Pulse Issue 1

PULSE News and opinion from Liverpool Hope Business School June 2017 | Issue 1

From classroom to boardroom...

IN PARTNERSHIP

AWARD WINNERS

EXPERT COMMENT

Liverpool Hope’s unique research partnership with Everton F.C.

Student entrepreneurs scoop Young Enterprise award.

Dr Clay Gransden explores social gaming and consumer behaviour.

News and opinion from Liverpool Hope Business School June 2017 | Issue 1

WELCOME TO PULSE I’d like to welcome you to the first issue of Pulse, the new magazine from Liverpool Hope Business School. In each edition, we will explore the latest news about our students and academics, and highlight successes from within the School.

In this issue, we hear from Lecturer in Marketing Dr Clay Gransden on the revolutionary impact of social gaming app Pokémon Go and meet Senior Professional Tutor in Accountancy and Finance Brian Ricketts.

Two exciting new partnerships will bring academics from the School together with some of the UK’s best business minds from Everton Football Club

and The Leaders Club. As well as research opportunities and the collaboration of expertise, the partnerships will provide mentoring and real-world business experience for our students.

The Insight to Business Awards and Young Enterprise Regional Finals, have seen our students recognised for their hard work and entrepreneurial skills, while networking advice and on-thejob training have helped forge valuable career-enhancing skillsets.

Professor Ian Vandewalle Head of the Business School and Pro Vice-Chancellor (Operations)

I hope you enjoy reading about Liverpool Hope Business School.

If you’d like to explore ways of working with us, please contact businessschool@hope.ac.uk.

IN THIS ISSUE 3

4

6

Insight to Business Awards Everton F.C. partners with Hope Business School highlights

8

10

11

Expert comment with Dr Clay Gransden In conversation with Brian Ricketts About Liverpool Hope Business School

Pulse is published by Liverpool Hope Business School, Hope Park, L16 9JD. T: 0151 291 3087 E: businessschool@hope.ac.uk www.hope.ac.uk/businessschool The views expressed in the magazine are those of the contributors and do not necessarily represent those of Liverpool Hope University.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE BUSINESS SCHOOL

SHINING STARS

Business leaders award exclusive placements to Hope students.

Work experience opportunities with a diverse range of local businesses were presented to the winners of the Insight to Business Awards 2017.

Organised by the Business School and sponsored by a number of prominent companies, the event saw Liverpool Hope University students shortlisted for a series of unique openings in the world of work.

In his opening address, Pro ViceChancellor (Operations) and Head of the Business School Professor Ian Vandewalle encouraged the student nominees to ‘never doubt their ability to succeed at the highest levels’, before announcing the winners.

Joshua Pierce, who won the opportunity to shadow First Ark Chief Executive Officer Tony Cahill, said of the win: “I’m hoping to get more experience to put on my CV. I’m getting the chance to shadow a Chief Executive, something that I wish to be one day. I can see what it takes and learn from the best.”

Awards included a four-week placement on Everton F.C.’s Management Team, an ongoing placement at Little League Sports, four-week paid work experience with Spire Liverpool Hospital, a two-week placement at Grant Thorton and a two-week placement at New Mersey Retail Park.

PULSE Magazine | 3

IN PARTNERSHIP

EVERTON PARTNERS WITH HOPE

Everton Football Club launches unique research partnership with Hope.

4 | PULSE Magazine

Everton Football Club and Liverpool Hope University have announced plans for an official research partnership - the first of its type between a Premier League club and a leading university.

Community, to commission new research and help the Club tap into the latest developments in these fields.

The University has named Professor Ian Vandewalle as Everton Chair in Social Responsibility – a brand new role that will support the unique fiveyear partnership.

Research will be carried out across Everton in the Community’s six pillars - health and wellbeing, sports development, community and business development, employment, education and training, youth engagement, and Everton Free School and Sixth Form.

Professor Vandewalle will bring researchers from the University’s departments of Health Sciences, Education, Social Work, Social Science and its Business School together with Everton in the

One of Professor Vandewalle’s initial jobs will be to oversee the first research project of the new partnership, where university researchers will work with Everton in the Community staff to quantify

“The quality of the support we will now get from Liverpool Hope, which has recently become the third highest-ranked modern university in the country and one of the top 50 UK universities, is bestin-class.”

