Centre for Innovation Management and Enterprise (CIME)

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We aim to promote, sustain, and develop interdisciplinary research, business-relevant teaching, and engagement with practitioners.

What we do

Our vision

The Centre of Innovation, Management and Enterprise (CIME) aims to understand how businesses and enterprises are created, sustained, enhanced, destroyed and rehabilitated, in line with the challenges from the external uncertainty (e.g. pandemics) and technology advancement (e.g. Industry 4.0).

The objectives of CIME are to:

  1. Promote interdisciplinary research, deliver knowledge-informed teaching, facilitate community engagement, and develop strategic partnership with business practitioners.
  2. Bring together an inter-disciplinary group of entrepreneurs, business consultants, scholars and the students to develop interdisciplinary research, enhance business and management knowledge transfer, and promote engagement with UK-based businesses and local residents, with a particular focus on the community-friendly activities in the areas of innovation, management and enterprise.

CIME aims to facilitate and achieve its objectives through a series of business initiatives and scholarly activities. These include, but are not limited to: guest-lecture and seminars, REF submission, community engagement projects, digital databank, knowledge-transfer-partnership (KTP), centre-based mentoring scheme (WPI), bi-monthly meetings, monthly newsletters, commercial conferences and other appropriate initiatives.

Driven by inclusion and diversity, and with a focus on technology, industry, and society, the Centre is open to new ideas underpinning the theory and practice of innovation and enterprise. CIME's relaunch, driven by fast-changing socio-economic and political developments, seeks to advance the Centre's aims by building a community that organically increases opportunities for improving sustainability, innovation, and growth.

Interdisciplinary research

We seek to create a platform for impact and high-quality research output by means of a phased approach and thematic focus. Our impact and research output activities - implemented in phases over the three years from 2020 - aim at building a research culture that brings together staff members, research partners, and learners. Our community assists its members in the identification of relevant research focus for impact and output, supports funding applications, publications, as well as research-inspired teaching and teaching-inspired research practice. 

Our local, national and international research partners (Honorary and Visiting) play important role in sustaining and promoting our interdisciplinary research agenda. As a community, we deliver an Annual Flagship Research event, the CIME Research Conference (CIMERS). Building on our community and its network, diversity and inclusion we seek to position ourselves as sustainable research grant bidders beyond 2023 in the following thematic themes of technology, industry, and society: 

  • Environmental and Social Governance 
  • Measurement of Management Innovation 
  • Entrepreneurship  
  • Social Enterprise Development 
  • Intellectual Property 
  • Regulation of markets 

Business-relevant teaching

Building on existing links with academia and industry professionals, CIME seeks to enhance innovative, business-relevant teaching and consulting building on existing and new branded formats: 

  • Distinguished Guest Lecture Series 
  • Inaugural Lectures 
  • MBA Guest Lecture Series 

CIME investigates creating opportunities for our students by means of:

  • Career Accelerator, a competition-based programme designed to match final year undergraduate students/MA students with business leaders (from 2021)
  • East End Business Incubator, a growth initiative designed for short-course teaching projects (2022 and beyond)
  • Environmental and social sustainability consulting scheme designed to connect with wider community and engagement with practitioners

Engagement with practitioners for continued Impact

CIME seeks to connect with the wider community and engage with practitioners through a set of activities including: 

  • Consulting support for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) 
  • Promoting CIME participants' memberships in external bodies including advisory boards, committees to give back and share our diversity and inclusion 
  • Aspiring to promote CIME participants' engagement in impact-focused initiatives outside of academia 

CIME's engagement with SMEs includes but should not be limited to: 

Pre-enterprise Development 
The Centre aims to support all students and members of the wider community who are keen to explore their innate enterprise skills, through workshops run by our partner organisations. These enable participants to explore opportunities, network with fellow students and identify suitable business ideas for further development and application in business practice.

Business Start-up Support 
At CIME we use the enterprise passport (ENTPASS) model which has been developed over the past few years with a number of partners.

Business Development  
The Centre supports a wide cross-section of businesses in the RDBS community, including potential entrepreneurs and student start-ups. We also offer students a number of opportunities to participate in programmes to enhance their professional skills and network.

Funding and Finance 
The Centre helps enterprising students to develop their ability to seek funding through a wide range of funding options, including business start-up loans, grants and other internal and external sources.

