Noon Centre for Equality and Diversity in Business

Royal Docks Business School

uel.ac.uk/noon

This centre was made possible thanks to the generosity of Lord Noon Kt, MBE.

Lord Noon Kt, MBE is a British businessman originally from India. He is the Non-Executive Chairman of Noon Products (now part of Kerry Foods) which he founded in 1989 and until September 2003 was also its Managing Director. After establishing several successful businesses in India, which he still operates, he settled in London in 1973 to set up Bombay Halwa Ltd (Royal Sweets) in Southall. The company, of which Lord Noon is Chairman and Managing Director, specialises in Indian sweets, snack foods and aviation catering. He is Chairman of The Noon Hospital and Research centre in Rajasthan, India which was sponsored by his charity, the Zeen-Zar Charitable Foundation Trust.

Lord Noon was awarded an MBE for his services to the food industry in 1994, knighted in 2002 and made a life peer with the formal title of ‘Baron Noon of St John’s Wood’ in 2011. In November 2009 he was awarded an Honorary Degree from the University of East London and has continued to give back to the University to this day. He has also received several degrees from other universities for his business achievements over the years.

Contents3 Welcome

5 Why choose us?

6 Our vision

8 Addressing workplace challenges

10 Challenges our students face

12 Support for international students

15 Added value programmes

18 Working with business

20 Employability for our students

22 Research

24 Help us give students an edge in the market

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Welcome

Dr Nora Ann Colton

Dean of the Royal Docks Business School

Nora Colton

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The University of East London’s Royal Docks Business School (RDBS) is a leader in global business education. We pride ourselves on providing an environment in which students can think beyond the boundaries of traditional disciplines, embrace a diverse and innovative learning approach and benefit from programmes that match academic excellence with industry experience. RDBS is known locally and internationally for its research and excellence in entrepreneurship, finance, diversity and business. We support a number of leading research centres in these areas. When it comes to transforming the student experience, we are consistently ranked as a leading business school in London. Our students have the opportunity to study and undertake internships abroad and we make sure that throughout their time with us, they receive the support and experience they need to become global leaders in an ever-evolving world economy. I hope you enjoy learning more about our Noon Centre for Equality and Diversity in Business and I look forward to welcoming you to the RDBS community.

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Aliya Nuur

“ I have had an incredible time at UEL. I will be eternally grateful for the amount of time and effort UEL staff have put in to making my experience here a memorable one. The Business School has provided me with support and numerous opportunities that I may not have had elsewhere. These opportunities included being mentored by a senior executive at British Telecom, spending a semester studying abroad in Canada, and being part of the Royal Docks Business School Elite Team. This has enhanced my experience immeasurably and allayed all my doubts of coming into university from an ethnic minority background.”

Aliya Nuur BA (Hons) Accounting and Finance

Why choose us?The University of East London is one of the UK’s fastest-growing universities and plays an integral role in local, regional and international development. We empower individuals, communities and businesses through diversity, partnership and excellence in teaching and research.

The Royal Docks Business School provides a vibrant, international learning environment with state-of-the-art facilities based within our purpose-built site in the heart of London’s historic Royal Docks. UEL boasts a bespoke, modern campus. Opened in 2000, it was the first new university campus built in London in over 50 years.

Our location, on the doorstep of the entrepreneurial and creative hub of east London, is within a few miles of the 2012 London Olympic site. Our students, living and learning in the heart of the area, have benefited enormously from the recent developments that the Olympics and enterprise have brought.

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The Noon Centre for Equality and Diversity in Business, supported by the Noon Foundation, is a transformational space for engaging and supporting students into industry networks, career development and self-employment. It is known for interdisciplinary research in workplace diversity. The Centre is a student-facing support platform, offering: brokerage support, such as structured business outreach; student–employee matching in the form of internships; mentoring programmes; individualisation of advisory support through, for example, hand-holding intervention at entry points in business; partnership working; and signposting and practical life-skills to extend labour market opportunities to disadvantaged groups. The Noon Centre enjoys a strong intellectual foundation based on prior work at undertaken within the Business School.

We have a robust programme of research that is guided by the philosophy of ‘engaged scholarship’ aimed at re-drawing boundaries within the thematic areas of engagement and achieving an international centre of excellence status in an area of recognised need. The Centre is positioned to apply theoretically informed approaches to the challenges that individuals from various ethnic, race and gender groups face in entering and sustaining careers in the business sector.

