The University of Huddersfield, one of SBC’s primary partner universities, has taken the prize for ‘Entrepreneurial University of the Year’ at this year's Times Higher Education (THE) Awards.
The annual THE awards are regarded as a prestigious and internationally recognized indicator of excellence given to higher educational institutions in the UK demonstrating unique and outstanding achievements in innovating systems and inspiring students.
The University was especially commended by the judges for its “entrepreneurial outlook, championed at the highest levels of the institution”.
The University of Huddersfield’s submission for the awards highlighted the institution’s emphasis on enterprise and innovation and discussed the £8 million EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Advanced Metrology and its strategic partnerships with Siemens, The Prince’s Trust and 3M, who, together with Kirklees Council, were backers for the £12 million ERDF-funded 3M Buckley Innovation Centre.
SBC has been working closely with the University of Huddersfield, one of the Joint Venture partner owners of SBC, for nearly eight years. Huddersfield is one of only two of SBC’s UK partner universities officially approved to run degree programmes at SBC. Huddersfiled also recently opened a joint research center in precision machining with USST.
In July 2012, the second cohort of SBC/USST students completed a full Huddersfield Bachelor’s Degree in Events Management, taking courses entirely in Shanghai, all students successfully graduating, and 1/3 of the number receiving First and Upper Second degrees.
A stint at the University of Huddersfield itself also has proved one of the most popular choices for study-abroad among SBC students over the last few years. According to the university’s placement statistics, over 200 SBC students have elected to study in Huddersfield.
Professor Bob Cryan, the Vice-Chancellor of the University, expressed his delight at winning the award: “We have placed a strong emphasis on enterprise and innovation for a number of years, which has flourished through the creation of a supportive infrastructure and the appointment of key personnel. We, and the local and regional community, are now starting to reap the rewards of this investment as we are becoming nationally recognized as a truly ‘business-facing’ university.”
“We are ranked in the top 10 nationally for undergraduate and postgraduate employability, student placements in industry, and the number of student and graduate businesses supported. Several elements of our entrepreneurial activity were highlighted recently as case-studies in the Wilson Review of Business-University Collaboration.”
Professor Ian Gow OBE, Principal of SBC, expressed his delight at the news: "It is not really surprising that they have won such a prestigious British award. They have made tremendous strides forward in recent years under the outstanding leadership of Pro. Cryan. Last year, The University of Huddersfield was voted number one in a global survey in which international students gave ratings for their learning and living experiences. The Guardian Newspaper’s University Guide for 2013 also shows the University of Huddersfield well established in the Premier League of the top 120 UK universities, where it stands in the Top 50, within 10 places of Universities such as Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield, Cardiff and Liverpool. The university deserves our warmest congratulations."
May we again express our warmest congratulations to the University of Huddersfield.
