One World Week, which celebrates the diverse and multicultural community enjoyed across Brunel University, returned this year bigger, better and bolder than ever and the Business School won joint fi rst prize in the annual One World Week departmental competition.

Staff departments across the university competed against each other for the ‘Colours of the World’ competition with many dressing up in national costumes and displaying world maps and fl ags.

The theme chosen by the Business School’s administrative staff was the ‘World Cup’ with the School staging a penalty shoot out competition involving Business School staff and students. Staff spent the day dressed in the football kit of their country of choice. A range of food and drink from the nations of world cup winners was on offer for the competition judges and students to enjoy. Join us next year and you could take part in this event.

Brunel Business School

UNDERGRADUATENEWS 2010

Business School wins Brunel’s One World Week Competition

After the great success of last year, the Business School hosted its second BEST (Brunel Enterprising Student Talent) event on 12th February. Designed specifi cally to enhance the networking skills of our fi nal year students, the whole aim of BEST is to help our students to land that all important fi rst job.

The BEST event was a joint collaboration involving Brunel’s Entrepreneurial Society, Elevation Networks, Business School staff and Brunel’s Placement and Careers Centre. It attracted over one hundred undergraduate students and a large number of employer organisations with an impressive line-up of motivational speakers who presented on a variety of business topics.

BEST event helps students hone their networking skills

BEST event .................................... pg1One World Week .......................... pg1Welcome ....................................... pg2In the Spotlight ............................ pg2

Where are they now .................... pg3News in Brief ................................ pg4Important dates ............................ pg4Contact info .................................. pg4

CONTENTS

Dr. Tony Tollington, Reader in Accounting

Years at BBS: 4

Courses taught: MG2112 (Fin Acc), MG2529 (Mgt Acc), MG2530 (Mgt Acc), MG3117 (Disso)

Research Interests: Intangible assets, IASB Conceptual

Framework developments, Accounting for Sustainability

Advice for students: As John Cleese once said“Accounting is for desperately dull people”

Favourite Business Book: “The Goal” by EM Goldratt

Favourite Business Newspaper: I don’t read them. My brain is already in permanent overload!

Favourite Movie: Lord of the Rings

Favourite Music: Eclectic taste ranging Eminem to Pavarotti

Hobbies/Interests: Karaoke DJ

Dr. Manto Gotsi, Lecturer in Marketing

Years at BBS: 4

Courses taught: MG2119, MG3123, MG5550

Research Interests: Corporate branding, Identity, Rebranding

Advice for students: It is the mark of an educated mind to

be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. Aristotle

Favourite Business Book: Taking the fear out of data analysis by Diamantopoulos, A. and Schlegelmilch, B. B. I never thought that a book about statistics could make me laugh so much!

Favourite Business Magazine: FT (particularly the ‘How to spend it’ section, although my friends and family keep reminding me that I should be first reading columns on ‘How to make it’!)

Favourite Movies: Usual Suspects, The Game, but also ‘feel good’ movies like Notting Hill

Favourite Music: Jazz – Diana Krall is a favourite

Hobbies/Interests: Travel, Food, Interior Design

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Brunel University is a research-intensive university, so academic staff conduct research that is published in top academic journals in their fields. They do much more than teaching and research; some lead whole programmes or pathways, some run research centres within the Business School. Get to know our academic staff!

Brunel Business School’s undergraduate degree programmes in business and management provide you with employable knowledge

Now that you are nearing the end of your time at school or college, you are likely to be feeling very excited at the prospect of going on to university as well as perhaps a little nervous about making the right decision. Clearly, this is something you do need to think about very carefully. Naturally, we hope you will put Brunel as your Firm choice and there are many excellent reasons to do so.