The overarching aim of the Centre is to help focus a sensitive dialogue with business. This is achieved by enhancing business–university collaborations and building bridges between disadvantaged groups and the competitive job-market, helping them to navigate the complex maze of labour market barriers and enhancing employability.

Our vision

Docklands Campus, opened in 2000, was the first new university campus built in London for over 50 years.

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Key objectives:

• To develop, test and promote practical support toolkits to enhance widening participation in the labour market. The Centre will also help new graduates to overcome the growing incidence of poor access to the high-end labour market with an appropriate skills-support programme.

• To create strong industry links to ensure that students, through structured contact with business, are equipped with adequate work-ready skills to enter highly competitive job markets or become sufficiently motivated (and supported) to pursue their own entrepreneurial niches as successful start-ups.

• To provide critical resource support to reduce the adverse impact of ethnicity or gender on labour market opportunities, thus bringing down the barriers to high-quality jobs often encountered by graduates from the traditionally disadvantaged groups (eg BAME).

• To generate and implement innovative programmes (eg Global Reach and Elite Student schemes now being piloted at RDBS) that hone the skills and capabilities of students to enhance effectively their chances of developing successful careers.

• To establish RDBS as a key player in the development of critical and dialogical-oriented research that contributes refreshing insights or new perspectives into issues around worklessness, workplace diversity and supporting entrepreneurship.

• To generate best-practice guides for the higher education sector on how to prepare diverse student groups, with unique support needs for successful careers in the formal labour market or self-employment.

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Data from the Labour Force Survey demonstrates that employment rates vary significantly by ethnicity and gender.

• Women in general, regardless of their ethnicity are less likely than men to be in gainful employment.

• Self-employed women across all ethnic groups are also generally under-represented.

• Africans, Bangladeshis and Pakistanis are disproportionately under-represented in terms of presence in top hierarchies of both business and public-sector organisations.

• Generally, ethnic minority women’s business start-ups are prone to early failure crises.

• Ethnic minorities are disproportionately concentrated in low-status and low-paying occupations and in marginal industries.

Set against this background, and working closely with ethnic minority students and populations, the Noon Centre aims to co-create, test and validate innovative strategies to accelerate business start-ups among the target populations, and offer intervention support to enhance the growth and sustainability of the start-ups. Operating from the premise that solutions to unemployment, promoting workplace diversity and economic opportunities will have to be sought from the paradigms that created the problems, the Noon Centre has demonstrable capacity and resources to challenge assumptions and open new sites of knowledge, as well as formulate and implement novel programmes that will have a positive impact on the lives of those with whom the Centre will be working.

Addressing workplace challenges

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Raja Teh Maimunah LLB (Hons), University of East London Already a graduate of UEL, Raja Teh received an Honorary Doctorate of Law from the University in 2011. She is the Global Head of Islamic Markets of Bursa Malaysia and has over 18 years of banking experience focusing on investment banking and Islamic finance. Her professional experience includes influential roles at a wealth of recognised organisations: • Kuwait Finance House, Malaysia – Chief Corporate Officer and Head of

International Business

• Unicorn Investment Bank of Bahrain – Director

• RHB Investment Bank (then RHB Sakura Merchant Bank) – established the Investment Banking division and CIMB Investment Bank (then Commerce International Merchant Bank)

• Pengurusan Danaharta Berhad (Malaysia’s national asset management agency tasked to restructure the banking sector following the Asian financial crisis)

• KPMG Peat Marwick Consultants. Raja Teh is also the Advisor on Islamic Finance and Banking of the World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) Foundation and a Member of the Islamic Finance Committee within the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA).

Fostering role models for our student communities

Challenges our students face

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Asian 760

Black 906

White 458

Mixed race 338

Other 122

University of East London

In 2010 the unemployment rate was higher in east London (11%) compared with London as a whole (9%)

• London’s population is growing in terms of its composition, particularly age structure and ethnicity. “By 2016, the city’s working-age population will grow by 516,000 – and of these 411,000 (80%) will be from black and minority communities” (The London Plan, 2008).

• In 2003, only 22% of working-age Pakistani and Bangladeshi women were in employment, compared with 72% for all white women in this age group.

