Led by and for students, the University of Cumbria Business Society launches this month to help upcoming graduates connect with employers and business networks.

UoC Business Society figures want to develop a vibrant relationship with business leaders, helping to shape students’ learning experience and offering real-world support and guidance alongside academic business management study.

It is also an aim to help employers, organisations and business leaders to engage and inspire future professionals, making connections, nurturing and helping to retain and develop future talent.

As an anchor institution for the North West, University of Cumbria works with strategic partners and employers to develop routes into and through higher education, helping to meet the region’s demand for higher-level skills among the current and future workforce.

UoC Business Society president is Will Adams, a mature first-year student who left a career in hospitality and relocated from Hertfordshire to the North West to study Business Management.

He leads the society with vice presidents Klaudia Uryniuk, Henry Conteh and Sam Ainsworth.

Inviting all businesses to support the student-led society, Will said: “From personal experience, connections and networking make the opportunities in your life and career.

“The aim is to connect upcoming graduates and businesses in Cumbria and Lancashire as a platform to encourage conversations, prospects and inspiration as we find our way into our own futures."

Cumbrian businesswoman Emma Porter, Construction Managing Director at Story Contracting – an award-winning Infrastructure and Civil Engineering company – will be the guest speaker at the UoC Business Society’s inaugural event taking place on February 25 at 4pm.

She will be sharing her thoughts on building long term business relationships and giving practical insights on how important this is to business success.

Emma said: “I’m looking forward to sharing some thoughts on the importance of building good relationships which comes from listening to and understanding your clients’ needs and always seeking to give more than you take."

Dr Erica Lewis, business management programme leader within the Institute of Business, Industry and Leadership at the university, said: “The ideas we learn best are the ones we explore and it is great to see students translating what they are learning in their studies into practice. Not only those about building and growing organisations, but about serving their community too."

Employers and businesses can connect with UoC Business Society via email at bussoc@cumbria.ac.uk or by contacting Dr Lewis at the university’s business school via email – erica.lewis@cumbria.ac.uk