Category: UWE Bristol

The Women’s Work Lab and UWE Part 2

Author Faculty of Business and Law | Posted on

For the last month, my team at UWE Bristol, the Stakeholder Engagement team, have had a guest with us on placement. This is part of an initiative set up by an amazing Community Interest Company called Women’s Work Lab.

Becky Ware has joined us and very quickly become a part of the team. I have seen her confidence grow, her enthusiasm spark new ideas and her creativity bring a fresh mind-set to challenges.  Here she shares her story about the power of Women’s Work Lab, and the vital support provided by many organisations, like UWE, in offering work placements.

“Being a single stay-at-home mum, it is easy to fall into a routine, and that routine becomes a comfort that is hard to break out of.

I have been out of work for just over 9 years, in that time I had a second child, and an operation on my kidney which I had to wait a few years for.

I was trying to motivate myself into job hunting, but didn’t know where to start, having had such a large career break.

I was lucky that I had a social prescriber who texted me unexpectedly one day advising about The Women’s Work Lab (WWL), I had a look at their website, and read through all the information, a 12-week programme where they help you to get back into work sounded ideal.

I applied on a Saturday and was offered a place on the course on the following Tuesday, I had a bit of apprehension, would I be any good? Am I really the type of person that they help? Am I deserving of this? But I decided that I had to give it a go, I owed myself the chance to improve my life, and that of my kids.

The Thursday of that week I went for my first day, I arrived and waited in reception with a group of other mums, all in the same position as me, none of us knowing, really, what to expect.

The WWL course was insightful and run by a wonderful lady called Sally, she had the experience to really give us all some good advice. I’m currently only halfway through the course, the experience so far has been amazing, I’ve met some wonderful mums who are in the same position as me, and I hope we keep in touch following the end of the course.

Part of the course is a four-week work placement, I was so nervous to find out where I would be going, as were the other mums, but I was delighted to find out my placement would be at the UWE.

I’m now in my job placement, working in the FBL.

The staff in the FBL have been so incredibly welcoming, and happy to spend time with me, considering I’m not a permanent member of staff, and will only be here for 4 weeks, the amount of time and help they’ve given me has been nothing short of wonderful, their support has really helped my experience and I am so excited about looking for a job and getting back to work, I’m not sure how encouraged I would have been if I didn’t have this support.

I’ve got new experiences that will help me in my job search, even something as simple as using outlook again, and getting back into work friendly habits. The confidence this placement has given me is worth its weight in gold.

I’m so thankful to everyone in both the FBL and the WWL, without them I would probably still be at home trying to figure out the best pathway for me to return to work, and still be around for my children.

I cannot recommend the WWL course highly enough, I’m looking forward to finishing the course with some more classroom work, but I will also be very sad to leave my placement, I really feel like part of the team.”

The Women’s Work Lab and UWE Part 1

Author Faculty of Business and Law | Posted on

Camilla Rigby is the Co-Founder and Joint CEO of Women’s Work Lab (WWL), a Community Interest Company with the stated aim to support under-represented women aged 25+ to fulfil their career potential and become work ready. The WWL aims to unlock potential and lay the foundations for a brighter future for the mums they work with. Outcomes for participants include new careers, positive role modelling for their families and communities and the creation of a vital support network. Camilla was virtually reintroduced to UWE when they were looking for a venue to host the Spring 2022 South Gloucestershire programme.  

The mission of WWL is in line with UWE’s core values and as a UWE alumni, we were keen to support Camilla with her endeavours. Camilla studied Business Studies, completing in 2004.  

“I enjoyed my time studying at UWE and today, as a regional hub for business, and an educational provider with enterprise, community and industry partnership at its heart, UWE seemed like the perfect place to inspire our participants.” 

“Completing my Business Studies degree really opened my eyes to what the real world of work could look like. My year-long work placement provided an amazing springboard for my career and I managed to land my first job before I’d even graduated! I am still in touch with many friends from UWE days and it’s great to see how many have followed entrepreneurial pathways. ” 

The WWL programme includes bespoke classroom training, 1-2-1 support, skills training, practical career support and a four-week work placement. During 2022, 90 women will be supported in this way across six programmes taking place in the local city/ region.  

