10 Reasons for choosing Brunel MBA

• Times Higher has shortlisted Brunel Business School for the Business School of the year. It was an excellent result and a sign of recognition for the School to be nominated next to 5 other top Business/Management Schools
• Brunel Business School is in the top 7 best Business Schools in London in many major league tables

• The Brunel MBA programme is fully accredited by the Association of MBAs (AMBA)
• The Brunel MBA programme offers three management pathways: General, Healthcare or Aviation        
• Membership of both our School Advisory Board and MBA Advisory Board has been expanded and strengthened, enabling us to ensure that our provision is informed through depth and breadth of expertise from corporate stakeholder input.

• The Brunel MBA programme offers an integrated Leadership Masterclass Series, Career Development Programme and 1-2-1 Career Coaching, as part of the “Brunel Business Life” employability programme, which was highly commended by Association of MBAs in a recent accreditation visit
• Fully-funded overseas (5-day) study tours are available to MBA students on a competitive basis
• Some 35 faculty members teach on the MBA programme.  The faculty members are research-active and they often contribute with practitioner experience and expertise. The Brunel MBA curriculum is strongly influenced by the international level research undertaken by our faculty

• Students enjoy an intensive programme of informative company visits and inspirational corporate guest speakers throughout the year
• All MBA students at Brunel Business School can attend one of the many foreign language courses on offer. Best of all – they are completely FREE!

If you have any queries please contact Brunel Business School on +44 (0)1895 265910, or email us on brunelmba@brunel.ac.uk.

Think carefully before you tweet: it could be bad for your career.

Once again social media precipitates a clash of cultures as demonstrated by this week’s BBC news of the resignation of UK’s first youth police and crime commissioner following the discovery of her controversial twitter activity. Dr Chris Evans, Senior Lecturer in Brunel Business School specialising in Web 2.0, comments:

“Our research in Brunel Business School helps understand how Paris Brown is victim to the effects of social media as a disruptive innovation. Previous generations have been accustomed to a clear boundary between their public and private lives. Articulating prejudices could be confined to the privacy of a teenager’s bedroom. But social media now require us to rethink both what we say and how quickly we judge what others have said.”

Dr Chris Evans is a member of the Information Systems Evaluation and Integration (ISEing) research group in Brunel Business School and a lecturer on the MSc Business Intelligence and Social Media programme commencing in September 2013.

 

BBS investigates Occupational Health for Small Firms

Dr Raffaella Valsecchi (Principal Investigator) and Professor Neil Anderson from Brunel Business School received a British Academy research grant to investigate new developments in the delivery of Occupational Health Services to Small Firms. Their proposed research will create a different understanding of occupational health (OH) by investigating the new multi-channel “Health for Work Adviceline” (telephone help-line/advice on-line) set up to support small medium sized enterprises (SMEs). The need to provide alternative ways of delivery of OH services across small businesses is important for two main reasons. First, the most common barrier to employers investing in the health and well-being of their employees is the lack of appropriate information advice. Second, managers in small business do not invest in occupational health service because they cannot see a convincing business case.

This research will examine the effectiveness of the “Health for Work Adviceline” in meeting the needs of SMEs, so that improvements to this service can be made. This is vital, since a better OH delivery could improve sickness absence management and other aspects of health at work.

Neil Anderson is Professor of Human Resource Management and Director of Research of WORC at Brunel University. Having obtained his PhD in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Aston University in 1989, Professor Anderson has previously held chairs at the University of London (Goldsmiths College) and the University of Amsterdam (The Netherlands). He has published in several areas spanning HRM and organizational psychology over a number of years, and is now one of the top-five most cited Industrial-Organizational psychologists in Europe. Professor Anderson is Fellow of the British Psychological Society, a Chartered Occupational Psychologist, and Fellow of both the American Psychological Association and Division 14 of the APA (the Society for Industrial-Organizational Psychology). His teaching spans Undergraduate, Masters, and MBA levels and he has particular expertise in the areas of staff selection, appraisal, and innovation and creativity in the workplace.

