorers of for late autumn this year. was a really nice experience and I be open to over 7,500 international students from both
however went far beyond their tomorrow. Brian who is still gained a lot of information. It was a Northumbria and Newcastle Universities, with stands
good forum to meet people from your
expectations. Extreme temperatures carrying out talks said: “This is and experts from around the North East, and a wide
home country and the international
of -35 degrees celsius, arctic winds, only the beginning – I aim to take range of opportunities for international students. There
community as well.”
severe exhaustion, vast open water the programme nationwide. Of will be a chance to talk to experts about “what to do” in
leads, 30-foot pressure ridges and the course, neither the expedition nor Newcastle, and valuable information to help students
Students gather
constant threat of a polar bear attack the education programme would make the most of their degrees and their lives in
for an international
were only some of the hurdles. Three have been possible without the Newcastle. Student reps from all over the world will be
experience
members of the team suffered support of the sponsors, who were available to give first-hand advice to students to help
frostbite and one even fell through the lifeblood of this project.” Now, them feel at home in Newcastle. The Universities will also
the ice into the 4,000m deep Arctic the South Pole doesn’t seem to be be offering students opportunities to find out more about
Ocean. At some point the ice was that far away for him. working in the North East after they complete their
only centimetres thick and could studies.
been seen dipping as the team
crossed it! Photograph Courtesy: Daniel R.
Westergren, Senior Photo Editor for For more information about this or future
International Community Days please email
National Geographic Traveler Magazine.
Helen Fleming at Helen.Fleming@ncl.ac.uk
NUBUSINESS MAGAZINE AUTUMN/WINTER 2007 — 18
 Features Features

Human Resources Management

Is Just a Click Away
David Rankin

You may have a great business idea, a vision of where you
Good financial
want to go with the idea and a passion to succeed, but have management, plans for
you any experience in managing people? Masterminding your sales and marketing
own business is not all black and white. Business School and for employing
alumnus David Rankin, Business Development Director at people are all obvious
BusinessHR, offers his advice on turning big dreams into areas to be covered in
realistic business plans. the creation of a viable
business plan and the
development of that
plan over time.
Choose Your Team Any business plan should show how
those key areas are going to be
managed cost effectively, quickly and
according to “best practice,” leaving
time not only for actually creating
revenue but for unexpected
problems, of which there will be
many in a new business.
Take the legislative side for example. centre where the person dealing
If you asked the “Federation of Small with your query has no personal
Ast Ma
over the telephone with site visits Web-based and telephone HR
by seasoned human resources services operate at a fraction of the
specialists, as and when required cost of traditional suppliers of legal
by the business owner. Given the advice because their cost base is very
benefits of such online and telephone low. You can try out the services of
HR services in terms of not only
huge cost savings compared to
most suppliers free of charge to see
just how good they are. Have a go at
traditional sources of legal advice, this before your employees do!
but also ease and speed of use, it is
not surprising that there are now a
number of providers of such services.
A good HR website will provide a
business owner with easy-to-use,
online guides that, step by step, will
help keep that business owner on the
right side of age, sex, equality and
race relations law and following “best
practice” in HR. And all this is just a
mouse click away, making the whole
process immediate and thus less
arduous, risk free and even
pleasurable.
In selecting your online HR provider
it may not be a good idea to sign up
with what turns out to be a call
David Rankin

Businesses” they would tell you that knowledge of you or the issues you
SMEs are struggling to deal with the have raised in the past and whose
complex nature of UK employment knowledge seems based just on an
legislation, as well as the sheer interpretation of the law rather than
volume of it. Even larger companies practical guidance on what you David Rankin studied economics
find it a minefield with the new law actually can do. There is also helpful at Newcastle in the late 1960s.
on age discrimination being a front- advice available on many HR
After a long career both in
12.34
12.34

runner for creating anguish in websites detailing ways to develop

London and abroad with a major
Human Resources (HR) departments. staff and improve performance – all
Receptionist
Researcher