Before Co-Founding the WWL with Rachel Mostyn in 2019, Camilla had a 15 year career in senior communications roles for household brands including Dyson & OVO Energy. As a Mum to two boys aged 9 & 11 (one who is autistic), she understands first-hand the challenges that Mums can face trying to support her family alongside work.  

“My inspiration in co-founding WWL came back in 2016 when I felt unable to juggle the pressures of work and a young family; I felt like a failure to be honest. I recognised at the same time the privilege I had and began to question how much harder it must be for women who don’t have a decent support network, or lots of work experience. I was fortunate enough to meet Rachel during this time of reflection and we began to research what was available for Mums that were unemployed and in receipt of state benefits. Turns out very little and so we set about co-designing the programme with Mums from across the City into what we have now. We’re proud to have worked with over 100 womens on their journeys back towards work, whilst building an amazing team of women who really connect and inspire the Mums we support.” 

UWE has been proud to host this inspiring initiative and work with the local community to improve outcomes for mothers who have been challenged in some way in terms of securing work. This programme really aligns with our Strategy 2030 in boosting our economy and supporting the local and regional community, and has massive societal impact which is so rewarding and essential for continued growth and success. 

“We feel as though this is just the beginning for the Women’s Work Lab. Having started in early 2020, covid has unsurprisingly hampered what we’ve been able to achieve. That said, in 2021 we know that 60% of the women we supported are now working; this is testament to their hard work and determination. It also shows why specialist employability support is so needed and it’s amazing to have the support of employers like UWE in helping these women to fulfil their potential.” 

If you would be interested in finding out more about the work of WWL, you can find additional information via their website here. 

Empowering refugee entrepreneurs

Author Faculty of Business and Law | Posted on

Blog from Berrbizne Urzelai, Team coach- Senior Lecturer, UWE Bristol and Scarlett Hagger, Project Support Officer, West of England Combined Authority.

On 16 March UWE Bristol hosted a Social Impact Hackathon – a start-up brainstorming event where UWE students from Team Entrepreneurship, Law, and Business and Management (some of them Enactus members too) worked with refugee and migrant entrepreneurs associated with the West of England Growth Hub and ACH to solve the problems they are facing in their entrepreneurial journey.

The day started with a social breakfast where all participants got to know a bit about each other. The event officially kicked off with an inspirational speech from Fuad Mahamed, the CEO of ACH and an International Ambassador for Bristol. Fuad came to the UK as a refugee from Somalia with no English, and went on to obtain a first-class degree in Engineering from Bath University followed by an MSc in Management from Lancaster Business School.

Setting up ACH in 2008 in order to support the resettlement of refugees like himself, he has built the organisation into one of the leading providers of integration support for excluded and marginalised people. It now spans across 3 cities, employs 65 people and works with 2500 individuals a year.

The Migrant Business Support (MBS) project started in January 2021 and offers enterprise support to third-country nationals through one-to-one sessions, workshops, mentoring and online training. As of April 2022, the project has supported over 200 refugees and migrants in the West Midlands and Southwest.

The MBS project differs from other mainstream business support as it has cross-culturally competent Business Advisers, training and workshops that are translated into different languages for different nationalities and has a ground-up approach from listening to their clients and tailoring the service to their needs, which in turn leads to a constantly evolving service.

The West of England Growth Hub provides tailored support, expert guidance and access to finance and support programmes to small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in the West of England. The Growth Hub offers a free and impartial service open to all businesses, from all sectors, helping businesses throughout Bath & North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire.

In the morning the teams worked together in understanding the background of the refugees and what kind of problems they were facing, and then in deciding which issue they wanted to focus on. Having the client inside the team was an interesting experience.

The students supported a variety of projects and ventures, from a carwash business to graphic design or craft art… all at different stages of development.

