Welcome from the Dean of Hertfordshire Business School

Professor Damian Ward

Here at the Hertfordshire Business School we set out to transform our students’ lives. As Dean, my focus is on both stretching and supporting all our students as they progress from being a learner to entering professional employment.

That means we aim to offer you the best possible opportunities. You can study abroad – around a hundred of our students do so each year, choosing from a large network of partner institutions worldwide, from Argentina to Vietnam, the USA and across Europe.

You can also go on work placements, locally or with national or international organisations, which will sharpen your skills and bring a business reality to your studies. We’ll also give you great support in key data, digital and communication skills to power your potential through our Centre for Academic Skills Enhancement (CASE).

Before joining the University as Dean seven years ago I worked at Leeds Beckett and Bradford Universities, whose aim of 'making knowledge work' chimes with our business-facing vision. Making education purposeful for students is how I was trained as an academic - taking academic ideas and applying them to business decision-making. My research specialism is in the financial services industry; my textbook "Economics for Business" aims to show the relevance of applying principles of economics to solve business problems and to equip students to handle real business situations.

Whether you’re studying accounting or economics, marketing or tourism, you’ll have a challenging and dynamic educational experience here. The balance of academic and industry backgrounds among our lecturers keeps our courses business-relevant – and all our courses are accredited by the key international professional bodies.

Our teaching is also enriched by the impact of our world-class research, for which we are ranked in the top 20 Business Schools in the UK. Our research on digital, big data and tourism provides our highly-trained staff with insights into the changing business world, informing both our teaching and your transformational educational experience.

When you leave us you’ll have a head start in the competitive national and international job market - our recent graduates are now building careers at companies such as HSBC, Waitrose, Warner Brothers, KPMG, and BMW Financial Services.