Designers

the “softer” aspects of managing financial organisation he has, for

The issue of managing people cost
effectively and quickly, using best
practice and staying within the law,
may be too much effort for many
r Team Inc
small businesses. Unfortunately,
ignorance or lack of procedures is no You need to choose a website that is
defence in an employment tribunal.
So how can people, who these days
know their rights more than they
ever did and are willing to exercise
those rights assertively, be managed know you over time and adopt you
cost effectively, quickly and
according to “best practice?”
The answer is that human resource
management and guidance on
employment legislation is now
substantially provided online and
staff which many young and
thrusting entrepreneurs may well
not have been in business long
enough to experience.
easy to navigate around and which
offers the opportunity to talk to an
experienced team of practitioners
who have your “call history” on a
screen when you call - who get to
as “their” client. You need fast advice
confirmed in an email that is legally
compliant and practical. Last but not
least this advice needs to be cost
effective.
the last 10 years, been involved in
managing a range of small
companies in the IT sector. His
current interest is BusinessHR, a
web and telephone based service
which helps companies of all sizes
to manage staff cost
effectively whilst staying on the
right side of the law.
BusinessHR’s clients include
Hiscox, The Institute of
Hospitality, Intellect (the trade
association for the IT industry),
Connaught plc and a nation-wide
well known firm of solicitors.

19 — NUBUSINESS MAGAZINE AUTUMN/WINTER 2007 NUBUSINESS MAGAZINE AUTUMN/WINTER 2007 — 20

 Discussion
A Round Table Discussion:
Summer School’s out but has it been a success?
Kate Morris
The University launched an International Summer School in 2006 and has
just finished running it for the second time. Students can choose from nine
possible summer programmes. For this round table discussion we will
focus on the 10-week internship programme and the 3-week academic
programme on “Doing Business in Europe.” Paul Armstrong, Marketing
Manager at the Business School, thinks it’s time to ask some of those
who’ve been involved whether or not it’s meeting expectations?
Moderator: Paul Armstrong is the Marketing Manager
at Newcastle University Business School
Kate Morris is the International Summer
School Manager
Eric Cross is the Dean of Cultural Affairs — He
promotes the University across international markets
Lee Whieldon is a student from Towson University,
Maryland in the US. She took the 10-week internship
programme that included a 7-week placement with NDN
Distribution followed by the 3-week academic
programme on “Doing Business in Europe”
Niek Ten Hove is a student from Holland. He took
the three week summer school programme on
“Doing Business in Europe”
Tracy Scurry is the Programme Director
for “Doing Business in Europe”
Lisa McNab manages a small music company in the
North East called NDN
21 — NUBUSINESS MAGAZINE AUTUMN/WINTER 2007
Moderator: Kate, we’ll kick off
with you — what is the University
trying to achieve by running the
International Summer Schools?
Kate Morris: The University is
committed to internationalising
the campus. We want to increase
the number of international
students we get here. The
international summer school
offers students from around the
world an alternative opportunity
to experience student life at the
University without having to take a
full degree or year-long programme.
Moderator: Why do you think
overseas students consider doing
summer schools?
Lee Whieldon: I know that
American students look towards
doing an international degree
because it looks good on their
resumé. It’s vital to experience
another culture.
Niek Ten Hove: I want to have
friends all over the world. It’s an
educational holiday — the academic
programme is serious but the social
programme is fun. You go on trips.
And get to know Newcastle.
Moderator: What types of things
should a good summer school entail?
Kate Morris: A good summer school
needs to meet the expectations of
the people who are going to come.
