University of Warwick's Proactive Support of SME Businesses

E3 Consulting has been developing a collaborative business relationship with the University of Warwick for the last few years.  We are very pleased and motivated to see the continued proactivity from across the University, including from the Warwick University Student Careers and Skills team, the Warwick Business School and other departments and faculties.

‘Meet the University’ SME Event

On Tuesday 9^th September, Nicky Oliver, Business Development Director, and Ian Barwick, Property Taxation Surveyor, attended the ‘Meet the University’ SME-focussed open day event.  Kiley Brown, Employer Connect Project Manager responsible for SME employer engagement at the University of Warwick, said,

“The ‘Meet the University’ event was developed in order to give SMEs further access to various parts of the University beyond Student Careers and Skills; it included areas like Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), Warwick Business School (WBS) the Warwick Science Park group and others. SMEs attended on the day representing sectors ranging from Engineering to Consultancy and beyond. The University supports external engagement with SMEs as a specific group and encourages involvement across all services.

We’re researching and developing our service offering to encourage more participation from SMEs. This is an area of focus for us as students are becoming more aware of SMEs as an option for employment and excellent career prospects. We want students to be able to consider SMEs, in the same way as they would any of the larger graduate recruiters that visit campus or engage with us in other ways.

It’s encouraging to see how our work is making a positive impact for both the students and the SME employers we work with. I hope relationships like this will continue to grow and be mutually beneficial”

E3 Consulting made some useful new contacts and also met with existing ones.  It is refreshing and very positive for an SME business such as E3 Consulting to see the continued activity and support from the University and to see that we are valued and, most importantly, that the University understands the positive benefits that we can offer students, graduates and the University alike.

Positive Outcome of our On-going Relationship

Ian started with E3 Consulting on the University of Warwick Graduate Internship Programme for three months in January 2014.

“I came to E3 Consulting without having any experience of working within an SME.  However, I found the dynamics of the work and the team challenging and very interesting, and especially enjoyed the variety of tasks I was able to work on.  I have been able to develop myself personally and professionally through the open and supportive learning environment at E3, and have recently started working as a Property Taxation Surveyor within the business.”

Ian is currently being sponsored to study for an RICS-accredited postgraduate MSc in Quantity Surveying at the University of Portsmouth and, at the same time, he is working towards the RICS Assessment of Professional Competence to become a Chartered Taxation Surveyor.