Prof Sankar Sivarajah, Head of the School of Management, said: “This is great news for the School and our University. Even to be shortlisted is a significant achievement, given the level of competition for this award. The last year has been particularly challenging, for students, graduates, staff and businesses. At the School of Management, we stepped up to and met the challenges created by the pandemic, offering extra support to our students, launching new courses and extending help to local businesses. We are pleased and proud our hard work has resulted in this shortlisting and everyone in the School should feel proud. We would also like to congratulate all those nominated at the awards and we look forward to celebrating the fantastic achievements by all in these difficult times.”

Prof. Vishanth Weerakkody, Chair of Bradford Business and Social Enterprise Board, said: “The School of Management is a shining example both at the University and in the region. It has won numerous prestigious awards. It is very much part of the community, having excellent links to businesses, regionally, nationally and globally. This shortlisting reflects its pioneering spirit and its vision to change people’s lives for the better.”

Vice-Chancellor Prof. Shirley Congdon added: “Staff in our Business School exemplify the University of Bradford’s caring approach and commitment to social inclusion. They look for innovative ways to attract students from all backgrounds and then support them in reaching their potential. The result is graduates who are fully-prepared for meaningful careers, whether that’s with regional employers, international brands or their own business start-up. Being shortlisted for this award is an achievement in itself and deserved recognition for everyone involved.”

Winners will be revealed at an in-person ceremony in London on 25 November 2021.

Street Angels is a project that provides care and practical help to people who are out enjoying the city’s nightlife. Lorraine Betts, co-chair of Bradford Street Angels, said: “Street Angels is a voluntary organisation that relied on funding grants and donations to rent a ‘base’ for volunteers whilst working. We’re delighted to be able to alleviate this pressure and are so grateful to The Broadway for its kind offer. We have a wonderful team of volunteers that work very hard from early evening right through until the early hours of the morning. It is fantastic that we are able to have a warm and safe base at The Broadway to store our personal items and to provide space for rest between patrols.” The Street Angels patrol in teams of three or four and provide a listening ear to those who need to talk or provide support to the more vulnerable people they come across.

Ian Ward, general manager at The Broadway, said: “We firmly believe that The Broadway is at the heart of the local community. When we heard about the space required by the Street Angel volunteers to rest and recuperate whilst conducting their voluntary work, The Broadway management team came together to decide how we could help.  The Centre has ample space, particularly during the hours retailers are closed.  We have a private space that is relaxing and spacious, plus safe and protected.  We decided this was the ideal location for the Street Angel team particularly with its easy access to the streets of Bradford where the night economy is located.  The work the Street Angels team conduct is truly admirable and we’re delighted to provide the space free of charge to the organisation.” 

Bradford Street Angels are part of a wider national network of Street Angels. The first team started in Halifax in 2005 and there are now more than 100 across the UK. There are currently 20 volunteers on the Bradford Street Angels active list, but the team is actively searching for more so that patrols can take place on a Saturday evening as well as a Friday. Many of the volunteers come from local churches, though as long as the ethos is respected, volunteers may come from any faith or non-faith background.

For anyone wanting to get involved in Bradford Street Angels or to find out more information, contact the group through Facebook @BradfordStreetAngels

Research carried out by Care Specialists New Care Homes has revealed the Best Museum Days Out to head out and explore this summer. The Bradford museum scored 77.5 points out of 100 in the study, the same amount as the World of Beatrix Potter in Cumbria and the National Space Centre in Leicester. The British Museum tops list of best museums to explore this summer. The Imperial War Museum in Manchester is second, while The Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds is third.

The team compiled information on some of the UK’s most popular museums, and scored them out of a possible 100 to find out which could offer the best days out for older people across the UK. In instances where venues received a similar score, they were then ranked on value for money. Key criteria that was scored included cost of admission for kids and adults, cost of parking, the number of onsite cafes and/or restaurants and average time it takes to tour the entire venue.

Rated as the top water company in England, Yorkshire Water also came fifth in the list of all UK utilities and scored particularly well in the ‘experience’, ‘customer ethos’, ‘emotional connection’ and ‘ethics’ categories. Yorkshire Water’s score improved by 4.2 points since July 2020.

Business engagement officer Nikki Chadburn said: “Brews With The BID are exclusive networking meetings which will occur around four times a year. There are more than 600 BID member business and organisations – all the key players in the city centre – and these meetings are a great opportunity for any or all of them to come together, share good practice and hear news and updates from Bradford BID. Our aim is to create strong partnership working between all our member businesses and members and to help them feel part of a special club all working together in the city’s interests, with access to exclusive benefits, updates and, importantly, a voice. The BID belongs to the members who pay into it via the annual levy and it’s vital that their priorities, suggestions and concerns regarding the aspects of the city and it’s day-to-day life that the BID can deliver on are heard and incorporated into our plans.”

The first of the Brews With The BID events will take place next week, on Wednesday, July 21, and will start from 8.30am. There will be an overview presentation from Bradford BID, including updates about city centre plans, as well two guest speakers from LoyalFree, who operate the BID’s smartphone app for trails and offers, and from the Darley Street Market development. Each meeting will have a particular topic or theme with a variety of guest speakers.

