Business leaders get a boost from Percolator Session at Northumbria

Northumbria University, Newcastle, has showcased its pioneering approach to teaching enterprise and entrepreneurship to some of the North East’s leading asset and wealth management providers.

The working breakfast “Percolator Sessions” at Newcastle Business School are attracting leaders from the world of finance, including Santander, Brewin Dolphin, UBS, North East Access to Finance, Rathbones and Barclays Wealth. The three sessions cover research and teaching in the areas of ageing, enterprise and digital disruption.

Northumbria’s approach to teaching enterprise and entrepreneurship focuses heavily on experiential learning, offering students the opportunity to start up and run their own businesses through the Entrepreneurial Business Management (EBM) course.  The University was among the first in the UK to establish a Business Clinic where students work in supervised teams to offer free consultancy services to real clients. In the past five years, the value of the student pro bono consultancy advice has been estimated by client organisations to exceed £1.2 million. For entrepreneurially motivated students the University also provides students and graduates with services including free skills training, workshops, enterprise placements and additional start-up support.

Professor John Wilson. Pro Vice-Chancellor for Business and Law at Northumbria said: “We were delighted to welcome so many business leaders to our latest Percolator Session. During the event, we were able to demonstrate the depth of entrepreneurial talent among our students and graduates, and how we create a positive learning environment and educational experience to support this. The session was hugely successful, with enthusiastic feedback from the businesses and from our EBM students who attended to showcase their enterprises.

“Northumbria’s enterprise teaching and support benefits enormously with funding we receive from generous sponsors such as Santander, and this session was also an opportunity to demonstrate the value of their support and the success it helps deliver.”

The final Percolator Session in the current series is on June 27, and will consider how digital disruption is impacting all sectors of the economy.

For more information, or to register for the event, please contact Peter Kelly at Northumbria by emailing peter2kelly@northumbria.ac.uk.