International Development 
CIME engages extensively with international networks and pursues a wide cross-section of projects and programmes. If you, your institution or network wish to engage with CIME, please contact Prof. Kirk Chang (K.Chang@uel.ac.uk). 

Global Scholars 
The global scholars' programme has been an important complement for the RDSBL programmes with our students visiting partners in Bahrain, Dubai, India and Kenya. CIME seeks to build on the experience gained so far and wants to expand its international network through a renewed version of this programme to ensure that its international partnerships receive a boost from students visiting and expanding their impact and supporting sustainability for partner organisations. New projects have been identified locally, nationally, and internationally to enhance the linkages forged through by the Centre so far including the 2nd International Summer School.

Resources 
CIME has a number of skilled resources that can be accessed through partnership and co-operative routes. If your organisation wishes to become a partner or explore options please contact Prof. Kirk Chang (K.Chang@uel.ac.uk) 

Community and partners

Community
CIME is fully committed to advancing innovation and enterprise at all levels in our community.

If your organisation has an idea for a new project, or wish to work with CIME please contact Prof Kirk Chang (K.Chang@uel.ac.uk) to explore options in research or project development.

Partners
CIME we recognise and value partnerships and are motivated by the saying that 'alone you can go fast but together we can go further'. By working with a wide range of local, national and international partnerships, we are able to extend our reach and impact, learn from our partners and support initiatives that promote the ethos of innovation and enterprise. CIME actively seeks robust partnerships and if you, or your organisation, wish to pursue a partnership please contact Prof Kirk Chang (K.Chang@uel.ac.uk).

CIME Board (in alphabetical order):


CIME Membership

Dr Richard Addo-Tenkorang    
Dr Akinseye Aluko
Dr Alessandro Bigi
Dr Shoail Choudhury
Dr Stephanie Sandland
Dr Sujay Sinha
Dr Francis Frimpong
Dr Giles Russell
Dr Michael Palkowski
Dr Nazish Riaz     
Dr Angus Qingan Huang
Dr Manish Unhale
Dr Diliara Mingazova
Dr Mimoza Shabani
Dr Susan Akinwalere 
Dr Alina Vaduva 
Dr Godfried Adaba 
Dr Roberto Reid
Dr Toyin Coker 
Dr Zinnure Osman Zengin 
Dr Mitra Saeedi
Dr Ayantunji Gbadamosi
Dr Muhammad Akhtar
Ms June Terry
Ms Alexandra Constantinescu
Ms Karen Gale
Ms Zoe Adjey
Ms Pallavi Singh
Ms Preethi Thankappan-Nair
Mr Alexis Preyre
Mr Altaf Khoso
Mr Harinder Dhesi
Mr Muhammad Sameer
Mr Vic Davies
Ms Karen Jaramillo (MBA Administrator)
Note. The members from the Department of Innovation and Management are default CIME members.
 
 
CIME Advisory Board
Prof Constantine Sedikides 
Prof Sunil Sahadev           
Prof Chris Rowley            
Prof Jeremy Celse            
Prof Hussein Al Tamimi 
Prof Chuchai Smithikrai 
Prof Philip Kitchen
Prof Philip Molyneux
Prof Bang Nguyen
Prof Kuo-Tai Cheng
Prof Simon Chadwick
Prof Jinyu Niu
Dr Arnold Japutra
Mr Simon Morris 
Mrs Tracey Morris 
Mr Azran Ahmad 
Mr Teddy Oswari

Centre Director

Professor Kirk Chang

Kirk Chang is a university professor, consultant and researcher in the field of HRM (Human Resource Management). Prof. Chang received a PhD in Occupational Psychology (Manchester) and has been working in both academic and consultancy fields for nearly three decades. He is a media commentator and has published book chapters, commissioned reports and peer-reviewed journal articles. He investigates issues of personnel management and scrutinises the implication of technology (AI, Digitalisation) on employee behaviour, group dynamics, teamwork, competitive advantage and organisational performance. Prof. Chang also acts as external programme examiner, PhD assessor and programme accreditor for both UK and international higher education institutions.

Kirk Chang

Contact us

Contact us: cime@uel.ac.uk
Twitter account: @CentreforInnov2