Professor Barrett-Baxendale MBE

and provide detailed evidence of the social impact the Club’s charity makes within the city of Liverpool.

The findings will provide insight, which will enable improvements by focusing resource in areas that achieve the greatest social impact.

Professor Vandewalle will be a regular visitor to Everton’s new community space ‘The People’s Hub’, to see first-hand how the club engages with its fans and the wider community. His role will also involve sharing findings with other football clubs and cities, and promoting best practice among football clubs with regard to social responsibility.

In addition to the research element of the partnership, both the University and the Club will benefit from knowledge exchange through guest lecturers, placements and volunteering opportunities.

The collaboration follows on from the recent award by the University of an Honorary Visiting Professorship in Leadership in Sport Serving Humanity, to Professor Denise BarrettBaxendale, Executive Chair of Everton in the Community and Director at Everton Football Club.

Professor Pillay, Vice Chancellor and Rector of Liverpool Hope University, said: “The partnership between Everton and Liverpool Hope University developed because we share the aspiration of making a positive impact in and beyond our communities. The benefit of being in a long-term research relationship means our focus can be on the quality of the work and the impact made by our research.

“It is a great opportunity for the University and for Everton - but what excites me the most is the impact this partnership could have on our city, and potentially other cities, once the model is proven. At

Hope, we have many international links and we understand the reach and global profile of Everton Football Club. This makes the opportunity even more exciting.

“Through our initial work with Professor Barrett-Baxendale we have been able to see the impact that Everton in the Community has made in our society. We are excited that both through her role as an Honorary Visiting Professor at the University, and our organisation’s collaboration, we will be able to make further significant progress in this hugely important area.”

Professor Barrett-Baxendale MBE added: “Everton in the Community and Everton Football Club have grown considerably over the past decade into larger, more professional organisations with greater resources. The quality of the support we will now get from Liverpool Hope, which has recently become the third highestranked modern university in the country and one of the top 50 UK universities, is best-in-class.

“In order to achieve our ambition, we have a requirement for a dedicated research facility that can work across our organisation to benchmark, test ideas and help us take new initiatives forward.

Having access to the expertise of Post-Doctoral researchers will give us an advantage in a number of areas, not least in our ability to optimise the life-changing and life-saving work in our local communities.”

PULSE Magazine | 5

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE BUSINESS SCHOOL

AWARD WINNERS Student entrepreneurs scoop Young Enterprise award.

A team of student entrepreneurs took home the Best Written Report award at the Young Enterprise Regional Finals, for their innovative educational games.

element of the Year 2 curriculum for Business Management students.

Kayleigh Burns, Joshua Pierce, Heather Roberts, Gabby Ingham and Bec Millar are the brains behind Inspirational Little Futures, which creates fun and educational games for children in their developing primary school years.

The team created a platform through Facebook to share fun and unique crafts, games and education ideas with children.

Talking about the win, Joshua Pierce said: “It was a great and very real experience, and it was great to end it winning one of the five trophies at regional against everyone else in the North West.

“Our Managing Director Kayleigh organised us very well with the investment proposal/business report, and we were over the moon to pick up the award.”

The Young Enterprise programme is an important

Students have to produce their own business from scratch, including product development, finance, marketing, PR and building a website. They receive a £25 seed fund to help them start their business.

The Regional Finals brought together 15 of the best student businesses from nine higher and further education institutions based in the North West.

SOCIAL MEDIA MATTERS Students take over Crowne Plaza’s social media marketing.

Real world social media marketing experience is helping six students put theory into practice at one of Liverpool’s premier luxury hotels.

Students in Year 1 and 2 compiled a ‘how to’ manual for staff at the Crowne Plaza, Liverpool John Lennon Airport and created an editorial plan for three weeks’ worth of content.

They then took over the hotel’s Twitter and Facebook accounts to implement the content they had planned.