The teams pitched their solutions to a panel that was formed by:
• Shuai Qin: CRÈME, Aston Business School
• Nigel Stone: TE UWE Mentor in Residence
• Sebastian Crawshaw: TE UWE Mentor in Residence

They were all great and the panellists gave them very valuable feedback to guide them into the next steps of their projects. They really enjoyed the experience:

“So humbled to support such talented refugee in the ACH refugee Hackathon last week! It was an awesome experience, well done everyone! If only we could recognise and embrace immigrants’ skills and embrace them into our culture more. What a difference that would make to all of us.”

Nigel Stone

The event helped the participants develop skills and competencies such as team working, problem-solving, leadership, innovation, networking or building rapport and empathy. It was great to feel that energy in the room and how motivated everyone was on the task.

“It was such an insightful day. It was lovely to meet the refugees and to learn about their businesses and their talents and passions. They were truly inspirational with so much to offer and I learnt a lot from them too. I have kept in touch with M. and S. I am aiming to ask S. for some advice on graphic designs and calligraphy for one of my projects. I would like to go to the craft sale to see more of M’s beautiful work and to get to know M. and S. better and what goes on in their community. I look forward to getting to know everyone who took part and I am excited about the next steps. It was a really amazing day and we should definitely do more of these. Thank you for making it all run so smoothly.”

L.J.

“I thought the event was excellent, was great to speak to people from different backgrounds and hear their experiences. It was also fun working with other students from other subjects. It was massively out of my normal comfort zone but I soon got on with everyone really well and enjoyed the day. I learnt that there are many barriers that refugees can face, the language barrier seemed to be a difficult one at times, but refugees have a lot to offer in a range of skills. I will be emailing M. what I created for her and follow up with further advice for her business. The contacts I made in the team will be useful in the future for further projects and ventures.”

T.A.


Refugee entrepreneurs also found it useful and are taking some steps forward within their businesses:


“I learnt not to waste my time on things that will not develop my future… from here I began to reconsider my situation. I have enjoyed speaking with people with experience, from different fields. This is the first time that I feel that I have taken real advice from someone who does not know me… a good advice. My plan is to contact these suggested people and engage in 1:1 support.”

S.


“It was a great event for me. I learned that I need to make a business plan first and know better my audience. The panel members gave us great advice. I learned a lot from them, it was very helpful as they have experience. I am not sure yet how I will carry on with all that feedback, but I am now working to reopen my Etsy shop.”

M.


The event had a fantastic celebratory feel. It was not a competition but a celebration of what we can do together. Participants also got some certificates and a UWE digital badge thanks to Lynda Williams, Associate Director of Stakeholder Engagement. We are looking forward to continuing this partnership and supporting them during their journey.

We just planted the sheet and the magic happened! We have now shared the material created during the day and created a communication channel for the participants to continue to work together on these and other projects. We are looking forward to continuing this partnership and supporting them during their journey.

Using creativity to educate

Author Faculty of Business and Law | Posted on

UWE Bristol has announced the dropping of the BAME acronym. Work like this looks at supporting not only the learning and assessment of students but the re-enforcement of UWE’s commitment to a fairer and more just learning environment, where everybody is recognised as an individual with different support needs.

Alongside this agenda, several Level 2 Bristol Business School students have been working to create engaging online campaigns to raise awareness of racism in football. English football has been at the forefront of the fight against racism in sport, with recent and ongoing events that have tainted the sport from the World Cup, right down to grassroots football.

Every day, news stories are serving to remind us all that this isn’t something that happens occasionally, but is in fact endemic in the systems of sport that we are all part of. Our Level 2 students were tasked with educating themselves, having open discussions with peers, and using their creative marketing skills to develop a social media campaign that could affect behaviour change.

The focus for the students working on this assignment was to firstly educate themselves by researching the experiences of Black footballers, understanding what the key issues were and then moving on to establish how they could connect with the footballing audience in order to educate and affect behaviour.