• In line with their low employment rates, women from ethnic minorities are more likely to be economically inactive. Inactivity rates are as follows: Pakistani/Bangladeshi women have the highest inactivity rate of 74%; Asian/British Asian 51%; African 44%; black/British black 35%, other ethnic groups 53%; white 26%.

White Black Asian Mixed race

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2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

16%

18%

Graduate unemplyment rates by race 2009/10 at UEL

Graduate unemplyment rates by race 2009/10 at UEL

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UEL provides international students with excellent all-round support through our comprehensive set of programmes and services. Generous scholarships are available for international students; visit uel.ac.uk/internationalscholarships for more information.

UEL International Team The UEL International Team will look after you from the time you start the application process right through to graduation and the time you become an alumnus. The team, based at the Docklands Campus, assist students through the application process and provide a focal point for our international students once they arrive in the UK.

International Welcome Programme Voted the best in London in the 2010 International Student Barometer, the Welcome Programme is made up of social events and practical information sessions. Programme schedules include free airport pick-up from Heathrow or Gatwick airports, a tour of London, a visit to the 2012 Olympic Park, health and money advice sessions and more.

Visa advice Our team of trained international student advisors is on hand to provide information on immigration both prior to application and throughout your time at UEL. They also run regular workshops about visas and schemes available to enable you to work in the UK on completion of your studies.

English language support Our Language Centre offers specialist English courses for international students who may require extra English support before they join a Master’s programme at UEL.

Get advice before you applyUEL International staff visit many countries across the world and work with a network of advisors based across the globe to help students through the application process. Our advisors can help you select and apply for your course, assist with your visa application and much more. We also have dedicated UEL centres in China, Malaysia and India. For more information, visit uel.ac.uk/international

Support for international students

In the summer 2011 International Student Barometer we were voted best in the UK for:

• Language Support• Visa Advice• Accommodation Quality• Internet Access• Eco-friendly Attitude.

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“ I am proud to be a student at the Royal Docks Business School because it values diversity. In my time here I have seen that the School is keen to ensure opportunities are open to all. I moved to the UK from Iran at the age of 14 and I faced many cultural and social differences. However, the support I received from UEL staff and my fellow students has been excellent. Through various workshops and employability events arranged by the School I have gained confidence.

“My time in RDBS has also assisted me in developing a host of transferable skills, in particular individual and group study, organisation, time management and most importantly communication.”

Marzieh Pirposhteh

BA (Hons) Accounting and Finance

The Noon Centre is focused on supporting and developing diverse students beyond their traditional degree programme. The opportunities afforded to RDBS students through the Noon Centre funding will be experiential in nature. Experiential learning involves taking theory and knowledge and making it ‘real’ for students so that they contextualise it and also apply it.

Consequently, the Noon Centre will support a number of innovative student-focused projects in RDBS. All projects will ensure that students from all diversities are adequately prepared for the labour force by attempting to level the playing field for them in key areas such as presentation skills, networking, self-confidence, leadership, cross-culture competency, use of technology and career/workplace exposure.

An international learning experience

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Professor Sonny Nwankwo Director of the Noon Centre for Equality and Diversity in Business

Professor Sonny Nwankwo (PhD, FCIM, FHEA, FRSA) is Director of the Black Business Observatory and the founding President of the International Academy of African Business and Development. He is visiting Professor at universities across Africa, Europe and Australasia. His publications, spanning the fields of marketing, entrepreneurship and international business, have received awards and citations of excellence. He developed his research specialism in consumer studies, incorporating consumerism, corporate marketing integrity and brand values.

From exploring the dialectics of power in marketplace interactions, he extended his research to entrepreneurship (using the platform of entrepreneurship to develop sensitive dialogue with African entrepreneurs in the UK) and the broader theme of managing enterprise-led transitions and sustainable development especially in sub-Saharan Africa.

He is also external assessor and visiting professor at universities across Africa, Europe, Australasia and North America, founding President of the International Academy of African Business and Development, and former Vice-President of the Academy of World Business.

Global Scholars SchemeThe Global Scholars Scheme offers RDBS students the opportunity to be part of an exciting civic and enterprise programme, aimed at developing our global society. The scheme provides cross-cultural experiences that enable students to develop enterprising projects that are sustainable and make a genuine difference to the lives of others. Students increase their service and leadership skills, mentor other UEL students and attend special seminars and global service projects. This programme was piloted this year with two groups of students who worked on public-health projects in Kenya and India.