Dr. Raffaella Valsecchi is Lecturer of Critical Management at Brunel Business School. Prior to this she worked as a Senior Lecturer at Greenwich Business School and as a Research Fellow for an ESRC funded project at Royal Holloway-University of London. She is a member of European Group for Organisational Studies (EGOS) and the British Academy of Management (BAM). Raffaella is also an associate member of the Centre for Research into Emotion Work and Employment Studies (CREWES). Her research interests cover the sociology of work with a particular focus on home-teleworking, tele-nursing, call-centres work, control in workplaces and the new developments of the health sector.

More Brunel MBA international graduates able to work in UK this year

The UKBA have announced an extension to the Graduate Entrepreneur scheme for 2013, which will allow each Higher Education Institution to endorse up to 10 places on the scheme for MBA graduates, in addition to the 10 places for graduates of any subject. In general, the UKBA expanded the scheme from April 2013 to include an additional 1000 places for talented international MBA graduates.

Brunel University successfully bid for 10 places last year and following a rigorous application and selection process, we endorsed 5 Graduate Entrepreneurs, who have all since been granted their visas and are working on their businesses and business plans according to the rules of the scheme.

Brunel Placement and Career Centre will be running information seminars in April, with one exclusively for MBA students, to inform them about the scheme, and answer any general questions they might have. Following those seminars students will be asked to express their interest in applying for the Graduate Entrepreneur scheme through an on-line form. Please check the PCC website after Easter for details.

To find out more about the MBA programme please visit the Brunel MBA website. 

Prof Moscone helps create biobanks used to diagnose cancer in €2.5mln project

A European consortium of medical, research and higher education institutions is developing a network for banks containing digitalised images of human tissue—”biobanks”— which will help doctors to diagnose different types of possible cancerous tissues taken from patients’ biopsies in a shorter time. The seven partners across four European countries, including Brunel Business School in the United Kingdom, and other institutions in Spain, Netherlands and France are developing the project, known as BIOPOOL, with a budget of €2,500,000 from the European Commission.

Prof Francesco Moscone, Brunel Business School

“The network will enable clinicians to compare the image of a biopsy for a patient with biopsy images of a large number of other patients across Europe,” explained Francesco Moscone, Professor of Business Economics at Brunel Business School, Brunel University, west London, who is responsible for the business impact of this project.
“The benefits mean that there would be a faster and more accurate diagnosis of diseases, thereby preventing, or reducing, the need for multiple invasive tests.”
“Fast and accurate diagnosis will also help in identifying the more appropriate medical treatment, as well as reduce the length of hospital stay.”

The existing biobanks are organised collections of biological material and associated health information, for medical-scientific research and diagnostic purposes. In the recent years, biobanks have started digitalising their material, by scanning their samples and storing images and associated information in databases.
But the digital images are usually collected in various different formats, and stored in separated databases and facilities. While image collections carry very valuable knowledge in several fields, their exploitation requires tools to gather, access, visualise, and process large images.

Professor Moscone added: “From the point of view of medical research, the large amount of data shared within BIOPOOL will allow the scientific community to conduct more meaningful clinical trials, especially with respect rare diseases.The use of such interconnected sources of data is very promising, as it is expected to reduce diagnosis time and related costs,” he said.

Other Brunel Business School Team Members working on the BIOPOOL project include:

• Dr. Elisa Tosetti
• Prof. Keith Dickson

Roberto Bilbao, Director of the Basque Biobank for Research and coordinator of BIOPOOL project explained that the project involves a significant number of challenges, both technical and non-technical. It manages very large images, as digitalised bio-images are stored in huge files, even reaching 10-15 GB per image.

The scheme will aggregate data from biobanks until August 2014.