We try to be as clear as possible
about what students will get in all
our promotional material. We
deliver a strong academic
programme alongside a quality
social programme.
Moderator: Lee, as a student do you
think your experience has lived up
to the mission statement that I will
now read?
“The goal of our summer school
is simple: to inspire students
from other countries through
programmes of intensive learning
and teaching excellence, while
creating an exciting yet supportive
environment in which to experience then in the interview gives you a
British culture and society.”
Above: Summer Lee Whieldon: I think I’ve
School students experienced more than the mission internship programme, but why
at St. James’ Park
statement. I got a job offer from
Below: Discussion my placement. I have professional
on in full swing
connections now. Yes, it has been
really exciting and supportive but
also it has been integral to my future advisor at Towson introduced
career.
“Lee wanted
something very
specific in an area
where that industry
isn’t ripe and the
University found
it for her.”
Moderator: Are there any other Eric Cross: Some academic staff see
wider non-academic benefits? the summer as their research time
Niek Ten Hove: I think there will be so Summer School was greeted with
benefits from doing it when finding a suspicion from some quarters.
job in the future. Newcastle is a very However, other members of staff
good university to have studied at. I saw the benefit immediately —
also think my English has improved. its usefulness for international
recruitment.
Eric Cross: Yes, I think it is that
international experience for your Tracy Scurry: I would add to that by
CV — helps get you to interview and saying that it isn’t on most people’s
radar unless they teach on it, which
discussion point. is the most unfortunate thing. And
actually getting people to commit to
Moderator: Lee, you took the teach in the summer is an absolute
nightmare. But then I think this
Newcastle and not London where
reflects that the academic staff are
the music industry is stronger? under pressure all year round with
Lee Whieldon: The study abroad teaching, research and third strand.
me Those involved seem to really enjoy
to Newcastle’s programme. Also teaching though.
when I was researching the city,
Eric Cross: Yes, teaching such a
I found that there is a lot of new diverse group creates an interesting
music, art and culture building up mix of perspectives and this can be
here. Working with Lisa, I did sales, fascinating for teachers as well as
press, radio and so many different for students.
things. If I had gone to London it
probably would have been more Moderator: Okay, so sounds like
admin. So to get the hands on more internal promotion among
experience as opposed to getting academic staff is needed. To wrap up
the discussion, why should students
a city name was one of the main
choose Newcastle in summer 2008?
things about Newcastle.
Moderator: Lisa, what made you Tracy Scurry: We are a good
academic institution. On the “Doing
take on a summer intern?
Business in Europe” programme
Lisa McNab: NDN is about giving
we offer a combination of teaching
people experience to get their
involving academics, practitioners,
careers off the ground so it fits to
company visits and guest lectures.
be taking on an internship student We give a comprehensive business
like Lee. I thought it was great that
overview.
she was from America. When Lee
Lisa McNab: In terms of the
goes back to the States I will have
a contact in America who will one internship programme, Lee wanted
something very specific in an area
day be working in the music
industry. In America, Lee will be where that industry isn’t ripe and
targeting bands and they will be
hearing about NDN.
the University found it for her. I
would imagine that other students
Moderator: So Lee sounds happy
and companies matched with the
same kind of attention will have just
and you do too, but what about as great an experience.
the academic programmes and
teaching staff? Moderator: That is great everyone
— thanks very much for all your
comments and for taking part.
NUBUSINESS MAGAZINE AUTUMN/WINTER 2007 — 22
 Profile Research focus

