Lancaster University Management School (LUMS) has been recognised for its work to bring practical business knowledge into the classroom with a shortlisting for a prestigious national award.

Widely recognised as the 'Oscars of higher education', the THE (Times Higher Education) Awards are open to anyone involved in higher education across the UK and Ireland, attracting hundreds of entries each year.

LUMS’s nomination for Business School of the Year is based upon its leading Entrepreneurs in Residence (EiR) programme, which brings a network of global entrepreneurs into the faculty and classroom, providing students and researchers with direct access to those on the frontline of business.

The EiR programme has grown exponentially over 15 years, from a single entrepreneur to a network of more than 90 from diverse backgrounds and cultures around the world, and with more than a thousand years of multi-sector business experience between them.

EiRs are engaged in all aspects of student-facing activity, offering valuable input into student programme design, as well as classroom delivery. They deal with real problems and work on campus or online, participate in lectures and seminars, mentor students both in their studies and with their own business ventures, and assist with knowledge exchange programmes.

Professor James Faulconbridge, Deputy Dean of LUMS, said: “It is wonderful for LUMS to be shortlisted for the Times Higher Education Business School of the Year Award. LUMS is a School that prides itself on developing our cutting-edge research and scholarship through relationships with businesses and external partners, and the nomination is an endorsement of those links.

“Our Entrepreneurs in Residence programme has gone from strength to strength over the last 15 years, and provides the perfect showcase for us to highlight the diverse ways we collaborate with businesses. The impact of the network on our teaching, research and engagement activities cannot be overstated, and I am thrilled that the efforts of everyone involved in the network are being recognised with this nomination.”

In addition to Business School of the Year, Lancaster University has also been shortlisted for two other THE Awards: Knowledge Exchange/Transfer Initiative of the Year and Outstanding Estates Team.

Professor Andy Schofield, Vice-Chancellor of Lancaster University, said: “It is great to see Lancaster shortlisted for these prestigious awards.

“The nominations recognise of the strength of our knowledge exchange and partnerships which co-deliver real-life impact, transforming the health and lives of West African communities; the true excellence of our world-leading Management School and our Entrepreneurs in Residence programme which brings business people from across the globe into the heart of the faculty; and our first -class estates team who work so hard to maintain and improve our beautiful campus to provide the very best facilities for our students and staff - all while helping us achieve our ambitious sustainability targets as we work towards being carbon neutral by 2035.

“I wish them all the best of luck and look forward to hearing the outcome in December.”

The winners of each category will be announced at a ceremony on December 7^th in Liverpool.

To read more about the awards and more detail of the nominations, visit: https://the-awards.co.uk/2023/en/page/shortlist