Excellent teaching; world class research expertise

Within the Business School, we are proud of our record for both research and teaching. In recent years Business School academics have won several awards for teaching and the most recent Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) placed Brunel Business School 22nd out of the UK’s 90 Business Schools. This highlights the importance of the research carried out by our academics and has meant that the School has received an increase in its research funding. Most people agree that degree level teaching should be informed by the very latest research fi ndings so this is where a School with a good reputation for research can make all the difference.

Great employment prospects

Sadly, there is little doubt that once you fi nish your degree you are likely to face competition to secure a graduate level job. It’s therefore important you do everything you can to make yourself stand out from the crowd. And a degree from Brunel can defi nitely help. Most of our programmes offer the chance to do a year’s work placement as part of the degree. The work placement scheme provides the perfect opportunity to acquire valuable experience, put theory into practice and earn a salary. Most placements at Brunel will also enable you to put a big-name employer on your CV.

Always something going on

Even if you have attended an Open Day here, we recognise that it must be diffi cult for you to have a defi nite idea of what it must be like to be a student here, so hopefully this newsletter, which includes a round-up of recent news involving our students, will help give you a fl avour of what goes on within the Business School. But if you do have any questions then please do not hesitate to get in touch with us – you’ll fi nd our contact details on the back page.

Finally, I should like to wish you good luck with your exams and I look forward to welcoming you to the Business School in September.

Zahir IraniHead of Brunel Business School

“Bend it Like Beckham” role for Brunel Business School graduateArchie Panjabi, who graduated in 1995 in one of our fi rst

cohort of Management students, is now an acclaimed

British actress. Archie co-stars with Emmy-winner Julianna

Margulies in the new drama “The Good Wife.” Archie

has also starred in “Bend It Like Beckham,” “East Is East,”

“A Mighty Heart,” “Traitor,” and “The Constant Gardner.”Archie, who was born in England, but spent part of her childhood in Mumbai, considers herself “part Bombayite, part British.” She graduated in 1995 with a degree in

Management Studies.

Business and Management

(Accounting) graduate now

runs his own business

Ayo who graduated in 2009 with a degree

in Business and Management (Accounting)

is now running his own business.

Whilst in his second year, aged only 19,

Ayo created a lifestyle brand called Elegance.

10,000 copies of the fi rst project, the Elegance

hair and beauty catalogue, were distributed

throughout the country via over 30 sales reps.

The current project provides integrated promotional packages,

focussing on using short videos to promote salons, barbers

and spas across the UK. This project led to Ayo winning fi rst

prize in Brunel University’s Dragons Den competition for 2009,

as well as being named Entrepreneur of the Year by the Brunel

Entrepreneurs Society and Brunel Business School.

Ayo commented “Brunel University kick-started my life.

It was not only an educational exercise but also provided life

experience that acted, and will act, as a solid foundation for

my past, current and future achievements.”

my past, current and future achievements.”

Management graduate turns

model, actress and presenter

Since graduating in 2003 with a degree in Management

and Law, Oreke has successfully completed feature fi lms,

been crowned Miss Hawaiian

Tropics, starred in music videos

and graced international catwalks.

Oreke’s career nearly took a

different path as after completing

her degree she had a job lined

up in business development but

decided to take a year off after

university ‘to see the world.’

However, Oreke only got as far

as her native North-London as

she was approached by publicity

guru Cailla Storey to take up

acting full-time.

Oreke is one of Britain’s most up and coming black

actresses and has starred in several BBC, ITV and

Channel 4 productions. Oreke can be seen at the end

of the year in British comedy ‘rabbit fever’ which has

been voted best British comedy of the year by

Toby Young (Tatler.)

Oreke also gives private modelling classes to aspiring

models – girls who are interested should e-mail

oreke@oreke.com for further information.

She graduated in 1995 with a degree in Management Studies.