Making the MOST for the Region The Rise of Metaverses

Christian Hicks Savvas Papagiannidis

Business School’s Research Group helps improve competitiveness within companies in the North East. Are three dimensional worlds the next generation web?

The Management of Operations, Strategy and Technology disseminate Lean expertise through
Tom McGovern
(MOST) Research Group is a recently formed the EU funded Intereg initiative.
Lecturer in Business Strategy
interdisciplinary research group within the Business School MOST has an international reputation
that brings together engineers, mathematicians, Research Interests
for research relating to engineer-to-
statisticians and social scientists. The overall aim is to Supply chain management,
order companies that produce complex
conduct world-class research that helps organisations knowledge management, capital
capital goods in low volume. We have
improve their competitiveness. Our research agenda is goods and project-based industries,
addressed a wide range of topics in
driven by the changing needs of companies as they seek company decline and failure and
our research which include business
responses to changes in technology and the commercial, turnaround strategies, the role of
process modeling, manufacturing
regulatory, political and economic environment. change agents, implementing Lean
and business strategy, supply chain
This approach supports the University’s strategy of management, computer aided
translational research, which contributes to regional Pushkar Jha
production management systems,
development. Lecturer in Strategy
manufacturing layout, planning and
One NorthEast, the North East’s regional development control. Some of our recent work has Research Interests
agency, has formed the North East Productivity Alliance concentrated on requirements Learning from Strategic
(NEPA), which has disseminated Lean tools and techniques definition, the management of Experiences; Project based
into companies in the North East of England. This initiative specifications and design change Organisational Learning; Design
will increase the competitiveness of regional companies and control. Contests; Mergers and Acquisitions
sustain employment. MOST has been involved in evaluating (Spec: Post Merger Integration)
the NEPA initiative in collaboration with NA-Consulting, Marketing, and more specifically advertising and to highlight the potential of such Our ebusiness students undertook
based in Sunderland, and is about to embark upon several Mike Cox Chris Hicks
Lecturer in Applicable promoting products and services, was one of the most worlds as business and marketing consultancy assignments using
new Lean projects. Our first project will analyse the Professor of Operations
Mathematics significant areas in which electronic business was platforms. We explored the way the Second Life which threw up different
relationship between company type, implementation issues Management
affected from the outset of the Internet’s introduction. selected banks developed a business scenarios in the real world versus
and performance, while the second will investigate the role Research Interests Research Interests This started by using emails to communicate and marketing presence in the the virtual one. They really enjoyed
of change agents in the implementation of Lean. Multidimensional Scaling (MDS); Operations Research and promotional messages and web pages to display three-dimensional environment, it and one of them even started
MOST has a vibrant community of approximately 20 Statistical Process Control (SPC) Managment; Manufacturing advertising banners, and then gradually evolved to with particular emphasis on his own business selling
postgraduate researchers and engages students in and the Analytic Hierarchy Process Systems; Planning and Control; a wide range of sophisticated mechanisms. customer relationship virtual furniture.
industrially relevant research. Current students are (AHP) Layout; Simulation; Optimisation; management repercussions.
Another evolution, or as many would argue a revolution, The emergence of metaverses has
conducting research in Lean and agile manufacturing, Supply Chain Management;
Paul Braiden could be seen in the advent of three-dimensional virtual We also studied the potential brought extra dynamism to an
supply chain management, shop floor control and the Information Technology; Make/
Emeritus Professor worlds, such as that of Second Life, which are often implications for retailers. The spatial evolving business landscape, in
optimisation of manufacturing layout. Engineer-to-order companies;
referred to as “metaverses.”Metaverses are not “games.” dimension should be taken into which marketing is more and
Research Interests Lean Manufacturing;
The last two decades have seen a massive upsurge in They are extensions of our physical universe, to which consideration by retailers who more influenced by technology.
Complex systems in manufacturing Agile Manufacturing;
globalisation with companies now subject to intense they add new dimensions for economic, social and operate simultaneously in three Metaverses may or may not be the
international competition. Our response to this has been to and design and business processes leisure activities to take place. Similarly to how the different, but intertwined spaces, i.e. next generation web, but there is
Oliver Heidrich
conduct research, relevant to the region as well as from the Internet and more specifically the web created an the physical, the electronic and the no doubt that they are here to stay.
Kasia Zdunczyk Lecturer in Waste Management
international perspective. In doing so, MOST is increasing electronic transacting landscape, metaverses provide a metaverse. A key finding was that
collaboration with other leading business schools. Lecturer in Management Research Interests rich context in which digital transactions can take place. retailers need to employ a holistic
An example of this is the Business School’s joint part-time Research Interests Industrial ecology and the and overarching approach when
Many real world companies and organisations have
Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) with Organisational learning and sustainable management of devising their promotional strategies. Dr Savvas Papagiannidis is a
established a presence in metaverses and in particular
Grenoble Ecole de Management, which is based upon a Knowledge; Inter-organisational businesses; Industrial and Lecturer in Management and
in Second Life, spanning a wide range of industries, Other work in the rapidly expanding
common interest shared by both institutions in technology collaboration municipal solid waste management Degree Programme Director
markets and functions. Examples include ABN AMRO, research area of metaverses includes
management. systems; Life cycle assessment; of the MSc in Ebusiness and
Adidas, American Apparel, Dell, Harvard Law School, studies of virtual music
Edward Lugsden Standardised business Information Systems.
We have strong ties with the Faculty of Management IBM, Microsoft, Reuters, Sony Ericsson, the Swedish performances, trust and ethics in
Lecturer in Human management systems (e.g.
and Organisation at Groningen University, which has Government, Toyota, and many others. In most metaverses and general business
Resource Management ISO 9001, 14001) and Business To visit the Ebusiness@Newcastle
a common interest in engineer-to-order companies and cases engaging with the customer is purely for and management implications.
psychology (the human factor island go to: http://slurl.com/
Lean supply. Chris Hicks and Warse Klingenberg have Research Interests marketing purposes. The study of metaverses has been
on management systems) secondlife/ebusiness/125/125 after
acted as Guest Editors for a Special Edition of the Human resource practices in At Newcastle University Business School, our research used in our teaching, especially
International Journal of Technology Management. The downloading and installing the
the National Health Service in this area has been primarily focused on marketing in the MSc in Ebusiness and
For more information on MOST please Second Life software, available at:
Business School in collaboration with One NorthEast and and entrepreneurship. We recently undertook two case Information Systems.
contact Professor Christian Hicks at http://www.secondlife.com.
other partners in Europe, is developing a proposal to studies of real banks operating in metaverses in order
chris.hicks@ncl.ac.uk.

