Open 4 business for more involvement with industry

10:49am Tuesday 8th April 2008

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BUCKINGHAMSHIRE New University has sent a message loud and clear to business that it is ready to be more involved with industry in the Thames Valley region.

Its Open 4 business initiative was launched on February 21, at the Lane End Conference Centre near High Wycombe.

The university staged the event to highlight its teaching-led, business-facing' attitude, in a bid to meet the needs of both employers and students. The event set out the sort of services the university could offer, including advice, courses and more specialised facilities.

Professor Derek Godfrey, pro vice chancellor, for Research, Enterprise and Operations at Buckinghamshire New University, said at the launch: "Today's event marks the special occasion of our new status in the world of enterprise. Bucks has a wealth of experience of teaching relevant skills to prepare students for the world of work, thus being responsive to industry needs."

Key to the services that will be available to industry will be the Business Enterprise Centre, which can provide advice to businesses, individual entrepreneurs, public and voluntary sector organisations.

The university can also offer work-based foundation degrees and tailor-made continued professional development courses.

It has a Centre for Rapid Design and Manufacture in Sands, which can develop prototypes for companies that may later wish to commission a product. It offers government sponsored Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, and has hosted the Corporate Environmental Advisory Centre since 1997.

The university has also recently introduced CommercialiSE, a two-year programme backed by the Higher Education Funding Council for England.

This draws together knowledge, business expertise and ideas from the South East region to help get innovative ideas out and into the commercial world.