Solve business challenges with expert support
Free, practical help from our student teams.
Contact Business Connect
Free, practical help from our student teams.
At a glance
Who it's for
Registered businesses, sole traders, charities, social enterprises and not-for-profits, mainly in Portsmouth and the surrounding area
Cost
Free
Timescales
From a 30-minute appointment to a ten-week project. Most routes open at set points in the academic year
Best suited to
Work that matters to you but isn’t urgent or business-critical
Which project route is right for you?
You’ve got a problem you know needs attention. A marketing strategy that’s drifted. A website that’s holding you back. A question nobody in-house has the expertise to answer.
What you haven’t got is the time or the budget to bring in a consultancy.
Our student teams take on live business challenges as part of their studies, supervised by academic staff. There’s no fee.
Business Consultancy Projects
A 10-week consultancy project delivered by our final-year undergraduate students.
MBA Consultancy Projects
A 10-week consultancy project delivered by our postgraduate MBA students.
The Marketing Agency
10 weeks of research, branding and social media support delivered by undergraduate student teams at no cost.
Website projects for small businesses
Get a new website built for your business by our undergraduate students.
Digital Innovation and AI Student Consultancy Projects
A one-day innovation challenge where a student class develops solutions to your business challenge.
Not sure which route is right? Tell us about your challenge and we’ll match you to the right route.
What students can help with
Student teams can help you to:
- Explore a business challenge or opportunity
- Carry out market or competitor research
- Develop marketing, digital and social media strategies
- Understand your customers and test ideas
- Create or improve a small business website
- Answer accounting and tax questions
- Make practical recommendations for growth or improvement
The University went beyond the task outlined in our training needs analysis. They proved excellent at getting to know our methods of operation and understanding the needs of our business.”
I am incredibly pleased with the new website. It looks really slick, tidy and professional.”
Business Connect | Partner with tomorrow's talent, today
Learn more at:
https://www.port.ac.uk/business/business-connect/business-advice
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I would definitely work with the students again. It was a really good experience. Students offer a fresh perspective, a different outlook.
It really made me start thinking about different parts of my business that I had been neglecting. It's given the students real world experience.
It's a win win for everyone. Edith and Blanche is a children's boutique that specialises in sustainable and eco friendly products.
I learned about the opportunity to work with the students at Portsmouth through a mutual friend so I thought it was a great opportunity to get some fresh ideas into my shop.
Excell Metal Spinning is an SME formed in 2000 and we specialise in the craft of metal spinning.
Through the previous marketing manager, he also attended the University of Portsmouth so he knew about the opportunities and I've carried the project on ever since and yeah, we've never looked back.
I worked with the BCP, which is a business consultancy project. I've submitted a brief that I gave to the professors.
From there I was connected with four students.
The students presented me with their final presentation, which explored more digital online marketing, working with other local businesses to expand my reach and AI implementation.
So the outcome was an established marketing and business plan.
It reinforced a lot of what we already thought and it even opened up our eyes into potential routes to the market as well as for new customers so we've now implemented that.
My favourite thing about working with the University and the students was seeing how they took the theories that they had been learning in school and implemented them into real small business problems.
Being a solo small business owner, implementing AI has really helped.
Businesses should consider working with students mainly because of the opportunities it presents and the fresh perspective but also
it helps in terms of the resource struggles, especially as an SME, dedicating hours and time into new projects that you might have on hold.
I think it was a great program for them and for me. I did get some really useful tips.
I'm going to be working with the MBA students on another project in future.
The process was really smooth, really easy and we're looking forward the to next one.
Contact Business Connect
We’ll explore how we can work with you, and connect you to the right team.
Where next?
Recruit and connect with our talent
Looking to recruit a student or graduate, offer a placement opportunity, or raise your organisation's profile? Explore the options below to find out how we can help.