23 — NUBUSINESS MAGAZINE AUTUMN/WINTER 2007 NUBUSINESS MAGAZINE AUTUMN/WINTER 2007 — 24

 Alumni
Alumni Archive
Compiled by Stuart Garratt & Sharmishta Chatterjee-Banerjee
It is always interesting to see where your old classmates have gone and what they have been doing since
you last saw them. We got in touch with some Business School alumni to find out where they have been,
what they have been up to and what they remember from their time at Newcastle!
Caroline Armitage (nee Horsfall)
BA (Hons) Economics and Accounting
1979
What are you doing now?
Two years ago, I sold my art
gallery, photography business
and home to move to the South
of France with my partner.
We bought a beautiful property,
set in forty acres near Hyères on
the French Riviera, which we
have split to create four holiday
apartments and a home for
ourselves. We now have a thriving
holiday rental business. I also have
my own studio and workshop on
site, so have recently recommenced
my photography business.
“I sold my art gallery, photography business
and home to move to the South of France.”
25 — NUBUSINESS MAGAZINE AUTUMN/WINTER 2007
Your most memorable
experience at Newcastle:
I don’t think I have “a” most
memorable experience as I
can remember so many happy
times there.
Where do you see yourself
in 10 years time?
I hope to still be living in France
and still taking photographs, which
is both my passion and my work.
Tell us something interesting about
you which other alumni might be
interested to hear about:
I have two grown-up children,
Henry (24) and Lucy (21).
George( Sai Hong) Liu
BA (Hons) Economics and
Financial Analysis 1995, MBA 1996
What are you doing now?
I am working as an Assistant
General Manager (Finance),
Greater China Region Direct
Shipping Services Group
in Hong Kong.
Where do you see yourself
in 10 years time?
I hope I can be a small business
owner rather than a senior
executive in a large enterprise.
I am planning to start a small
accounting firm or a gallery
selling Chinese oil paintings in
the near future.
Your most memorable
experience at Newcastle:
My most memorable experience
at Newcastle was the year when
I was studying for my MBA.
Especially the classmates, the
staff and the lecturers I met that
year. I am still in touch with some
of the classmates even though
they are now based in different
parts of the world.
Tell us something interesting
about you which other alumni
might be interested to hear about:
10 years since I got my MBA I
have discovered two things about
the real business world. First,
people create problems to which
solutions must be found. And
second, no organisation in the
real world is systematic - there
are“mess-ups” everywhere. And
to manage these, a “mess-up”
approach needs to be used!
Renata Leite Barbosa
BA (Hons) Economics
2003
What are you doing now?
I live in New York City and work
for the auction house Sotheby’s.
Where do you see yourself
in 10 years time?
I want to give my best now so that I
can have a choice later — to either
stay in the USA or return to Brazil.
Your most memorable
experience at Newcastle:
I remember all the friends I made
and the lecturers who helped me
throughout my course. The music
concerts in Newcastle were
also great.
Tell us something interesting
about you which other alumni
may be interested to hear about:
After graduating from Newcastle
I went back to Brazil and worked
for an investment bank. I then
moved on to the music business
and now I am working in the art
world. I learnt that sometimes
you have to be persistent in order
to fulfil your dreams. And, you
don’t have to know now what
you’ll be doing for the rest of
your life – at least I don’t!
Craig Hammer
BA (Hons) Management Studies
1999
What are you doing now?
I am currently working as the
Head of Marketing and Strategy
for a regional motor group
in Yorkshire.
Your most memorable
experience at Newcastle:
There are so many… the buzz of
the city on a Saturday lunchtime,
the smell of pastry emanating out
from the Greggs bakery, the roar
of the crowd at St James’s Park
being heard from my window in
Castle Leazes, telling me a goal
had been scored; summer
afternoons sitting on the grass out
the front of the union. And then
there are the less memorable ones
such as Ritzy or Maddisons on a
Wednesday night followed by
Maths and Stats at 9am on a
Thursday morning!
Where do you see yourself
in 10 years time?
Sitting on the deck of my private
yacht in the bay of St. Tropez
watching my own football club
play in the Champions League
final on my 50in wall mounted
plasma screen.
Tell us something interesting
about you which other alumni
might be interested to hear about:
I am currently trying to execute
my own multi-million pound
business acquisition.
NUBUSINESS MAGAZINE AUTUMN/WINTER 2007 — 26
Christine Knight
BA (Hons) Economics
1983
What are you doing now?
I am working as a Senior Project
Manager for Barclays Bank.
Your most memorable
experience at Newcastle:
Arriving home from a second year
Saturday night party at 11am on
Sunday and bumping into my
elderly neighbour at the front
door, who said: “Oh, have you
just been out for a Sunday
morning stroll?”
Where do you see yourself
in 10 years time?
On a beach in Cyprus…
Tell us something interesting
about you which other alumni
might be interested to hear about:
When I saw the Careers Officer in
third year and did the personality
test, the outcome was that I didn’t
want to work in accountancy or
computing. My first job after
University was as a trainee
accountant, then I worked in
IT for 15 years and now I’m a
Business Project Manager… so
there’s a story there somewhere.
 Alumni
Alumni Events
Sharmishta Chatterjee-Banerjee
Following the successful alumni events held in Delhi, Mumbai, Beijing, Shanghai,
London and New York, the Business School made its first visit to the Far East this May.
Business School’s Uniquely
Singaporean Experience
A dinner reception hosted by Professor Ian
McLoughlin at Kent Ridge Guild House in Singapore
on 16th May brought together alumni from different
years and subject groups, who took the opportunity
to renew old acquaintances and share information
and ideas.
The event was a good platform for Professor
McLoughlin to provide an overview of the Business
School’s achievements in recent times and invite
alumni to speak about their memories of Newcastle.
The Business School looks forward to reviving
alumni activity in the region and providing a varied
programme of events and activities to enable
Newcastle graduates to maintain their links to both
the University and each other. As a step towards this,
Economics and Accounting alumna Clara Lee was
appointed Alumni Ambassador for Singapore.
Speaking on her role as an alumni ambassador,
Clara said: “Friendships from our days at the
University are most treasured, and alumni events
are the best way forward to renew and grow these
friendships through professional and social
networking.”
27 — NUBUSINESS MAGAZINE AUTUMN/WINTER 2007
The School Visits Malaysia
On the evening of 14th May
Professor David Charles hosted
a dinner reception at the Chyna
Restaurant, Hilton Hotel in
Kuala Lumpur for the Business
School’s graduates in Malaysia.
Professor Charles was
accompanied by Mrs Sharmishta
Chatterjee-Banerjee, Alumni
Manager from the Business
School, and Mr. Subra Singaram
and Mr. David Foreman from the
University’s International Office
in Malaysia.
A large number of alumni
attended this memorable evening,
allowing the School to rekindle
friendships with our Malaysian
graduates. The Malaysian
chapter of our international
alumni network was established
with Tikki Gee and Reza Shaifee
taking up alumni ambassadorships
for the region.
This was, the first such event
to officially bring together
our alumni in Malaysia, but
its success will hopefully help
to shape future reunions.
Book Review
The Tiger That Isn’t
Andrew Simpson
The Tiger That Isn’t: Seeing Through A World Of Numbers
Michael Blastland and Andrew Dilnot. Profile Books. 2007. ISBM 978 1 86197 839 4
Forthcoming Events
As I sit writing this review I can not
help but feel as if I am something of
a fraud, on two counts. First, I still
have two chapters left to read,
We will be hosting alumni events although I do not believe that these
throughout the year both in the will change my view of this book.
UK and internationally. To find Second, I have been trying to teach
out more or to organise a reunion an understanding of numbers to
for your class please contact MBA students now for six years
Sharmishta Chatterjee-Banerjee and this book has made me feel like
at S.Chatterjee-Banerjee@ncl. a complete amateur.
ac.uk
We are confronted with numbers
in all aspects of our lives – these are
You can meet us at:
used by the media, business, special
Hong Kong: November 24th interest groups and politicians to
Shanghai: November 27th justify actions or inactions and not
infrequently to scare or impress.
Beijing: November 30th
The authors of this book are the
presenters of the Radio 4 series
Newcastle: December 6th
“More or Less,” who set out to
Mumbai: December 15th increase our understanding of the
Bangalore: December 16th numbers we encounter from day to
day and help us see through some
Newcastle: January 25th
of the misrepresentation which
Newcastle: March 18th surrounds us.
London: June 19th The reader is taken through a
journey, starting with the scale
of numbers, something that many
people fail to appreciate. For
example, much press and political
attention has been focussed on the
£1 billion deficit within the National
Health Service (NHS) – is this a big
number? The answer is no, as this
equates to roughly 1% of the budget
for the whole NHS. This is not bad
when compared to Treasury
estimates for the total government
deficit of 2%! The idea put forward
here is to try and personalise the
number to indicate how much does
this mean to you as a tax payer in the