Professor Francesco Moscone is the Director of the Brunel MBA programme and the former head of the Centre of Research into Entrepreneurship, International Business in Emerging Markets. He has previously worked at the University of Leicester, University of Cambridge, and London School of Economics (LSE). He has held visiting scholar positions at University of California-Berkeley, University Pompeu Fabra, and LSE. He has worked as health economist for the National Collaborating Centre for Women and Children’s Health, and the National Agency for Regional Health Services (Rome, Italy). He is principal investigator on an ESRC (UK government funding) first research grant entitled “Statistical Modelling of Interdependence in Economics”. Additionally he is co-investigator for the grant “Economic Performance and Quality of Life in European Cities” awarded by the Economics Education and Research Consortium. Francesco is also a co-investigator for the grant “Development of new indicators to assess research within scientific areas” awarded by the European Social Fund. Additionally Francesco co investigates a major EU grant entitled “Biopool- Services associated to digitalise contents of tissues in Biobanks across Europe”.

He is associate editor of the journal Economic Modelling and a Member of ESRC Peer Review College.

Students nominate NetApp for Best Placement Employer

Brunel Business School recognised the Best Placement Employer at a ceremony in February awarding the prize to NetApp.  NetApp is a global data storage company with its headquarter in California but it is also a local employer based in Stockley Park that has been recruiting Brunel students in the last 3 years.  The relationship between Brunel Business School and NetApp is at a strategic level.  Both organisations are keen to retain local talent and add value to the local economy by working alongside each other in graduate retention.

The prize is based on nominations by Brunel placement students, showing how their placement provider has gone “beyond the call of duty” to support their personal and professional objectives.  13 nominations were received this year including several for blue chip organisations such as Porsche, Bosch, and IBM.  NetApp demonstrated its outstanding commitment to the development of our students.  NetApp’s Graham Wathen accepted the prize presented by last year’s winner Interoute.

“Brunel Business School is delighted to present the Best Placement Employer Prize to NetApp this year.  The prize recognises the commitment of the placement employers in developing our students through challenging and enriching placements.  Placement is an integral part of the academic curriculum.  Students who have had a positive placement experience will return to university with a better insight into their chosen profession.  NetApp has been a strategic partner of the School for several years and is a  well deserved winner.”  Zahir Irani, Head of Brunel Business School

All Brunel Business School undergraduate degree courses offer the chance to spend a year on work placement. Placements are on offer at different sized organisations across the public and private sector, providing the opportunity to choose the type of experience most suited to you. In addition to providing a valuable opportunity to put what you’ve learnt in your degree into practice and to earn some much appreciated money, students find their work placement experience significantly enhances their employability when they come to graduate. In fact many students are offered employment with their work placement company upon graduation.

To find out more about Work Placements in Brunel Business School please browse our videos here:

Boot Camp for Applicants Amazing, Say Participants

University applicants got a crash course in success during the Brunel Business Boot Camp, which took place from 20 – 22 February 2013. A second Boot Camp will be organised by Brunel Business School at the beginning of April 2013.

The Business Boot Camp at Brunel Business School is an exclusive event for candidates holding an offer to pursue their Business Degree in Brunel University. The Boot Camp is a residential event, allowing participants to truly experience being a student and living on campus.

This interactive event offers participants an opportunity to:

• Engage within a stimulating learning environment
• Be exposed to the latest business thinking
• Develop aptitude and critical thinking skills
• Be exposed to motivational speakers such as “Meet the Apprentice” Saira Khan, as seen on TV
• Participate in business simulation games
• Network with other high achieving applicants
• Experience what it’s like being a University student before actually going to a University
• Get a taste of Brunel Business Life Employability Programme

Here’s what some the participants of the February 13’ Boot Camp had to say about the event in the Boot Camp Facebook Group:

•    Antonio Demendoza I want to thank everyone for such an amazing time at Brunel these past 3 days. The fact that we all got along and made such close friendships just goes to show that it was a very fun event. Thanks to the team leaders who made everything just that bit easier and interesting, and thank you to the teachers who we learned everything off. I’ll miss you guys, best of luck, and hopefully see some of you in the years to come x

•    Ramya Govindaraj What can I say? Had the most unforgettable time of my life! Met a bunch of wonderful people and I’m so glad that I came. Thank you for the fantastic opportunity and thank you to all who helped. Will be seeing you guys in September!

