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MMU honoured for global top 30 education innovation

MANCHESTER Metropolitan Business School has been honoured for its world-leading business education innovation through the provision of a commercial training programme with Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

The programme has been recognised as one of the 30 best in the world by the global accrediting body and membership association for business schools, AACSB International. The award was announced at AACSB International’s 2016 Deans Conference in Florida, USA.

Celebrated as part of AACSB’s centennial anniversary and upcoming Visioning Initiative, the inaugural Innovations That Inspire shines a spotlight on a variety of ways that AACSB member business schools, around the globe, are working to innovate and diversify the business education environment.

Manchester Met Business School was recognised for its submission ‘The Way We Connect: Outreach and Engagement’ for its commercial training programme with HMRC, which detailed how the business school, in partnership with HMRC, has devised two qualifications: one for their graduate entry scheme for tax professionals and a second for senior policy staff.

Professor Julia Clarke, Dean of Manchester Met’s Faculty of Business and Law, said: “I am extremely proud of the team who have developed and nurtured this innovative programme. Delivering professional workforce development in the areas of business and finance is one of the pillars for which the Business School is widely known, and I am delighted that these tremendous efforts in employer engagement have been recognised by AACSB on the global stage as impacting on the wider UK society. We look forward to working with HMRC and with our other corporate partners for many years to come.”

Thomas R. Robinson, president and chief executive officer of AACSB International, added: “It is my pleasure to recognise Manchester Met Business School for its role in spearheading ingenuity within the business education landscape.

“As AACSB celebrates 100 years of improving quality management education worldwide, it is important for those within and outside of the industry to be reminded of the vision, leadership, and innovative thinking business schools bring to the table. Through our Innovations That Inspire recognition, Manchester Met Business School stands as a testament to how business schools are driving positive impact within their communities and society at large, through their ground-breaking practices and continuous focus on excellence.”

The honours degree programme was based on an existing set of examinations at HMRC and the business school helped HMRC design and implement two work-based learning modules that reflect on how leadership and behavioural competences have been developed in applying the tax knowledge on live cases.

HMRC has progressively integrated these modules with their six monthly internal appraisal system. The first cohort graduated in 2014 with 87 students and the intake has risen to 200 per year.

HMRC is currently working closely with Manchester Metropolitan University for advice and support in further restructuring their degree-level tax professional training including supporting different approaches to learning and assessment.

The assessment on the Masters programme is business driven and related to the role undertaken by individuals. The impact of the Masters programme participants on development of UK tax policy has already been identified, with HMRC commissioning a second intake to the programme.

The HMRC programmes are part of a suite of employer-based training contracts run by the Faculty of Business and Law including McDonald’s, Tesco, Asda George, Bank of New York Mellon and JD Sports Fashion.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Manchester Metropolitan University Centre for Enterprise .