Tangerine gets juices flowing for MBA students

MBA students from the University for the Creative Arts (UCA) at Rochester have just completed a live project with local Design and Digital Media agency, Tangerine.

Those on the MBA Creative Industries Management course were asked to examine how the Maidstone-based company could increase its productivity in areas such as marketing, human resources, finance and operations.

Course leader, Dr Martin Bouette, said: "Tangerine gave our students unparalleled access to all of the company's files, accounts and operations; it meant that they were able to test theory and utilise new knowledge in a professional context.

"Live projects test the students and allow them to see the pragmatic outcomes of business theory."

Tangerine were so impressed by the students' work that they are considering implementing some of their ideas.

Finance Manager at Tangerine, Caroline Snow, said: "We were surprised with how well they did - we were not expecting something as in-depth and well presented as the final result. 

"The project was extremely useful to us, as it can be interesting to get an outside view of the company. Many of the questions they raised have prompted us to look at ourselves in a different way.

"We would be more than happy to work with UCA in the future as it gives us a fresh perspective as well as enabling us to help to nurture creative talent."

UCA Rochester's MBA Creative Industries Management was devised in response to the dramatic growth seen by the creative industries, which now account for eight percent of the UK's GDP and employ two million people.

Dr Martin Bouette added: "Managing a creative business requires a unique set of skills which aren't necessarily taught on traditional MBA programmes, so we have devised a course that will enable the next generation of management professionals to lead the creative industries."

For more information contact:

David Reilly, Press Officer, UCA
T: 01252 892939
E: dreilly@ucreative.ac.uk