•    Keisha Renaud Had a fantastic experience at the Brunel Boot Camp, I mean my fellow boot campers have said it all! Great time, met some amazing people you guys inspired me. So glad I came and I’ll definitely be looking out for all of you guys in September. Good luck everyone

•    Ashika Mistry Never thought I could learn so much in 3 days. I have met some lovely people and thank you to Brunel for giving us all this amazing experience. Hopefully will be seeing some of you guys again and hope everyone achieves what they want in life! x

•    Kiran Bachra Thanks so much to Brunel for setting up such a quality experience! Thanks to everyone involved for being so friendly and generally being lovely people, I had a great time! Good luck to everyone for the future, wahey xx

•    Khadijah Yasmin The past few days were amazing! Just like to thank the staff at Brunel for giving us this opportunity and of course the Boot Camp group leaders for taking care of us and being really friendly, thank you

•    Sarah Anne Lillingston Just got home. Thank you to the lecturers, group mentors, and even staff at Lancaster Lodge for a wonderful stay. I’ve taken so much away from the guest speakers and my peers. Each one of your presentations was fantastic!! Take care and I wish you all the best in succeeding your dream

•    Sofia ‘Saphire’ Peixoto Guys I had such an amazing time! I loved meeting all of you weird & wonderful people & thank you Brunel for letting me be a part of this. Hopefully I’ll see you all in September!!

•    Atish R Shah Thank you Brunel for this great opportunity and also the £100 amazon voucher!!! LOL =D This experience has helped me to develop and has given me a further understanding. Thank you to all the staff and mentors you guys are amazing!!! =D

•    Vincent Sam Thanks for the great learning experience. I shall be incorporating those breathing skills where I can, and much more than I have been for the last 18years. In all seriousness it shows it’s never too late to learn something new and develop your brand (self) no matter what you think you already know.

•    Hawa Hassania I’m so glad I got the chance to come to Brunel and meet all of you beautiful people, the last three days have been great fun! And thanks to all the staff and mentors you guys are amazing xx

•    Mark Jonathan Sacre So nobody really said it earlier but I’m guessing I speak for everyone when I say a huge thank you to Dave Snowden for an opportunity to be involved in a Uni like Brunel, something I was sure I would never get to do. Thank you for putting on a great 3 days!

•    Haseeb Salim Absolutely amazing three days!! Met the best people, and enjoyed every minute. After playing a 90 min football game I can happily go to bed!!!! keep in touch everyone xx

•    Aaron Newman-Arroyave Well back to work such a great time @ Brunel Bootcamp – everyone was so great and inspirational, hope to see you all September

•    Agata Fehrmann Amazing! Had so much fun! Would definitely do it again and for longer! Wish all the same people were coming in September!

•    Pius B Abitegeka I know I’m a bit late was getting some much needed sleep. I would firstly like to thank Brunel Business staff for all the help and advice and support whilst playing the game. I would also like to apologise on behalf of the Lodgers for giving you sleepless nights. I met some real good friends who I have no doubt that we will remain in touch. The total experience was absolutely priceless and reinforced my decision to come to Brunel. Lastly I’d like to thank all the participants of the business game thank you all for being genuine people and I sure do hope to see you all in September as for now more sleep for me

•    Hannah Catherine Parsons
Just got home, have had the best 3 days!!! U have thrown a spanner in the works Brunel…….well played Brunel……..well played!!! but honestly thank u so much 2 all involved can’t wait 2 c what the future holds 4 everyone, good luck!!!

•    Sophie Williams
Once again thank you so much for the chance to come to Brunel! By far the best three days I have ever had! Great laugh, dancing and people! Wish you the best of luck whatever pathway you all choose!