NTU supports local business Cowens Group in rebrand project

Cowens Group, a Mansfield-based financial services company, recently approached NTU after investing a significant amount of money into a rebrand project, to gain a fresh perspective and approach with a postgraduate student consultancy project.

Tony Duckworth and Paul Chaplin from Cowens Group

L to R: Tony Duckworth, Managing Director of Cowens Financial Architects and Paul Chaplin, CEO of Cowens Group

Through the Nottingham Business School, organisations are able to collaborate with students to tackle a wide range of real-life business projects, utilising their research and consultancy expertise at no cost. In return, our students are able to apply valuable business skills to support their learning.

The project brief was assigned to a team of four MSc Marketing students as part of their Consultancy Experience Project module. The team met with the CEO and relevant staff of Cowens to develop and deliver a comprehensive research proposal, presentation and written report containing a series of recommendations and observations for their client.

As a result of the team’s recommendations, Cowens commissioned a further sum towards developing their website to facilitate the impact of the recent rebrand.

The company was so impressed with one of the students, Adedamola Bello, that they recruited her into their marketing team, even supporting her Tier 2 visa application, and so expanding their diverse team.

Adedamola told us: “The project was very different to anything I’d experienced before. It was an amazing opportunity to help a company and make recommendations, but also to grow as a person.

“I didn’t expect that the project would lead to a job offer, but it just goes to show that there’s always a reward for effort. It’s given me an opportunity I might not have had otherwise. Cowens is making lots of changes right now and I like being a part of that, to be able to make a difference and feel valued.”

Cowens Group CEO Paul Chaplin, also commented: “This was our first experience of NTU’s student projects, and it’s definitely made an impact on our rebrand project. To top it all off, we also have a confident, solutions-driven graduate join the team. We would definitely look at doing this again in the future.”

Angela Scott, NTU’s Experiential Learning Coordinator added: “It’s the icing on the cake when the companies we work with tell us that they’re implementing some of the strategic recommendations our students have made. These short business consultancy projects are designed to give our postgraduate students real-life experience and apply theory in a real-world setting.”

Do you have a business challenge that requires a fresh approach?

If you do, get in touch with us to find out how you can test the knowledge and skills of our postgraduate Nottingham Business School students. Gain fresh, contemporary insights at no cost, and help develop the next generation of professionals. New projects begin from May 2020. Visit our website to find out more.