Top business leaders were bowled over at Edgbaston last weekend, watching England kick off their ICC Champions Trophy 2013 campaign with a 48-run victory at an event co-hosted by Birmingham City Business School and the Birmingham Post.

Prof Chris Prince, executive director of Birmingham City Business School, explains why developing close links with business is essential:

He said: “We work with key employers in the region to negotiate placement opportunities for our undergraduate and postgraduate degree students. We also use their feedback to help us shape the curriculum and delivery of current and future degree programmes to make them as relevant and effective as possible.

“We recently launched two new workplace-based degree programmes which are unique in this region: a three-year Bachelor’s degree which is spent almost entirely within an organisation and a Master’s in Leadership and Organisational Performance which includes a six-month placement within a sponsoring firm. These programmes wouldn’t be possible without support from employers, so we are proud to be building such strong links.”

Pictures by Dale Martin

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