HR&D Awards – Meet the Partners: Newcastle University Business School

Sponsoring this year’s ‘Excellence in Leadership’ award is Newcastle University Business School. As a higher education establishment, the School is passionate about celebrating the North East and all the people who contribute to its success. Here, North East Times sits down with colleagues from Newcastle University Business School to discuss the School’s partnership with the HR&D Awards, what the award means for education, leadership and people practices. 

What motivated you to become a sponsorship partner of the 2024 HR&D Awards?

Newcastle University Business School is aligned with the ambition of the North East HR&D Awards to raise the profile of the region as a fantastic place to live and work. As a higher education establishment, we obviously want to raise the profile of the region as a fantastic place to study too.

In what ways do you support professional development and career growth opportunities for your employees?

As part of Newcastle University, we are fortunate to have substantial opportunities for professional development and career growth both for our professional services and academic employees. These range from internal training programmes, secondment opportunities, mentoring programmes and coaching opportunities, to external courses, conferences, and workshops. For us, the ways we support professional development and career opportunities for our students is hugely important too. They are going to be part of the next generation of business professionals, and we want to equip them with the skills, knowledge and opportunity to tackle global challenges.

As a sponsor, what impact do you hope to make in celebrating and promoting excellent people practices within the industry?

As a sponsor, we are delighted to be collaborating with these awards as we have a shared commitment to promoting excellent people practices. We want to make an impact by raising the profile of the wide diversity of organisations in the North East of England who are using their people practices to improve working lives. We recognise that innovation and success is driven by the rich perspectives that come from a diverse and inclusive workforce and that health and wellbeing are influenced by a positive workplace environment.

As a sponsorship partner of the Excellence in Leadership Award, why is this important in people practices and business?

Excellent leadership is vital to address regional and global challenges and we know there are many such challenges. In these turbulent times, high-quality leadership is necessary to help organisations navigate uncertainty and flourish despite adversity. We know leadership is not about the job title and can be fostered in everyone so that organisations and the communities they serve can flourish. That is why we chose this category and we are looking forward to celebrating and showcasing organisations that have identified, developed and supported high-quality, inclusive leadership.