Elite Students TeamThe Elite Students Team was also piloted this year. It is a select group of students who have to have excellent marks, be recommended by tutor and succeed in an interview process. These students are then given the opportunity to participate in intense personal and professional training and development. They are the outward face of RDBS. They are invited to attend all School functions, alumni events and other special events in which the School is involved. When speakers come to campus, they are given time to interact directly with such visitors as well as attend receptions and dinners held in honour of various guests. The idea of the programme is to teach them networking and presentation skills that are key to successful business careers through practical, confidence-building experiences.

Study AbroadUEL has a long history of working collaboratively with partners all over the world, creating value-added opportunities for students. By working with our partner institutions, we offer our students the opportunity to attend summer schools, study abroad and exchange opportunities. Many RDBS students need assistance to afford the expenses associated with such programmes so the University has created some limited bursaries for which students can apply to assist them with such experiences.

NetworkingDeveloping industry contacts while the student is learning allows them to improve their employment options at the end of their programme.

We offer networking opportunities, both on and off campus, through our large and diverse student body, specialist events and relationships with external partners.

Added value programmes supported by the Noon Centre

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Speaker and Coaching SeriesRDBS has event programmes that include series by alumni, specialists, staff and professional organisations. We see a great need by our students to get the interaction with the business world that many have not had at home given their disadvantaged backgrounds.

Access and Use of TechnologyIn the 21st century, it is easy to take for granted that all students have access to computers and other communication technology. One of the challenges we face at UEL is to support our students who do not have access to computers, tablets, etc. We are often constrained in how we teach due to the fact that many of our students do not have access to technology outside of the University. We need to try and increase the use and understanding of technology by providing our students with more access, especially to items like tablets (for example, iPads) that are considered essentials in the workplace today. We also have two Bloomberg machines, but we need more so that all our students get training on such machines to ensure they are comfortable with them and are able to process data using the latest equipment and software.

RDBS Employability ProgrammeEmployability and helping our students meet their potential and aspirations is at the heart of everything we do. We support internships, one-on-one career sessions, employability workshops, leadership awards and work-based learning.

Global Scholars SchemeThe Global Scholars Scheme offers RDBS students the opportunity to be part of an exciting civic and enterprise programme, aimed at developing our global society. The scheme provides cross-cultural experiences that enable students to develop enterprising projects that are sustainable and make a genuine difference to the lives of others. Students increase their service and leadership skills, mentor other UEL students and attend special seminars and engage in global service projects. This programme was piloted in 2011/2012 with two groups of students who worked on public health projects in Kenya and India.

Find out more uel.ac.uk/goingglobal

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As a School we are engaged in more than learning and teaching. For us, business incorporates a myriad of enterprises, from the established multinationals within neighbouring Canary Wharf and the fledgling east London start-ups, to public sector and voluntary organisations. We recognise the vital input that universities can provide to the knowledge economy and offer a range of services and professional programmes covering consultancy, research, knowledge exchange and expertise.

Services we offer: • Executive Education

Our Executive Education programmes offer businesses the opportunity to work in partnership with experts within RDBS to meet their continuing professional development needs. We tailor programmes to suit individual or group requirements and our flexible approach to design and delivery enables study at RDBS or overseas. This flexibility is enhanced by our close links with other UEL Schools and our global academic partners.

• RDBS consultancy

The School offers knowledge management and consultancy services to large and small businesses at all levels of their development, through a dedicated group of business professionals/academics. RDBS has an excellent track record of undertaking bespoke business research projects and of successfully sourcing and delivering European grants to fund this work.

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Working with business

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• Centre for Innovation Management and Enterprise The Centre for Innovation Management and Enterprise is a research base for sustaining globally recognised thought leadership. It is also a leadership and enterprise training centre, committed to making a decisive impact in terms of teaching, research, and practice-driven service, developing enterprising individuals both for corporations, partnerships, family and wholly owned companies.

• Business Advisory Board

The Royal Docks Business School’s Business Advisory Board is composed of business and management professionals drawn from the commercial, public and third sectors. Its members are selected for their interest in higher education, their knowledge of the business environment, and their willingness to devote time towards assisting the Royal Docks Business School. The Board provides a business perspective on the effectiveness of our strategy, vision and future activities.

