Every year, the Lancaster University Management School goes from strength to strength. SCAN looks back at the 2014-15 acadmic year at the highlights of LUMS and affiliated societies.
Minister of Finance of Poland visits Lancaster
Lancaster University’s Institute for the Contemporary Arts (LICA) was the venue for several key Polish dignitaries in week 6 of the Lent term. Among them were Poland’s Ambassador to the UK, Witold Sobków, and the current Minister for Finance in the Polish Government, Mateusz Szczurek. Dr Szczurek gave a keynote speech at the Congress regarding current concerns over the Euro, in particular the rise of British Euro-scepticism and the possibility of the UK leaving the EU.
LUIFS hosts Mark Branson
This year, the Investment and Finance Society hosted Mark Branson, CEO of FINMA, the Swedish government’s financial regulatory body. Branson studied Mathematics and Management Studies at Trinity College, Cambridge, before completing a Masters in Operational Research at LUMS. Branson opened the LUIFS City Careers Weekend conference. Over the weekend, the speakers included employees of firms such as Deutsche Bank, Bank of America Merril Lynch, J.P. Morgan and others.
LUMS placed first in the world by the FT
Earlier this year, the outstanding achievements of Lancaster University’s MBA programme was noted and awarded by the Financial Times’ World MBA Ranking. Lancaster has been placed first in the world for the teaching of corporate strategy, and has also been placed extremely high within several other aspects of the FT’s rankings. The University’s MBA scheme claimed the top spot in Europe and second globally in terms of its ‘aims achieved’; first and second place in the UK, for both the teaching of corporate and social responsibility and for international business respectively, and both subjects claimed 7th position globally in their particular fields.
Global Entrepreneurship Week
In Michaelmas term, Global Entrepreneurship Work took place across the world. Coordinated by the Enterprise Centre, Lancaster saw a week full of business and entrepreneurship events to introduce students to enterprise and allow access to opportunities. During the week, Matt Smith, the Director of the Centre for Entrepreneurs and advisor to the All Parliamentary Group on Entrepreneurship came to Lancaster.
Paul Taylor returns to Lancaster
Paul Taylor, the CEO of Fitch Ratings, returned to Lancaster at the end of Lent to talk to students and staff. Fitch Ratings is one of the Big Three credit rating agencies. Taylor studied Management and Marketing at LUMS from 1980-3, a proud alumni of County College. At the end of 2014, Hearst Corporation purchased at $1.965 billion an additional 30 percent interest in Fitch Group.
StartUp Weekend
From Friday Week 7 to Sunday Week 8 in Michaelmas term, the Lancaster University StartUp Weekend took place in the Management School. These events take place all over the world, but this was the first time that it came to Lancaster. The weekend challenges students to start a business, get real experience and see what may be achieved when people work together well.
LUMS appoints new dean
Professor Angus Laing, formely of the University of Glasgow and Loughborough University, was appointed Dean of Lancaster University Management School in May.
“I am very excited to join LUMS at this juncture in its development. LUMS is firmly established as one of Britain’s top business schools, and I look forward to working with colleagues at Lancaster to position the School as a leading international business school at the forefront of management research and education which shapes business and the wider economy in Britain and beyond.”