This led to some really challenging and open discussions in the classroom between both White and Black students. I recall a student asking his peer ‘well, what is it actually like being Black and being here, in this room and you’re the only one’. It became evident that not only was this learning space developing our Marketing students’ knowledge of digital marketing, but it was also engaging them in discussions they possibly would not have had.

Our hope is that by creating more challenging assessments, based on real and very palpable issues that are usually avoided, educators can start to get students to see other perspectives, learn about the lived experiences of others and ultimately, educate themselves.

UWE Bristol alum awarded MBE

Author Faculty of Business and Law | Posted on

Marketing expert Denise O’Leary, founder of Purpol Marketing, has been awarded an MBE for services to the construction sector in the New Year’s Honours List. Denise studied BA Business Administration at UWE Bristol followed by MA Marketing, graduating in 2004. She is also currently involved with UWE as a Help To Grow: Management mentor helping SME’s drive change within their business.

Denise, who lives in Chippenham, has had to keep tight-lipped about the award for several weeks. 

“I am honoured and humbled to be recognised with the award of an MBE in the 2022 New Year’s Honours list – made exceptionally special as it is the Platinum Jubilee year of Her Majesty The Queen.

“When the letter came through I couldn’t believe it, it didn’t seem real. Today I’m so thrilled to be counted among so many wonderful people who have been honoured for their work throughout our society to make our lives better.” 

Denise received the honour for the work she has done to demystify the world of construction and marketing. It’s a sector which is heavily male-dominated and where the value of marketing is often underestimated. 

As construction specialist, Denise is trusted with confidential company information and company survival can depend on the winning outcome; Denise’s marketing and bid writing skills have literally saved companies. 

 “I am so delighted that I can put into words how great construction companies can be, so they can win contracts to secure their futures. With social value and local supply chains now high on the agenda, messaging within bids is so important,” she said.

Since 2014, Denise has worked tirelessly with ambitious and forward-thinking companies to help them embrace intelligent marketing through strategic planning and consistent delivery of ethical and clear marketing messages. 

Dan Barfoot of CMD Recruitment commented “We have developed a strong working relationship. Denise is really in tune with us, putting into words and images what we actually deliver to our clients.”  

She has also supported many business owners and directors in the writing and successful submissions of tenders to win work through complex procurement processes. 

This has meant construction companies she’s supported have obtained millions of pounds of work on projects funded by central government and other large corporations. She has a high profile in construction and has been a keynote speaker at the Big 5 Building and Construction Expo in Dubai several times as well as UK Construction Week. Denise is a respected international ‘Women in Construction’ ambassador, speaking at events on why women should consider construction as a career.

“We have worked with Denise on a number of high value project bids and have found her professionalism and industry knowledge invaluable.” said Shaun Tew, of Tew Bros.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank you – your bid writing has almost certainly saved our company. You are part of our family,” said Neil Griffiths, of WB Griffiths and Sons.

During the pandemic, Denise took the lead nationally in embracing the Kickstart programme launched by the Government – she was the first business owner in the UK to take on 50 Kickstarters at once to help young people take the first steps in their careers. To date she has supported 166 young people in this way. 

As a business woman, Denise is well known across the UK and overseas for her work. She’s published a best-selling book  “WINNER – How to win Business Awards” published by Panoma Press.

She has multiple awards including 13 international Stevie Awards for marketing and entrepreneurship from 2021-2019, and her company was voted ‘World’s Favourite Marketing Agency’ in 2020. Last year she was also named among the Top 100 Female Entrepreneurs by F:Entrepreneur.

Denise commented “I would like to thank all the amazing people I have worked with and my family for their incredible support.  This honour is in recognition of all the people who have been part of my journey, and I am so emotional and thankful of this amazing accolade.”

To find out more about Denise and her company Purpol Marketing visit https://www.purpolmarketing.co.uk

BBS | BLS Online Christmas Fair 2021

Author Faculty of Business and Law | Posted on

Welcome to the 2021 Bristol Business School | Bristol Law School online Christmas fair.