• The Islamic Banking and Finance Centre

The Islamic Banking and Finance Centre acts as an authoritative body for consultation and research within the areas of education, training, professional development, industry practice and public interest concerning Islamic finance, banking and insurance. The Centre provides Islamic banking solutions to financial institutions across the world. It brings together stakeholders from within and outside the University to pursue their interests in Islamic banking and finance through events, programmes and publications organised by the School.

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It is important that RDBS students take the initiative to attract the interest of employers. The best chance of employment will usually be in areas where students can offer not only their new qualification but also previous experience and proven skills.

We offer:

• Internships

Each year we help students find post-programme internships.

• One-on-one careers sessions Our careers advisor provides professional advice on selecting possible roles and the application

and assessment process.

• Employability workshops Customised workshops are run for students and focus on job-search strategy, improving CVs, maximising employability and self-marketing.

• Getting Down to Business Week

Each year a Getting Down to Business Week is run for our students and includes bespoke sessions.

• Employer networking events

These enable students to connect with employers and find out what opportunities are available.

Employability for our students

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• Interview skills sessions

Simulated sessions provide feedback from employers and members of the Employability Team on developing strong interview skills.

• RDBS Leadership Award

Students have the chance to take part in this highly innovative programme to create a portfolio showcasing development and progression. Those who are successful gain a Certificate in Leadership to show to potential employers to enhance career opportunities.

• Work-based learning

Students have the opportunity to participate in a work-based module and earn credits towards their degree.

• Ongoing support

Students can continue to benefit from the Employability Centre even after completing the programme.

We also help and encourage our students who are seeking to develop a business idea via the Petchey Centre.

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The Noon Centre for Equality and Diversity in Business, along with RDBS, seeks to promote a thriving research environment, focusing areas of recognised need and relevance to the strategic contexts of the University of East London. Typically, our research approach is applied and collaborative in nature. Distinctively original, and often with cross-disciplinary teams, our research has an overarching aim to identify and implement solutions to a range of challenges.

RDBS has a number of internationally recognised scholars within the thematic areas in which it is engaged. The Noon Centre makes a significant contribution to research on the interconnections between equality, diversity and business, using minority groups as a prism.

It is hoped that the Centre will attract visiting researchers, corporate partners and external funding to support the development and extend understanding of best practices in achieving workplace diversity. RDBS in the past has had considerable experience and reputation in this broad area of work. For example, the School led a consortium under the auspices of the Black Business Observatory (BBO) to deliver funded research on the dynamics of entrepreneurship among African and Caribbean groups across southeast England. The BBO contributed to generating evidence-based understandings to bridge the gap between academic, policy and practice environments.

Research

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Students who participate in Noon Centre-funded programmes will be tracked into the labour force. This will enable the Centre to monitor their progress and gather informed data as to what programmes and projects work best in terms of enhancing not only the student experience, but also in leading to successful careers.

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Ideally, access-to-work interventions should tackle workplace inequalities and social exclusion. Many such programmes have now become a strategic priority area of engagement in many universities employability.

Paradoxically, questions are now being asked about how quickly mutating, university-based employability units are really fit for purpose, especially when many of the units and their employment programmes are seen to be more oriented towards the politics of university league tables than student-focused, long-term workplace engagement mechanisms. The Noon Centre strikes a different chord from the norm in terms of its philosophical positioning, systems and processes linking students with business and the world of work.

Help us give students an edge in the market

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We acknowledge that individuals may face multiple access-to-work barriers and the overlapping difficulties could mean that assisting individuals into employment may not be addressed easily by single, linear intervention programmes. The approach envisaged at the Noon Centre is different, integrating both demand- and supply-side measures such as sector-specific training to match individuals to specific jobs as well as strategies designed to influence recruitment practices of employers.

By integrating both demand- and supply-side issues, the broad intervention ethos is not simply to consider the quantity of jobs accessed but also the quality of employment. It is our aspiration that the Noon Centre for Diversity, Equality and Business will be pressing boundaries in student work-support provisions, assisting students in making informed career choices and, through its transformational outreach programmes, generating best practice guides which other institutions may find useful or emulate.

Royal Docks Business School

University of East LondonDocklands CampusUniversity WayLondon E16 2RD

Tel: +44 (0)20 8223 3333uel.ac.uk/noon

© University of East London November 2012

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