Working with Shanghai SME Service Centre to create innovative public sector training programme
20 December 2024
South Wales is an exciting place to be in business. Over the last few years, the region has transformed itself into a vibrant business support landscape, supporting SMEs through funding, collaboration, mentoring and education.
Alongside initiatives such as Big Ideas Wales, Cwmpas and Cardiff Capital Region, Cardiff University itself dedicates huge resources to supporting SMEs, start-ups and innovations.
This is the setting for our most recent bespoke programme, produced for Shanghai SME Service Centre with Cardiff Business School. Through this bilateral project, which drew on topics included in various MSc programmes, we immersed delegates in South Wales’ exciting business support and entrepreneurship ecosystem, sharing ideas and best practice between our two regions.
Cardiff Business School is a cutting-edge, research intensive business and management school, and is the world’s first public value business school. The School’s Executive Education provision translates academic research into relevant, operational and impactful business practices for individuals and organisations.
It is this focus on implementation – turning concepts and ideas into specific actions to improve individual and organisational performance – that distinguishes our offering.
Three Cardiff Business School academics, Director of Executive Education Dr Alison Parken, Sarah Lethbridge Pro Dean of External Engagement, and Dr Robert Bowen Senior Lecturer in International Entrepreneurship, facilitated the programme, providing continuity and context between speakers.
This programme is particularly exciting as our delegates will gain an immersive, in-depth understanding of the business landscape in South Wales, including how government, academia and enterprise intersect to support and nourish small business. It’s a wonderful opportunity for our diverse regions to compare, share practice and learn from each other.
Throughout the five-day programme, we heard from colleagues from the Cardiff Business School, alongside external partners including Federation of Small Businesses Wales and Welsh Government. We explored key aspects of SME development, from nurturing social innovation for young trailblazers, and fostering diverse entrepreneurship, to academia’s role in supporting SMEs, and the role of a physical location in encouraging innovation.
Contact us
If you would like to discuss a similar programme for your organisation, please contact our friendly team for an initial informal chat.
