Manchester Metropolitan University Business School scooped the coveted Best Innovation Strategy Award – in association with Kortext, at the world-renowned Association of MBA’s (AMBA) and Business Graduates Association (BGA) Excellence Awards 2024 for Innovation in employability – a strengths approach to personal and professional development.
The AMBA & BGA Excellence Awards 2024 were held on January 19, 2024 at the exceptional Park Plaza London Riverbank. The Awards brought together leading lights from the global business education community to celebrate excellence and commend achievement among business schools, MBA students and graduates, suppliers and employers.
The ceremony was attended by more than 200 business school leaders, as well as category finalists, judges and members of the media.
The Best Innovation Strategy Award honours a school’s achievement in pushing boundaries in terms of creativity in practice.
This prestigious award is a celebration of innovation and radical thinking in business education delivery across all areas of a business school’s operations and has been developed to recognise and reward game-changing new practices, risks and creativity.
It promotes the values of taking risks in pursuit of the new in different areas, including teaching, learning, recruitment and alumni relations.
Manchester Met Business School welcomes 10,000 students annually, with 51% being the first generation in their family to attend university, and 65% from diverse backgrounds. To enable their student body to effectively realise their career ambitions, Manchester Met Business School have partnered with Cappfinity to support students to recognise and foreground their personal strengths in an individual skills profile, when developing their career plans and confidence in their abilities. This approach differs from the standard university career planning processes and has been transformational for the student body, with a 67% increase in students being ‘career readyʼ at the start of their final year.
Professor Hannah Holmes, Dean of Business School at Manchester Metropolitan University, said: “This award is an incredible way to mark Manchester Metropolitan’s 200-year anniversary in 2024 and a credit to our fantastic students and faculty members.
“The award highlights our collective efforts to deliver excellence in business education whilst also making a positive impact on our communities, nationally and internationally.”
Robin Gibson, Director of External Affairs at Kortext, said of the achievement, “I am particularly impressed with the winning entry submitted by MMU Business School for the AMBA Best Innovation Strategy Award 2024 in association with Kortext. Titled “A Strengths Approach to Personal and Professional Development,” this initiative diverges from conventional career readiness programmes by placing a strong emphasis on nurturing individual strengths to build confidence.
“The innovative approach has demonstrated significant positive outcomes in students’ personal development, as reflected in high agreement rates from internal student surveys. Notably, there has been a marked increase in the number of students securing placements, and the overall quality of these placements has witnessed improvement. This success is not limited to students alone; it has also extended to the staff, with over 70 members obtaining Strengths Coaching Accreditation. This has translated into a widespread adoption of the strengths-based approach in their interactions with students.
“Beyond the confines of MMU Business School, this groundbreaking initiative has garnered attention from other universities and has received exemplary feedback from accreditation advisory boards. The commitment to inclusivity and diversity in student enrolments has further contributed positively to the school’s reputation.
“In summary, the MMU Business School’s entry stands out as a highly innovative approach that has not only garnered a positive market response but has also significantly benefited students and elevated the school’s standing in the academic community.”
Andrew Main Wilson, Chief Executive of the Association of MBAs and Business Graduates Association (AMBA & BGA) said: “On behalf of the AMBA and BGA team, I would like to congratulate the finalists and winners of this year’s Excellence Awards.
“This year, the competition was stronger than ever. The entries who have made the final shortlist in each category should feel proud of their achievements.
“Additionally, the students and graduates who have been shortlisted as finalists today have all used their qualifications to achieve a spectrum of impressive results, in terms of the positive impact they have made to business, education and society as a whole.
“It was thrilling to be able to celebrate the AMBA network’s achievements at this glamorous Gala Dinner – in particular its been amazing to celebrate exceptional innovations and successes in the higher management education industry.
“I also want to take the opportunity to thank our partners, Kortext, Canvas by Instructure, Cesim Business Simulations, Perlego and BlueSky Education. Their support for our awards – and the business education sector – is greatly appreciated.”
