Key organisations to Business School recognised with ceremony

Key organisations with strong links to BU’s Business School were recognised at a presentation ceremony.

The Partners in Accounting and Finance Presentation Ceremony celebrated nine organisations which have key engagement with the Accounting, Finance and Economics framework.

Plaques were given to representatives from the organisations, as thanks for the input they have given as strategic partners, helping develop key employability skills in students and providing professional opportunities.

BU Vice-Chancellor Professor John Vinney opened the ceremony.

He said relationships such as these were at the heart of BU.

“Bournemouth University is immensely proud of its strong affiliations with businesses, organisations and professional bodies, at the local, regional, national and international level,” he said.

“[This] is a fantastic example of how the Business School engages with industry, ensuring that its courses are current and professionally relevant.”

The event was organised by Dr Phyllis Alexander, Framework Leader for Undergraduate Accounting and Finance courses at BU, and attended by the Mayors of Bournemouth and Poole.

The nine partners recognised at the ceremony were: the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA); EDF; J.P. Morgan; the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW); Mazars; Princecroft Willis; Santander Universities; Smith and Williamson; and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA).

Representatives from the organisations spoke about the initiatives they have worked on with BU, which include running skills sessions and lectures and offering training contracts and placement opportunities, among others.

Lesley Fox, a partner at Mazars accountancy firm, which has offices in Poole, said: “We have been involved with BU for many years and in various ways.

“Over the years, we have offered training contracts and various placement opportunities and we talk in lectures about life as a Chartered Accountant.

“We are delighted to be involved and looking forward to exploring ways we can further develop our working relationship with the university.”

The event also featured a keynote speech about the challenges for future accounting and finance professionals by Ian Marshall, Chairman of Markel International and Senior Advisor to the Bank of England Prudential Regulatory Authority.

Dean of the Business School Professor Roger Palmer said that the School aimed to make graduates distinctive through their exceptional employability and that partners such as those recognised at the ceremony played a large part.

He said: “Our partners are invaluable in providing not only their time, but the relevant and largely intangible insight that will inform our students and increase further their employability, to the benefit of the parties involved, the profession and wider society.”

BU crackdown on ‘contract cheating’ in Times Higher Education

Schemes planned by BU’s Business School to avoid plagiarism and the use of essay-writing websites have been featured in the Times Higher Education.

Associate Dean (Student Experience) Mark Ridolfo told reporter Lizzie Gibney that ‘contract cheating’ – where websites write bespoke essays for students – was difficult to detect and prove.

To combat the use of such methods, Mark said that they were looking into alternative methods of assessment – including more exams rather than coursework, and personalising assignments to the course to make contract cheating more difficult.

He added that contract cheating was affecting many universities, and that companies offering the services had begun to market more aggressively.

He said: “I think all institutions are looking at how to deal with this problem and I suspect they will, like us, be looking at a combination of prevention, detection and penalties.”

Read the Times Higher Education article in full

BU Business student in final of prestigious student awards scheme

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A BA (Hons) Business Studies student from Bournemouth University is through to the final of the prestigious Undergraduate of the Year awards.

Tom Heyes is down to the last ten for the Target Jobs Undergraduate of the Year in Commercial Excellence award, and will find out if he has won at an awards ceremony hosted by Sir Trevor McDonald.

Tom, who is currently on a placement year as part of his course, said: “It has been a lot of work to get to this stage, but I’m really happy to have got through to the finals – it’s one of those things you don’t expect to happen.

“I get to go to dinner with Trevor McDonald – so I’m happy even if I don’t win.

“The Business School have been really good and really supportive and have been backing me all the way.”

The Target Jobs Undergraduate of the Year Award in Commercial Excellence is sponsored by Nestlé, and looks for students with a winning mix of personal skills, career motivation and an excellent academic record.

The winner will receive a Raleigh expedition to Borneo in 2013 as part of an expedition team and the chance to undertake a 12 week internship with Nestlé in a commercial area of their choice.

“It would be a great experience to get that extra three months with a totally different company – especially Nestlé, which is one of the biggest companies in the world,” said Tom, 21, who is from Bournemouth and lives in Winton while studying.

“The seven weeks in Borneo after graduating would be amazing as well.”

