Improving Performance
Exploit opportunities for business improvements.
These Business School services enable you to address not only changes in the way things are done, and the techniques used, but also the relationships to improve business performance and achieve better output.
Particular support for improving your business performance is available through:
- Learning through Exchange of Business Experiences
- Undergraduate Placements
- Graduate Placements
- Graduate Recruitment
Learning Through Exchange of Business Experiences
The most important factor in establishing effective learning
and problem solving between firms is the recognition that
businesses learn most effectively from the experiences of other
businesses.
Other people who have experienced the problems that you are
facing are the most valuable sounding board and providers of
grounded advice in solving these problems and improving
performance.
As part of its core activity to engage with businesses in the region, the Business School services include an innovative approach to bring together Businesses that want to trade experiences and build their networks to solve problems.
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Experience Exchange The Experience Exchange (ExEx) is a business problem solving initiative supported by the East Midlands Development Agency and the European Regional Development Fund. It is based on the exchange of business know-how between firms that have problems to solve, and firms that have the experience that can be shared to resolve these problems. This process is facilitated by the Business School through a web site which incorporates a directory of business ‘Experience Areas’, which registered companies can interrogate with a ‘search’ function. Case studies and notice board discussion areas are provided under each header as well as topic-relevant materials, wherever appropriate. Firms who enrol, generally receive a minimum input of at least 6 days facilitation time to bring about the pattern matching and business exchanges required. |
Undergraduate Placements
Could you make use of an extra team member this summer to work on a project that could develop your business in some way?
A placement offers a range of opportunities that can assist your business to improve performance by increasing skills available at a relatively low cost, and providing additional resource to undertake specific projects.
The Lincoln Business School placement opportunities range
from six weeks to twelve months. These can be supported through
a number of national and regional schemes that cover some of the
costs.
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Shell STEP Shell STEP (formerly the Shell Technology Enterprise Programme) is a national business focused programme providing SMEs wth access to short term resource and expertise. You choose and outline a project to address a business need and Shell STEP matches it with students with appropriate skills and abilities. Each year it recruits over 1000 second or penultimate year undergraduates to an eight-week summer placement in any sector to carry out these projects. There are no restrictions on the type of project, and a Shell Step agent will help develop a suitable projects that can be delivered in an 8 weeks placement. Cost: A STEP placement costs the host company £185 per week, as a training allowance for the undergraduate. This amount is invoiced to you, and the student is paid by the STEP agent and does not appear on your payroll. Year in Industry Year in Industry is a gap year placement provider. It provides companies with early access to potential graduate recruits, and provides young people with paid degree relevant work placements in the year before or during their University course. Over 250 UK companies take part each year from SMEs to large corporations, and over 8000 students have been placed. Through the scheme,
students are assigned to a team within your company to work
on a company brief, in addition to receiving training during
the year through the Chartered Management Institute. Your
involvement in the scheme presents the further opportunity
for your Cost: Min. £150 per week to placement and £1500 management fee. |
Graduate Placements
The placement of graduates into a business environment is a key mechanism for transferring knowledge into the local business community.
The opportunity exists for your company to access this expertise through taking a placement of a high-quality graduate to undertake strategic business development projects in your firm.
This opportunity for improving your performance is
available through the Business School in several
ways including
- national programmes that will support a graduate seconded into your business for durations up to three years
- project work undertaken by mature postgraduate students
The Business School staff will facilitate this in the
best way to meet your needs.
Knowledge Transfer PartnershipsThe Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) scheme is a national DTI knowledge transfer programme. It supports a three way partnership between your managers, a Business School specialist, and a Graduate Associate who is employed full time by the University but located at your firm to undertake a project to address a specific business issue. Each KTP is part
funded by a grant (typically 60% of project costs) which
contributes to the University staff released to work on the
project and the employment of the Associate. The Based on the DTI analysis of previous similar programmes (2001/02), for a two year financial contribution of around £32,000 the average benefits that a firm can expect from a KTP include a one-off profit before tax of £47,000 and annual profits before tax of £156,000. Postgraduate InternshipsPostgraduate Internships enable Business School Masters students to work with your company on a variety of consultancy projects. These are not only economically valuable but also provide a great opportunity for recruiters to assess the quality and suitability of potential staff. These projects give firms an opportunity to take on a mature student for a fixed duration to address specific business problems by applying both previous experience and new knowledge from their Masters programme. Usually 10-12 weeks in duration, over the summer term (June - September) and occasionally during the autumn term (September - December) the scheme provides an injection of concentrated resource, time and expertise in a very cost effective manner. |
Graduate Employment
Each year, the Business School generates a significant resource of quality local graduates in general and specialist business and management subjects. The advantages of employing Business School graduates are numerous as not only do they introduce new ideas to your organisation, but they also provide a way of transferring knowledge into your enterprise.
This portfolio of services therefore includes opportunities for you to tap into this resource and to promote your organisation to potential new employees who represent the new managers of the future.
If this is linked into the opportunities for further developing the entrepreneurial skills of any graduate appointee then the potential benefit to your organisation is considerable.
Careers ServiceThe Careers Service at the University of Lincoln provides a number of services for employers to increase student awareness and understanding of the career opportunities in your business, and to support recruitment of good quality graduates with appropriate skills, through:
The Careers Service is a resource to support promotion of graduate careers in your industry. |
Contact Information
For further information on any of these services, programmes or learning opportunities please contact:
Jim Shutt
Business Development Manager
Lincoln Business School, University of Lincoln, Brayford
Pool, Lincoln, LN6 7TS
Telephone: 01522 886275
Email:
jshutt@lincoln.ac.uk