Congratulations to Maria Musarskaya, Helen O’Sullivan and Julia Hibbert (Faculty of Management) who have received an ‘Excellence in Sustainable Teaching’ award for their L4 Marketing unit on the BA Business Studies programme. The award which was presented during the BU Service Excellence Conference in April recognises their efforts in embedding UN Sustainable Development Goals into their unit and their teaching.

They have been working with the charity Anthony Nolan to bring contemporary professional Non-Profit Organisation practice into the curriculum with a live assignment brief. The assignment brief was jointly set by Anthony Nolan and the teaching team. This year students were required to design a 6 month marketing campaign leading up to an event with the primary objectives of raising awareness and increasing the number of younger people joining the stem cell donor registration list. The five ‘best’ assignments will be presented to Anthony Nolan later this month where a winner will be chosen and the campaign put in to practice, to which Anthony Nolan has pledged £5,000.

Working with a live brief has allowed the students to gain a real-life understanding of the key concepts underpinning marketing practice, whilst also offering the opportunity to make a positive impact on wider society.

The award means that not only did the teaching team receive recognition for their work but they were also able to donate the £75 prize fund to a charity of their choice; Anthony Nolan being the clear choice.

Anthony Nolan is a charity that saves the lives of people with blood cancer and blood disorders. It matches people in need of bone marrow transplants with suitable donors, arranging over 1,000 transplants a year as well as conducting research into stem cell matching and transplants, and providing a patient information and support system.

For more information on Anthony Nolan and the lifesaving work they undertake please visit: https://www.anthonynolan.org/