Business and Management graduate fl ying high in energy consultingJade Touzni, who graduated in 2007 with a fi rst class honours degree in Business and Management, is currently working for a Finnish company, Pöyry Energy Consulting. Prior to this, Jade spent two years working for ABN AMRO Bank in their Emerging Markets Mergers & Acquisitions division and specialised in oil and gas transaction analysis. Since moving to Pöyry, Jade has been working with high profi le energy companies and private equity fi rms advising them on their investments in the energy sector as well as providing markets advice.Jade says of his time at university, “Brunel provided a unique opportunity for an industrial placement which I spent with the Audit Commission enabling me to cement my number crunching skills before realising it was banking that most excited me. Brunel prepared me for the ‘real world’ particularly during the placement year. I feel that without this experience I wouldn’t have grown as quickly as an individual – ideally placing myself ahead of other graduates of my year and allowing me to enter Investment Banking.

Have you wondered where you’ll

be in three or four years’ time once

you’ve got your degree? Some of

our graduates have gone on to be

successful business owners or worked

in senior positions within major

corporations whilst others have become

budding actresses and models!

WHICH ROUTE WILL YOU TAKE?

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Work starts on the Business School’s prestigious future home

If you have visited Brunel’s campus recently, you may have noticed blue boards up around

an area of ground just as you enter the campus. This is in preparation for the next

stage of what is known at Brunel as the Eastern Gateway Project—the £30m

construction project that will ultimately result in a prestigious new home for

the Business School.

It is expected that students joining in September 2010 will start to enjoy the benefits of the building towards the end of

their second year.

On their way to their fi rst million?

Budding entrepreneurs amongst Business School students get the chance to assess their potential if they opt for the module on entrepreneurship and small business ventures offered at Level 3. At the end of the module, which considers the theory relating to development of small businesses, students are required to present their idea for a new business.

Every year, students come up with a range of innovative suggestions: this year’s business ideas included an ecofriendly cleaning and gardening service, a kung fu academy, a design-it-yourself T-shirt facility, welcome hampers to be offered through estate agents and an online poker league.

Accounting pathway

graduate wins in national job shop

competition

Adam Sumar, who graduated in the summer

from the Accounting pathway won the national SEOTY Awards

organised by the National Association of Student Employment Services (NASES). Adam, who worked as

a student ambassador, led campus tours for prospective students and gave

presentations at School Open Days. Brunel’s Job Shop always has details of a range of

part-time vacancies specifi cally geared to the commitments of students.

IMPORTANT DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

UCAS deadline ................................................. 5th May 2010

A2 results released ....................................19th August 2010

Fresher’s week ...........................20th-24th September 2010

Autumn Term ...........27th September – 17th December 2010

Spring Term ......................10th January 2011 – 1st April 2011

Exams .................................... 3rd May 2011 – 20th May 2011

NEED TO CONTACT US?

Don’t forget that we are here to help. So if you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact us:

Tel: 01895 265278 / 267124

E-Mail: joinbbs@brunel.ac.uk

Web: www.brunel.ac.uk

From all at the Business School, have a great summer and see you in September!

Business School sees research grant income rise

signifi cantly

Between 2001 and 2007, the Business School earned approximately £1m in research grants. The total for the past year alone looks set to equal, and

possibly exceed, this fi gure.

Brunel Business School students to support Maryland Cookies’ digital marketing efforts

Students on the Marketing pathway of the Brunel’s Business and Management undergraduate degree course have been given the chance to support flagship international brand, Maryland Cookies, in its efforts to raise its profile using the top social media site, Youtube.

Brunel Business School Marketing Lecturer, Dr Tamira King, commented “The competition offers students the chance to flex their creative muscles and to get involved in a real-world marketing initiative on behalf of a blue chip FMCG company. I feel sure it will help them contextualise their study of digital marketing.”

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NEWS IN

BRIEF

Placement team win national ‘Best Placement Service’ title

Brunel University’s Placement Service has won the prestigious ‘Best Placement Service’ accolade at the 2010 National Placement

and Internship Awards, run by RateMyPlacement.co.uk.

Our students and their employers nominated the Placement team as they were impressed with the high

quality of their service and dedication to helping students find the perfect placement.