After the success of our virtual fair last year, we have decided to keep up the tradition and encourage everyone to shop small and local. Luckily, this year we are able to also hold our in-person Christmas fair in the Bristol Business School Atrium on Thursday 9 December 11:00 – 15:00 so please do pop down if you are able.

For those who can’t, we have a fantastic range of products on offer in our online brochure with stalls from UWE Bristol students, staff, and businesses in the local community.

All you need to do now is view the stalls below and click the links to shop. We hope you enjoy.

Online Christmas Fair 2021View stalls here

If you have any questions please email fbl.news@uwe.ac.uk. Thank you to everyone who has been involved in this year’s online fair.

UWE Bristol houses UK’s first on-campus aeroponic grow system for student business

Author Faculty of Business and Law | Posted on

A vertical farming system, set up on Frenchay campus using aeroponic technology to grow and supply micro herbs and baby leaf plants, is the first of its kind to be located at a UK university. The system is being used by student venture Greener Greens Co, which Jamie Taylor founded as part of his Team Entrepreneurship degree.

The 40ft container farm, supplied by LettusGrow, provides 24m2 of growing area and houses a four-tiered vertical grow-bed. The growing process uses a software that automates LED lighting, temperature and water vapour. Nutrients are delivered to the plants via atomisers that spray an organic, nutrient-dense fog onto exposed roots (a technique called ‘aeroponics’).

Greener Greens’ plants are to include petit arugula, pea shoots, coriander, basil, pak choy and other small sprouting plants like micro broccoli, which take 11-30 days to reach full height. During this time, cycle pH levels, humidity and organic nutrient levels are automatically regulated.

Jamie Taylor said: “Nature is seasonal, but in this container farm we create our own climate to produce seasonal produce all year round. This is a really innovative system that uses no soil, no pesticides, with crop yields using 95 per cent less water and 99% less space compared to conventional land-based farming.”

The entrepreneur said Greener Greens’ ethos is to have a lower carbon footprint compared to other suppliers and, by providing a growth area close to the point of need, reduce food transportation miles. It is also reducing a reliance on single unit plastic by using re-usable containers to transport the plants.

Team Entrepreneurship is a degree that helps students set up a business as a team. Jamie said: “All this has only been achievable thanks to the University. Key support from UWE Bristol’s enterprise, estates, environmental and sustainability, and catering teams has been crucial in working out how to run the business and how to introduce Greener Greens produce into the university’s supply chain.”

The system is set to produce some 200kg of pea shoots per month, as this plant variety has a short grow cycle of just 12 days. Initially the vegetables will supply the University and other local customers. The enterprise then plans to set up further containers, supplying the super yacht business. “Head chefs on board need high quality produce fast so we have an opportunity to reduce carbon footprint in this industry by setting up a container in the South of France.

“Many existing suppliers to that industry use pesticides and the produce is sometimes flown over 5000 miles to Nice, which leaves a large carbon footprint.”

Greener Greens is also building a geo-temporal inventory app that will allow its customers to see what is growing in which container, so they can place orders and receive fresher produce faster. The app will also allow chefs, for the first time ever, to specify the size and shape of their salads and garnishes in-app and create bespoke garnishes.

Jamie and his Greener Greens system set up on Frenchay campus was featured in yesterday evening’s edition of the BBC’s Countryfile, available to view on iPlayer (from 29:51).

Student Spotlight: Charlie

Author Faculty of Business and Law | Posted on

As part of our Business and Law Student Spotlight 2021, we spoke to recent UWE Bristol Marketing graduate, Charlie Mills, about her journey at UWE Bristol and finishing University during a pandemic.

What has been your biggest achievement during your time at UWE Bristol?

“Getting through third year during the pandemic! I’ve also got a job starting which will be working at a HR company with the Digital Marketing team which is really exciting and was a great feeling to have something secured.

Also, getting a Deans Award Certificate of Excellence for every year of study has been such an honour and so rewarding.”