UK? In this case about £16, less than
the estimated cost of a General
Practioner’s appointment of £18.
NUBUSINESS MAGAZINE AUTUMN/WINTER 2007 — 28
The authors then take us through
a journey, looking at concepts of
chance, sampling, averages and
correlation. Each is explained with
the use of clear and easily
understood examples, without a
formula in sight! They use these
examples to prompt the reader to ask
questions when presented with
stories backed by numbers. Often the
real numbers will tell a different
story to the reported one. Examples
include such hot topics as speed
cameras and global warming, in
each we are helped to understand
that what we are told is not always
backed by the real numbers or
at very least not in the way it
is presented.
This book might not turn you into
a statistician; it might just turn you
into a sceptic. It will, at the very
least, prompt you to think long and
hard when reading the newspapers
or watching the news and as a result
view them and the world in a slightly
clearer way.
Andrew Simpson
Andrew Simpson, is the Director
of Executive Programmes at the
Business School. He has a
Bachelors degree in Management
Science with Computing from
the University of Kent, and an
MBA and a PhD in Statistics from
Newcastle University. A fellow
of the Royal Statistical Society,
Andrew’s research interest is
applied Bayesian statistical
modelling and in particular the
application of these techniques
to financial time series and the
subsequent derivation of efficient
portfolios through decision
theoretic approaches.
 NUBusiness Briefings
The Business School Briefing and Networking events enable business leaders and managers
from a variety of organisations in the North East to learn from leading speakers and academics.
Staff and Students Take A Lead at BAM
This year’s annual BAM
conference, which was held at
the Warwick Business School
on 11th-13th September saw
Newcastle University Business
School playing a significant role
in establishing its presence
amongst not only the other
academic schools that
participated but also more widely
in the management community.
Business and Management
has become a mature academic
discipline, and its relevance to
practice has long been an issue of
concern to BAM and its members.
With this in mind, the theme of
the 2007 conference considered
both the “past” and the “future”
across all subjects and disciplines
with business and management
research and education.
A wide range of research papers
presented by academic staff from
Newcastle were representative of
this theme. Those presenting this
year included Dr. Alan Fowler, Dr.
Chris Ivory, Dr. Joanne Roberts,
Dr. Audley Genus, Dr.Lesley
Mearns, Professor Feng Li and
Dr. Savvas Papagiannidis.
On a particular note this year,
there were two papers presented
in the Management Consultancy
track which Kasia Zdunczyk had
co-authored with her MBA students
Kunal Chatterjee and Rohini
Murarka. These papers were based
on the students’ MBA dissertation
research which investigated issues
of organisational learning and
knowledge-based value creation
in the context of consulting
organisations and their clients. Both
received a special commendation
from the Track Chair.
As a finale to the conference,
Professor David Charles and
Swayan Chaudhuri organised
an Innovation Symposium for
“Understanding the Impacts of
Business Schools on their Local
29 — NUBUSINESS MAGAZINE AUTUMN/WINTER 2007
and Regional Economies,” which
had an impressive panel including
Professor Howard Thomas
(Warwick); Professor Jaideep
Prabhu (Imperial); Professor
Steve Roper (Aston) and Professor
David Charles (Newcastle). A
similar event in the Australian
context will be hosted at the
forthcoming ANZAM conference
in Sydney in December 2007.
In addition to the conference
presentations, the School’s
links with BAM have received
a further boost this year with
the election of Professor Steve
Procter to the BAM Council.
He will be taking up his post
from January 2008, and will be
joining Newcastle PhD student
Swayan Chaudhuri on the
Council, where Swayan
is a Doctoral Representative
responsible for Training and
Capacity Building of doctoral
students. Steve was also invited
consecutively for the second
year by the organisers of the
Doctoral Symposium to run
a methodology workshop on
case studies with other leading
academics such as Derek
Pugh (Open), David Wilson
(Warwick), David Denyer
(Cranfield) and Gerard
Hodgkinson (Leeds).
Footnote: BAM was founded in
1986 to represent the community
of management academics
with the aim of encouraging
collaboration between academic
and commercial organisations in
pursuit of higher quality research.
The first BAM conference was
held at the University of Warwick
in 1987 and since then the
conference has taken place in
a different university town
each year.
Competition Page
It’s time for this issue’s Sudoku competition! As always, there’s an easy practice grid to get you going
