Research and Consultancy
UWS Business School has a thriving research community based on 100 staff and over 50 research students. The School is well networked internationally with collaborative projects with several European nations and some countries beyond. International conferences, workshops and seminars are organised every year attracting participants from across the world.
As a Business School we accommodate a broad range of subjects, interests and disciplines and welcome a wide spectrum of approaches, methods and ideas. The School has earned a respected reputation, nationally and internationally, for its research and consultancy, as well as learning and teaching, and attracts students from more than 40 countries worldwide. The majority of staff are research active and all devote at least one fifth of their time to research and scholarly activity.
As well as a respectable record of academic publications and conference papers, many policy reports have been commissioned for governments at all levels across Europe. The leading role played in European Studies is recognised in joint work with colleagues throughout Central Eastern Europe and with institutions in the Nordic countries. Further details of this research is available on the dedicated web site of the Centre for Contemporary European Studies hosted by the Business School which is in the top league of European Research Centres in the UK.
UWS has active links with a range of commercial, industrial and professional organisations – PERC, the Enterprise Research Centre, has achieved national acclaim for its work focused on the small and medium-sized enterprise sector. Recent commissioned reports have been undertaken for leading banks, the Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise. In the 2008 Institute for Small Business & Entrepreneurship Conference, PERC staff won the best paper awards in the ‘E-entrepreneurship, e-business and e-learning’ and in the ‘finance’ categories and the best overall refereed paper award at the 31st annual conference which ran from 5-7 November 2008 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. These were awarded by an eminent panel of academic judges from over 200 papers presented at the Conference.
We have the expertise to undertake consultancy and applied research projects across a wide spectrum of business and management issues. We have 100 academic staff specialising in business and management and can also draw on the expertise of University of the West of Scotland colleagues in diverse areas such as engineering, science, healthcare and media.
Knowledge exchange and public engagement are also promoted through a number of KTPs (knowledge transfer partnerships) in companies in IT and training, in social enterprises and in the public sector. Close and productive links are expanding throughout the UWS home region, with exciting developments in public sector management, land reform community buy-outs, economic impacts and tourism. Major contracts with states in central Asia and with China show that the UWS Business School is truly global and a leading player in academic and applied research.
Mike Danson, Associate Dean, Research & Commercialisation
Research Students
The Business School now has one of the largest and most coherent set of PhD students in Scotland. The intake of research students has been steadily increasing for several years and they are supported by supervisors who are trained and dedicated in their support. A specially developed PgCert and MSc offer a sound basis for all research students to achieve significant momentum in their postgraduate studies. Many who complete their PhD programme have progressed onto well paid and worthwhile academic careers in the UK and overseas.
For both staff and students, support is provided through research budgets for attendance at academic conferences and doctoral events and symposia.
Knowledge Transfer Partnership Projects:
Kibble Education & Care Centre worked with the Business School to develop a knowledge management system and strategy.
Thomas Johnstone Ltd worked with the Business School develop their strategic marketing capability.