Marketing and Media & Communication student Tom Whittle said: “It was a really valuable

6 | PULSE Magazine

experience to see how our marketing ideas can successfully benefit a company’s social media effort, and actively increase engagement and awareness.

“It gave us a chance to put what we’ve learnt in a classroom in to practice, and was a great experience of problem solving real situations.

It also helped me to understand the types of job roles that may be available once I leave university.”

After completing their three-week stint, the students will continue to monitor and evaluate the social media marketing activities and report back every six weeks.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE BUSINESS SCHOOL

INSPIRING TOMORROW’S LEADERS Partnership between Hope and The Leaders Club brings mentoring opportunities.

Liverpool Hope University is set to work with The Leaders Club, to bring some of the UK’s best minds together to tackle social and economic challenges.

Professor Gerald Pillay, Vice Chancellor & Rector of Liverpool Hope, Professor Ian Vandewalle, Head of the Liverpool Hope Business School, and The Leaders Club Founder Stephen Fletcher met to finalise the new partnership.

The Leaders Club is a national networking organisation, whose members use their expertise and experience to inspire leaders of the future.

Liverpool Hope researchers will share their expertise at the network’s ‘Question Time’ and think tank-style meetings. They will join panels exploring issues around health, education, social care and economic equality.

Plans include an annual Leadership Awards ceremony, guest lectures and mentoring. Students will be invited to events and have the opportunity to meet members of The Leaders Club.

Stephen Fletcher, JP FRSA, Founder of the Leaders Club, said: “Liverpool Hope’s willingness to work with others, and the passion of its academics for sharing their expertise for the greater good is exemplary. The Club will benefit from access to some of the UK’s best academics, and our members in turn will use their practical expertise to inform research and help inspire students.”

NETWORKING 101 Industry experts teach the art of business networking.

A Hope alumna shared her insights into the world of networking, at a special event featuring business experts from a variety of industries.

He advised both students and businesses not to be scared of networking and to think of it as ‘like a family wedding’, where you will know some people, but not all.

Tom Woolley, Head of Business Support at Downtown in Business, and former Hope student Teleri Davies, who works in business development and events, shared key tips with students.

Teleri talked to students about her experience of finding her job with Downtown through networking, after working on the Liverpool Hope International Tennis Tournament.

Speaking from experience, Tom explained how not all jobs are advertised and that networking is the key.

Students were also given the chance to practice their skills alongside businesses, such as Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland, and Business in the Community.

PULSE Magazine | 7

EXPERT COMMENT

POKÉMON GO: A REVOLUTION IN SOCIAL GAMING AND CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

8 | PULSE Magazine

EXPERT COMMENT

Lessons can be learnt from the highly successful Pokémon revival, which led to a gaming craze that dominated summer 2016. Lecturer in Marketing Dr Clay Gransden looks at why Pokémon GO captured consumers’ imaginations and what it means for the future of social gaming.

The Pokémon GO app was released to coincide with the 20th anniversary of Pokémon, a game developed by Niantic who collaborated with Nintendo by way of the Nintendo Company.

revenue and 21.5 billion trading cards shipped across the globe.

Combining this strong brand with a new form of gaming to create a totally immersive advergame has created quite a buzz.

The free-to-play, location-based augmented reality game is downloaded to an iOS or Android device, allowing players to use their mobile’s GPS to locate, capture, battle and train virtual creatures. Called Pokémon, these creatures appear on the screen as if they were in the real world alongside the player.

Pokémon GO, as of February 2017, has amassed a massive $1 billion dollars - the quickest of any app – placing it as one of the highest-grossing apps of all time.

One of the main reasons behind this is the microtransactions and in-game purchases that can take place within the app. Similar to other games that have grossed $1 billion, Pokémon GO allows the player to purchase extra items to assist in the game. The game is also free to play, and this duality seems to be one of the driving principles of many of the other top grossing apps in the marketplace.

Pokémon of course is no small brand. It is currently in the top 30 licensed brands worldwide, having diversified over the years, and with many strong interests in the entertainment and gaming industry. There have been over 280 million video games sold worldwide, $670 million (approx.) accrued in box office

One thing that is clear about Pokémon GO is its success. It

has amassed an enormous player base in a relatively short time and accumulated an incredible amount of money. The game has also reinforced Pokémon as a brand creating demand for other merchandise. By using an advergame, the Pokémon brand has cemented itself into the psyche of another generation of players.

