Corporate Engagement Strategy
This strategy sets out the School’s engagement with the world of practice, which includes commercial, policy and public organisations.
The strategy also reflects the recommendations set out in the EQUIS self-development objectives and contributes to our AMBA, AACSB and Small Business Charter accreditations.
Vision
To be recognised as a leading partner to business, government and society. The Business School will operate at the intersection of research, education and practice, using external relationships not merely as targets for our activity, but as essential means for horizon scanning, helping us understand and anticipate the most pressing challenges facing organisations.
Partnerships enable the School to generate impact from our research, build our reputation and support our graduates in achieving strong outcomes from their education. We act as a trusted partner, thought leader and provider of impactful business solutions to societal challenges of Environmental Sustainability, Responsible Leadership and Technological Transformation.
Partnerships
The School will develop long-term, multi-level relationships with organisations whose strategic priorities align closely with our research, education and regional engagement ambitions. This will involve both deepening existing partnerships and selectively establishing new ones where there is clear potential for sustained collaboration and impact.
Engagement with professional bodies and business representative organisations will be strengthened to extend relationships beyond teaching alignment into research collaboration, industry engagement and career pathways for students. Collaboration with local, regional and national government will also be expanded, ensuring alignment with public policy priorities and increased access to funding opportunities.
Through this approach, partnerships will not only generate income and opportunities but also provide strategic insight that informs research prioritisation, education design and the School’s wider strategic direction.
Research Income
The School will adopt a more proactive and market-focused approach to contract research and consultancy, grounded in its distinctive research strengths and informed by sustained engagement with external partners.
Academic interest groups and research centres will be increasingly organised around partner-facing themes and sector priorities, presenting a coherent and accessible offer to collaborators. This alignment between research capability and external demand will support both collaborative and contract research growth.
Corporate engagement will act as a central enabler of research income growth, supporting diversification of funding sources while ensuring that research remains relevant, impactful and closely connected to organisational and societal needs.
Regional strength
The School will continue to play a leading role within the regional economy, deepening its engagement with SMEs and key stakeholders across the South West, including local authorities, Chambers of Commerce and the South West Business Council. This will be achieved through sustained delivery and expansion of flagship programmes such as Help to Grow Management (subject to funding) and the Exeter Business Leaders’ Network, alongside the development of new education and research initiatives aligned to regional priorities.
Stronger relationships will be developed with regional business leadership organisations, embedding the School more fully within the local innovation, skills and enterprise ecosystem. Activity will be closely aligned with Civic University commitments and wider School and University strategies relating to inclusive growth, skills development and regional innovation.
The School will leverage its campuses in Exeter and Penryn to strengthen connections with local stakeholders and ensure a coordinated regional presence. Collaboration with partners will support the identification, securing and delivery of regional development funding, while also informing the design of flexible and accessible professional education provision tailored to regional employer needs.
Through this approach, regional engagement will contribute not only to economic development but also to the School’s research impact, education offer and long-term partnership pipeline.
Professional and Executive Education
The School will rebalance its professional education portfolio towards short, flexible and high-impact provision, including both open programmes and custom executive education, with an increasing focus on digital and blended delivery. These offerings will be closely aligned with the School’s research strengths and co-created with partner organisations to ensure relevance and impact.
Future growth will focus on scaling custom executive education programmes grounded in the School’s research in sustainability, leadership, systems thinking and technological transformation. Delivery models will support flexibility, scalability and international reach, including multi-cohort and global provision where appropriate.
Student Success
The School will embed corporate engagement more systematically across the student lifecycle, ensuring that employer and alumni involvement is integral to curriculum design, teaching delivery and experiential learning. Partnerships will be used to provide students with access to authentic business challenges, industry insight and high-quality employment pathways.
In alignment with the School’s Education Strategy, corporate engagement will play a central role in shaping programme design and delivery. External partners and alumni will contribute to curriculum development, classroom teaching, consultancy projects, mentoring and careers engagement. Particular emphasis will be placed on strengthening employer integration within flagship programmes, international networks such as QTEM, and entrepreneurship education.
Work-based learning opportunities will extend beyond traditional placements to include consultancy projects, internships and innovative experiential models such as “With Industrial Experience” pathways and employer-integrated curriculum activities. This diversification will enhance student employability, programme attractiveness and responsiveness to an evolving graduate labour market.
Employers will play an increasingly active role in shaping student experiences through guest teaching, mentoring, project supervision and careers engagement. Growing corporate partnerships will also enhance career guidance by providing students with direct access to labour market insight, employer networks and workplace experience.
Through this integrated approach, the School will strengthen its ability to deliver excellent graduate outcomes, ensuring students are well prepared for a dynamic global labour market while reinforcing its position as a leading partner to employers.