What did you find challenging about University?

“My first year was rocky. I did a Foundation Year in Business and Law and found the first term really hard, so for anyone struggling when joining University it definitely gets better! I ended up making such a close group of friends on my course and had lots of fun.

I also took advantage of doing a Placement Year which was a great way to set me up for my future career and get a years’ worth of experience in Marketing before Graduating.

I have really enjoyed creating great personal and professional relationships at UWE as this is what really drives me. It is so nice to know that my lecturers are routing for me both during my time at UWE and afterwards.”

What advice would you give to new students?

“If you don’t love University straight away, and you think everyone around you is, do not panic, you are not alone! Often, people aren’t having as much fun as it looks and transitioning from school to university is hard and a massive change. You might not find your best group of friends instantly, but people change and grow so much over the 3 years you will find your people. Get stuck in with as much as you possibly can, whether it’s a sport, society, student ambassador programme etc. as you’ll meet so many like-minded people and you never know what opportunities might arise.

If you have the opportunity to do a placement or year-abroad, definitely do it. If this isn’t for you then try and make the most of the long summer holidays and take part in work experience and internships.”

Light up your Lockdown

Author Faculty of Business and Law | Posted on

During the Covid-19 lockdown, four Business and Events Management students ran a virtual event aimed at raising money for a charity whilst also raising people’s spirits during a tough time. As part of their programme, they were tasked with running an event within the ‘Staging and Evaluating Events’ module, however, this time it was slightly different in that no physical events were allowed to happen and everything had gone online.

Emma, Imogen, Hannah and Maddison worked together to produce their event ‘Light up your Lockdown’ and decided that they wanted to make this a fundraising event as they wanted to support charities struggling through the pandemic. St. Michael’s Hospice (North Hampshire) was the charity chosen as Imogen and Maddison are both from the area and wanted to support the amazing work the charity does for the community, such as supporting many patients and their families in their final stages of life.

The students were tasked with hosting the event with no budget, which was tough, however, they managed to pull it off and ran a hugely successful event. It consisted of a cocktail masterclass, origami workshop, bingo and a charity raffle. The students said that they had wanted to put a different spin on the typical lockdown events they had been seeing, with virtual zoom quizzes being heavily exhausted. This paid off and they had fantastic attendance and raised £1,257 in total.

“I have had to learn to work in new ways and think outside of the box. For example, if COVID had not have happened I don’t know if we would’ve come up with the event ideas that we did – creating something unique to engage people and thinking outside of the box.”

Imogen Aylward

Student Spotlight: Carmen

Author Faculty of Business and Law | Posted on

As part of our Business and Law Student Spotlight 2021, we spoke to Business and HR Management student, Elena Carmen Ceesay, about her journey so far at UWE Bristol. Carmen is a mature student and has recently returned to education to help her get her dream job.

What has been your biggest achievement over the past year?

“My greatest achievement is successfully passing all my exams despite all the challenges! My confidence has definitely improved and I have learnt new things that I can now apply to every aspect of my life.”

What has been your biggest challenge over the past year?

“The last year has been really challenging, not only due to the pandemic but also due to personal circumstances. I am a mature student and a working mum. It has been a struggle with childcare for my two-year-old undiagnosed autistic daughter, and I have particularly struggled with time management. It was inspiring to me to receive such good results in my first year at university and this has given me the confidence to go into my second year.

I also had doubts about fitting in with my classmates due to an age gap, however, in our team working assignments my experience benefited the whole team and we worked really well together to complete various projects.”

What advice would you give to new students or those looking into Higher Education?

“Never be scared to always improve yourself, no matter what age you are! Returning as a mature student I was worried I wouldn’t fit in, I wouldn’t have time to do what is needed and that it wouldn’t benefit me – but all those thoughts are now gone.

I would also advise new students to plan their time well and ensure that they work on assignments from the beginning of the module and not last minute. Engaging with the reading list is also important, it is there to help you, so take advantage of that list already put together for you.”

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