before the competition game. To play, place each digit from 1 to 9 in every empty cell, so that the numbers
1 to 9 appear once in each of the nine vertical, horizontal rows and each of the 9 boxes.
Sudoku Easy Grid Sudoku Competition Grid — Nasty!
Forthcoming Events 2 1 3 6 A 2 8 9
6 9 3 2 6
Business Ethics Forum: G21-22 Devonshire Building,
Newcastle University, Monday November 12th 7 8 5 8 6 7
The Business Ethics Network will be held on Monday
November 12th from 5pm till 6.30pm, with guest
6 5 7 3 8 7 1 8
speaker Hugh Welch, Chair of Community Foundation
for Tyne and Wear and Northumberland and senior 1 4 5 6 D 3 4 B
partner at Muckle LLP.
3 2 8 1 5 9 5 1
For more information, please contact Stuart Garratt
on 0191 222 8745 or email stuart.garratt@ncl.ac.uk.
8 4 1 2 7 6
Postgraduate Open Day: Kings Road Centre,
Newcastle University, Wednesday, November 28th, 7 2 1 3 3
drop in between 12.30 pm and 4.00 pm
4 9 1 4 6 7 C 2
An excellent opportunity for you to meet staff and current
postgraduate students for advice and information on the
To enter the competition, email nubusiness@ncl.ac.uk, Congratulations to Sudoku
range of taught programmes and research degrees across
with the numbers for A, B, C and D. Please mark the
the University. To book your place please visit www.ncl. competition winner from Issue 4:
email subject as ‘NUBusiness Competition Entry’.
ac.uk/postgraduate/visit/open.
A winner will be drawn at random from the correct
Linlin, a second year undergraduate
student studying on the Accounting and
answers and the lucky winner will receive a Digi
Leadership Myths: Theories versus Practice: Newcastle Finance BA Honours degree programme
Memo Notepad!
University Business School, Citywall, Citygate, St
James Boulevard, Thursday, December 6th, 6:15pm
Newcastle University Business School Leadership Series
The first of the Business School’s “Leadership Series”
events, the panel discussion will explore the theories as
well as the practical and attainable strategies
“Develop the skills that will take December 6th 2007 Andrew Simpson,
surrounding leadership.
you to the top!” 6:15pm - 8:15pm Director of Executive Programmes,
The evening will start with a drinks reception followed Newcastle University Business Newcastle University Business School
A distinguished flagship panel
by the panel discussion and will end with a drinks and School
discussion series for our alumni, Steve Kempster,
canapés reception giving all attending a chance to Citywall, Citygate
students and friends… Member of the NLA executive board and Director
network. St James Boulevard
Our “Leadership Series” will help of Lancashire Leadership Centre, Lancaster
For more information please contact Ruth Warwick University Managment School Northern
you to develop a powerful vision Graduates and friends of the
at ruth.warwick@ncl.ac.uk. for your organisation and Leadership Academy
Business School are invited to join
stimulate the collective energies us for the first of our Leadership The evening will end with a drinks and canapés
MBA Briefing Sessions 2007/2008 : Newcastle of your team. Exploring theories Seminar Series: reception giving you a chance to network with
University Business School, Citywall, Citygate, as well as the practical and fellow alumni and business people.
St James Boulevard, from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m attainable strategies surrounding “Leadership Myths:
To register please contact
The Newcastle MBA team are running a series of events leadership, you’ll learn how to Theory versus Practice”
Ruth Warwick at:
for those interested in finding out more about our MBA stimulate change, share best Panellists include:
programmes. These briefing sessions below are suitable practices, inspire excellence and ruth.warwick@ncl.ac.uk
achieve buy-in at all levels. Most Paul Callaghan,
for those interested in both the full-time and Executive Telephone: 0191 2430855
importantly, you will learn how to Chairman Leighton Group
MBA programmes.
foster an environment that Fiona Cruickshank,
November 14th, December 12th, January 16th, nurtures and rewards leadership Managing Director,
February 13th, March 12th and April 16th at all levels to create excellence in The Specials Lab
your organisation.
For more information about the Newcastle MBA please Mark Hatton,
register at http://www.ncl.ac.uk/forms/nubs/mba- Partner, Ernst & Young LLP
openday/.
NUBUSINESS MAGAZINE AUTUMN/WINTER 2007 — 30
Master Business
in the North East
Newcastle University Business School
offers a two year Executive MBA
programme a one year full-time MBA

• Both programmes are accredited by the Association of MBAs

• Small class sizes allow for increased collaboration

• New executive facilities in the centre of Newcastle

• Executive MBA has the flexibility of block delivery

and both October and January start dates

For more information email mba@ncl.ac.uk

www.ncl.ac.uk /nubs