ENDS
For more information or interviews, please contact:
- Ellen Buchan, Insight, Content & PR Manager, AMBA & BGA – buchan@associationofmbas.com
Awards selection process:
The finalists were shortlisted by AMBA & BGA’s senior management team. A panel of judges then reviewed the shortlisted entries, selecting a winner and a highly commended entry for each award. Our judging panel is made up of AMBA board members, business experts, deans and management leaders.
All of our judges were selected based on their experience and qualifications.
The winners and highly commended entries can be seen here.
Best Culture, Diversity and Inclusion Initiative 2024, in association with BlueSky Education
Winner
- ESADE Business School (Spain) for MBA elective: racial (in)justice
Highly commended
- Centrum Católica, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (Peru) for Mujer, que tu negocio crezca más (Woman, may your business grow more)
- SDA Bocconi School of Management (Italy) for People with disabilities and employment: beyond the barriers
Best Business School Partnership Award 2024, in association with Perlego
Winner
- Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham (UK) with Deloitte
Highly commended
- Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow (UK) with Common Mission Project
- Monash Business School, Monash University (Australia) with Business Council of Cooperatives and Mutuals
Best CSR and Sustainability Initiative 2024, in association with Cesim Business Simulations
Winner
- EGADE Business School, Tecnológico de Monterrey (Mexico) for Social impact strategy and EGADE action week
Highly commended
- Mannheim Business School (Germany) and ESSEC Business School (France) for LESPRIT – Lebanon solar power and light project
- POLIMI Graduate School of Management (Italy) for Innova Europe 2023
- Shantou University Business School (China) for Rural revitalisation programme
Best Lifelong Learning Initiative 2024, in association with Canvas by Instructure
Winner
- UCL School of Management, University College London (UK) for UCL MBA labs
Best Innovation Strategy Award 2024, in association with Kortext
Winner
- Manchester Metropolitan University Business School (UK) for Innovation in employability – a strengths approach to personal and professional development
Highly commended
- Woxsen University (India) for Financial literacy workshop for underprivileged youth
BGA Business School Impact Award 2024
Winner
- ESLSCA University (Egypt) for ESLSCA’s MBA governmental programme: transforming government public officials into change catalyst
Highly commended
- Indian Institute of Management Indore (India) for IIM Indoreʼs horticulture cell
- School of Economics and Management, Dongguan University of Technology (China) for Smart against fraud and the old friends academy
Start-Up of the Year Award 2024
Winner
- Puneet Saini, University of Canterbury Business School (New Zealand) for Script Sense
Highly commended
- Georges Acar, Warwick Business School, University of Warwick (UK) for Inquizyt
- Marita Sanchez de la Cerda, UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, University College Dublin (Ireland) for SAIZ
Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2024
Winner
- Gaetano Lapenta, POLIMI Graduate School of Management (Italy) for Fybra
Highly commended
- Alexandra Mendoza, Universidad del Norte (Colombia) for Liquitech
- Matt Stevenson-Dodd, Nottingham University Business School (UK) for Trust Impact
- Trai Sasatavadhana, Chulalongkorn Business School, Chulalongkorn University (Thailand) for Tasted Better
Postgraduate Leadership Award 2024
Winner
- Lorna Conn, UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, University College Dublin (Ireland)
Highly commended
- Alex Athanassoulas, Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow (UK)
- Ayodeji Balogun, Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University (Nigeria)
AMBA Student of the Year Award 2024
Winner
- Sonya Bachra-Byrne, University of Bradford School of Management (UK)
Highly commended
- Aditi Singh Bais, Indian Institute of Management Indore (India)
- Elizabeth Woods, Cranfield School of Management (UK)
- James Boyce, The Open University Business School (UK)
BGA Student of the Year Award 2024
Winner
- May Al-Amir, ESLSCA University (Egypt)