Bradford BID manager Jonny Noble said: “We’re really pleased to be able to start holding events like this again after the restrictions brought about by the pandemic. Creating opportunities for networking is an extremely important part of the BID’s role, bringing people together to talk about the challenges the city centre is facing and listening to their ideas about how we should be tackling them and what our priorities should be is vital. The last 18 months have been tough for all businesses and it’s great to be able to meet up with some of those people who make Bradford such a great place in which to live, work, shop and spend your leisure time. But it’s also a brilliant chance for business in every sector to talk to each other about how they have been coping and to share their experiences, their hopes and their plans as we work to get Bradford fully back to normal and moving ahead.”

To register to attend the first Brews event, businesses need to fill in the form on the BID website at bradfordbid.co.uk.

Helen Milner OBE, Chief Executive of Good Things Foundation, added: “We’re delighted to be working with Yorkshire Building Society on this pilot partnership, providing people in Bradford from ethnic minority backgrounds digital skills training – in turn driving the recovery and ensuring that everyone is healthier, happier, and better off.”

The University of Bradford topped the table of universities that produce the most CEOs and MDs in Yorkshire, with 10.5% of alumni going on to hold one of these positions. It finished 13th on the overall list. Bradford finished well ahead of neighbours University of Leeds, which produces the second highest number of CEOs (8.96%), while University of Hull is the third highest with 8.58% of alumni going on to become a CEO or MD. Leeds Trinity University was revealed as the university producing the least number of CEOs and MDs, with just 5.6% of alumni going on to hold these positions.

The research also examined the universities that produce the highest number of small business founders, with the University of Leeds (7.91%) just beating York St John University (7.84 per cent) to the top spot. The University of Bradford finished third in this list for the percentage of alumni that found their own firms, with 7.83%.

The university’s School of Management is world renowned – it was the first business school to be jointly accredited by AMBA and BGA in England and in February this year, its MBA was ranked No.1 in the world for value for money by the Financial Times. Professor Sankar Sivarajah, head of the university’s School of Management, said: “The management school has always been driven by the need for developing business ideas and really targeted at developing people who had the skills to be able to move into industry and business and giving back to business world. “Our FT-recognised MBA is world renowned and one of the reasons why people join it is that once they complete the course, they see a career progression into these high-ranking roles.”

Andy Dodd, Hitachi Capital Invoice Finance managing director, said: “Our research proves that you don’t necessarily need to go to the top universities (according to the guides) to ensure you enjoy a highly successful business career. Many of the top universities for producing CEOs and business founders are among the lower ranked university guide schools, which should provide food for thought for many beginning the long process of applying for university. Hopefully some of our research helps to inspire the next generation of small business owners.”

Bradford BID chairman Ian Ward said: “The development of Bradford city centre is at a pivotal time. We are on the cusp of some major developments, such as the opening of the NEC Bradford Live Arena in late 2022, that have the potential to significantly increase footfall. In 2019 the accounting firm PWC and think tank Demos indicated that Bradford is the most improved place in the UK to live and work, with jobs and work-life balance highlighted in a report. We believe that now is the time to start building on this further by developing and supporting our night-time offer to ensure that we have excellent operational procedures and partnership working in place to support the additional footfall and high-quality offer that is in the planning stages.”

BID manager Jonny Noble said they were looking forward to working with Elizabeth to create a better city centre. “The BID is committed to supporting businesses open between 6pm and 6am to operate to the highest standards by sharing best practice, training and intelligence. Through partnership working we aim to create a welcoming clean and safe environment, that has a vibrant and rich mixture of entertainment and leisure options at night, that are easy and safe to access and leave. It’s all about delivering a successful evening and night-time economy in Bradford city centre and to ensure that the city centre economy is thriving and open for business into the evening and night-time.”

Ms Murphy is a Fellow of the Institute of Place Management, an expert and mentor on the Government’s High Streets Task Force and has a Master’s degree in place management.  She worked as the city centre retail and night-time economy lead officer for Wakefield Council and in management roles at Wakefield and Harrogate BIDS.

Ms Murphy said of her new role: “It’s an adventure just to be here – Bradford has so many possibilities. I’m really looking forward to going and meeting the businesses that are open after 6pm and being there solely for them – and that just doesn’t mean just pubs, bars and clubs; it’s a wide-ranging and diverse sector out there and I’d like to bring them together as a business community to work in partnership to really put Bradford on the map as the place to come and visit on an evening.” She said she was very keen to hear what these businesses had to say about the way forward. I’m here for the evening economy and I’ll be listening to their concerns and their ideas and helping to light that fire that illuminates how exciting the potential here is,” said Elizabeth. “It is a really wondrous place – there are some fantastic venues out there and we need to bang that drum and support these businesses and build on the ideas that come from that sector. It’s been a heck of a year for hospitality – and for anybody really with a city centre business – but I think we’re on the cusp of something brand new and Bradford has seen it’s there for the taking and it’s going to be a leader, rather than a follower, and people will be following what Bradford’s doing. It’s a great night out here already and it’s just going to get better!”