Birmingham City University has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government’s Department for International Trade (DIT), in a bid to support West Midlands businesses to thrive in the global trading environment.
Working with the DIT’s West Midlands team, the partnership will see Birmingham City University generate opportunities to engage with the local business community.
DIT West Midlands helps businesses across the region – Staffordshire, Shropshire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Warwickshire, Birmingham and the Black Country – to achieve export success. As well as offering a wealth of practical support and advice, it provides programmes that help companies that want to start trading overseas or that want to expand their global reach,
Professor Julian Beer, Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Birmingham City University, said: “I’m delighted to enter into this relationship with DIT and to cement our future collaborations.
“The University is an international institution, bringing students together from over 80 countries across the globe to advance our shared knowledge, and to enhance learning and teaching. By allying our reach with that of DIT, we can now create great opportunities on a truly global scale not just in teaching and learning but in business communities globally as well.
“So many of our global graduates when they return home and indeed through their connections become the leaders of tomorrow and that is not just good for Birmingham City University, but for the Midlands as a whole.”
Christine Hamilton, interim regional director of DIT West Midlands, said it was the first MoU it had signed with an academic institution and that the agreement would enable it to work with a trusted partner on a range of initiatives.
She said: “This is an ideal opportunity to work closely with the University and look at how we can work together to help the region’s businesses and entrepreneurs to achieve their goals as successful exporters.
“With initiatives such as the Memorandum of Understanding with the University and the launch of the GREAT.gov.uk trade hub on a national scale, we are in a very good position to help businesses in our region access millions of pounds worth of potential overseas business, as well as give practical advice, and signpost support to help them win lucrative contracts.”