There are many lessons to be learnt for other businesses, particularly in their use of social gaming as a way of engaging their customers - not only as a way of reinforcing a brand, but also as a way of generating income. This humble app has revolutionised mobile gaming with the advent of VR and more powerful devices being released.

This is an exciting time to be using social entertainment for marketing.

DR CLAY GRANSDEN Dr Gransden is a Lecturer in Marketing at Liverpool Hope Business School. He is involved in several research and consultancy projects, providing guidance and expertise in hospitality marketing and social media, at a local, regional and international level. Dr Gransden has more than ten years’ experience working in the Hospitality and Marketing sector and recently co-authored a chapter published in the Handbook of Research on Consumerism and Buying Behaviour in Developing Nations. His research was also awarded ‘Best in Track’ at the International Conference on Hospitality and Management held in Bangkok in 2016.

PULSE Magazine | 9

MEET THE TEAM

IN PROFILE Pulse caught up with Senior Professional Tutor in Accountancy and Finance Brian Ricketts, to find out how his career in Practice brings a unique insight to his teaching.

Why did you decide to take a change of direction by joining Hope?

After having spent all of my professional life in Practice, I was looking for something new to keep me busy when I left the accountancy and business advisory firm BDO in 2015. I’d spent 30 years as a qualified chartered accountant and had some contact with higher education through my responsibility for the firm’s graduate recruitment scheme. Living locally, I knew of Liverpool Hope and was a member of the University’s finance committee when the Business School invited me to consider lecturing. I have a lot of empathy for the institution and the role seemed like an interesting challenge, so I decided to join the team full-time and work towards my PGCert in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education.

How do you think your real-world experience will benefit students?

When I’m teaching theory to students, it’s helpful to be able to draw on scenarios and examples of where I’ve experienced situations that put the theory into context. There’s more to being an accountant than just being good with numbers. As an advisor, you need to have a personal approach with clients and having spent years in the industry, means I can

10 | PULSE Magazine

convey different ways of putting these principles into practice. I currently teach second and third year students, and some are keen to take advantage of having access to my real-world experience.

What do you think the future looks like for the accountancy and finance field?

As with most professions, I think the idea that most employees stay with the same company for life has gone, and so learning skills that mean you can be mobile across different businesses and career paths is important. The development of technology has also impacted the field and I think, in the future, more and more people will look to apps/websites to fulfil their accountancy needs.

While this move towards digitalised accountancy and commodification means a change for the profession, there will always be a need for chartered accountants. A fundamental part of the role is to be an advisor, which means you need interpersonal skills. People are trusting you with their money, and higher earners and big businesses will always want personalised advice. Part of what we teach is the idea of the student as a whole, someone who has numeracy skills and can also discuss professional matters in a way a lay person would understand.

THE BUSINESS SCHOOL

ABOUT US: LIVERPOOL HOPE BUSINESS SCHOOL have run successful businesses. This means the School is highly qualified at an academic, professional and experiential level, to engage in research that connects with the business sector.

With strong links to a range of leading local and national companies, professional bodies and organisations, and a range of innovative ethical and social enterprises, the School has a reputation for developing students with sound theoretical principles and a thorough understanding of contemporary business practices.

The Business School curriculum is cuttingedge with all teaching research-informed and delivered by staff with both professional and practical backgrounds. A high number of staff have PhDs, while three members of the School

The School is organised into three teaching and research clusters; Accounting and Finance, Business Management, and Marketing. Guest lecturers and practitioner input, allows students the opportunity to visit companies, study abroad and work via Young Enterprise to develop and run their own business.

WHO WE WORK WITH:

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CLUB

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CLUB

PULSE Magazine | 11

To find out more please visit: www.hope.ac.uk/businessschool T: 0151 291 3087 E: businessschool@hope.ac.uk LiverpoolHopeUniversity @LiverpoolHopeUK