Tom is currently undertaking a 12 month placement with Fujitsu, working as a Lean Practitioner – helping to manage change activities in different parts of the business.

He believes that the experience helped him during the gruelling application process – for which he had to write a critical report of the economic climate, do online tests and a group assessment day and interviews with Nestlé.

“I don’t think I would have got this far if I hadn’t had a placement,” said Tom, who lives in Reading while on placement.

“I have learnt an amazing amount. I have changed a lot in this year and grown up a lot.

“I think it helps when you can provide real world experiences. A lot of the other candidates were really strong academically and really intelligent but I think I was more outgoing in the group situation.

“I think that’s probably where I picked up points.”

The winners of the awards will be announced at a ceremony in Canary Wharf on 19 April.

BU Law lecturer talks about 3D printing on BBC Radio 5 Live

Dr Dinusha Mendis, Senior lecturer in law and co-director of the Centre for Intellectual Property Policy and Management (CIPPM) at BU, was on BBC Radio 5 Live, talking about the challenges which will be faced by intellectual property (IP) laws in the wake of 3D printing.

Dinusha, who has recently published a paper on the issue, was featured on the Outriders programme – which is dedicated to exploring the frontiers of the web.

She told presenter Jamillah Knowles: “In a nutshell, my paper looks at the intellectual property implications of 3D printing, and whether we can learn lessons from the past.

“When I refer to the past, I am referring to the lessons we have learned from file-sharing services, such as Napster and Pirate Bay, and the challenges to intellectual property law – in particular copyright law – and the response to those challenges by the entertainment industry.

She added: “This paper suggests that, rather than focus on stringent IP laws, the future lies in adopting new business models to adapt to this new technology.”

Dinusha said that, while printers capable of printing 3D shapes and models are currently quite expensive, prices are constantly coming down.

“Past experience has shown us that law is constantly playing a catch up game with technology,” she said.

“This has been evident in the manner that intellectual property law, and in particular, copyright law, has struggled to keep up with internet and online activities.

“The present IP law that we have in the UK was not designed to keep up with such technologies, and regulating 3D printing will be no different.”

“So, while 3D printing is set to open doors to new businesses, new jobs and new experiences for consumers, it is also going to create a lot of challenges for IP right-holders and manufacturers of industrial products.”

She added that while work has started on looking at laws in this area, “there is still a long way to go.”

You can listen to a podcast of the Outriders programme that Dr Dinusha Mendis appears on here.

Intellectual property law brought to life in student collaboration

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Students from the Business School and School of Design, Engineering and Computing (DEC) will work together on a project that aims to bring intellectual property to life.

Final year Law students, from the Business School will advise final year DEC students from across product design and creative technology-based courses, while they create a product or innovation to bring to market.

Intellectual property law – such as copyright, trademarks, designs and patents – is particularly important for design students as it provides a means of protecting the products they create.

Dr Dinusha Mendis, Senior Lecturer in Law and Co-Director of the Centre for Intellectual Property Policy and Management (CIPPM) at BU said: “This project provides for real-life scenarios and brings intellectual property to life.  It is a very practical project which allows the law students to act as lawyers for the DEC students who are their clients.”

The project will last until March, and kicked off with an Intellectual Property Masterclass, where students from across the two schools learned more about the law and how it can be used.

Donal O’Connell, from Chawton Innovation Services spoke to the students about what Intellectual Property is, and how it can benefit businesses.

He welcomed the idea of the student project.

“It seems to be quite unique – I haven’t come across it before,” he said.

“Having this sort of collaboration helps breaks down barriers – the engineers understand that there is more to life than just creating a product.

“The fact that they are doing it at university, before they even get into industry, is absolutely great.”

Matthew Schrader, Head of Intellectual Property Law, at Kiteleys Solicitors in Bournemouth, also spoke to the students.

He agreed that the collaboration would be great experience for the students.

“From a law point of view, it is a good opportunity to find out what it is like to work with real clients,” he said. “It’s a very good idea.”

The students will work in teams to put the theory they have learnt into practice.

There will also be prizes for the best Law student, best DEC student and the best group, sponsored by Paul Turner, a retired Patent Attorney.