Picture this – it’s your first day at university; you walk through the doors of the Cavendish Building and are struck by the magnificent space around you. From the high ceilings and grand staircases to modern study areas, natural light beams into the atrium space, sparking excitement for the next phase of your academic journey.
In September, this is what awaits students at Derby International Business School as they step into the brand new building at the University of Derby – a space designed to inspire, connect and elevate the next generation of business leaders.
For the first time, undergraduate and postgraduate students will work and study alongside entrepreneurs and executives, who will also be based at the new seven-storey site.
Dr Nicola Lynch, who has headed the business school since 2021, hopes the proximity will help to spark innovation and be a catalyst for growth – not just for the university, but for the city and wider region. The new Cavendish Building will be the “go-to hub” for businesses, supporting the University’s ambition to be the “University for Industry”, she says, adding: “Our priority at the outset was for this to be a building with a focus on co-location and co-creation – a melting pot of innovation where industry, academics and fresh inquisitive minds, our entrepreneurs of the future, come together to ignite ideas and solve some of the world’s biggest challenges.”
Students will benefit from hands-on experience and exposure to local, national and global businesses through the many industry partnerships the university has. “Applied learning is key. We want our students to learn theory and also understand how it works in practice. Our students will gain employability skills by collaborating with industry leaders, studying in a space where inspirational businesses are based, and working on live briefs and real consultancy projects,” she says.
The university’s professor of enterprise, Marvin Cooke OBE DL, a former executive vice president for manufacturing at Toyota Motor Europe, says: “As a former business leader, I understand just how critical it is for graduates to distinguish themselves, not just academically, but through the kind of practical attributes that employers value. This new facility allows us to develop those qualities in our students through direct engagement with businesses and exposure to real challenges and opportunities.”
The first two floors of the building will be “open access” – anyone can come and use the space for meetings, project work, or somewhere to have a coffee or lunch. The ground floor creativity lab is like a Google-style office, a non-traditional classroom with breakout areas and cork walls to encourage creative thinking and idea generation. “The space is about encouraging innovation, interactive learning, and teaching with a practical focus,” says Lynch. Other facilities include a “gamechanger lab”, home to the university’s Student Enterprise and Entrepreneurship team, an extended reality suite, a finance lab for budding investment bankers complete with Bloomberg and London Stock Exchange Group terminals, a logistics lab (which has the software necessary for students studying supply chain and logistics programmes), a creativity lab, a Harvard style lecture theatre, and an auditorium. There will also be a postgraduate lounge, Executive Education boardrooms, and two library spaces – one designed for collaborative working and one for solo study.
“These spaces encourage innovation, problem-solving, and the generation of real solutions, making the learning process far more connected to the realities of modern industry,” adds Cooke. “It’s a gamechanger for university-industry engagement and a bold step towards the future of business education. By co-locating academic expertise with business insight, we’re creating a fertile ground for practical, solution-focused innovation.”
The ambition of the university is to create a blueprint for industry and university engagement, says its vice-chancellor and chief executive officer, Professor Kathryn Mitchell CBE DL: “The University of Derby is committed to tackling some of the world’s biggest challenges; from net zero carbon to data science, our research is driving significant global societal change and improvement in areas such as healthcare, sustainability, education and economic development, shaping a better future for communities around the globe. Our new business school will create an environment where industry, students and academia coalesce to innovate for the benefit of our future society.
“Our students will work in a future we cannot imagine, so we must ensure they acquire the skills, experience and industry insight during their studies to enable them to thrive in their careers and be agile in solving the global challenges they will face.”
The Cavendish Building has eight high spec private office suites, the largest of which has space for 22 people. The rent will be affordable, in return for tenants contributing to the university and student experience, for example through knowledge exchange or the offer of internships. Across the road from the Cavendish Building is One Friar Gate Square, home to the University’s law and social science subjects, while nearby is the Enterprise Centre, a vibrant hub of successful business and entrepreneurs including Bloc Digital and Goldbox Productions – close partners of the university. New on the university’s doorstep is the recently renovated Derby Market Hall, and Vaillant Live, a brand new £46m concert and sports venue set to attract thousands of visitors to the city each year.
The new £75m building also fits into the city’s wider regeneration, says Cooke. “This is more than just a university building, it’s a civic space, designed to contribute to the cultural and economic vibrancy of Derby,” he says.
The business school’s influence also stretches beyond Derby. Professor Jose Arturo Garza-Reyes, a professor of operations management at the university, has helped to provide supply chain solutions for international businesses including DHL and the Red Cross in Mexico. His team’s work in green-lean logistics is enabling transport, manufacturing and emergency medical service industries worldwide to combine improvements in productivity with a stronger environmental performance. “We are very much an international business school. Our programmes take a global perspective,” says Lynch.
William Cavendish DL, Earl of Burlington, the university’s chancellor, who also chairs the business school council, is looking forward to the school’s opening: “The Derby International Business School will help to attract and retain talent in the region and act as a magnet for investment into Derby and Derbyshire, thereby contributing to the prosperity of our communities,” he says.
“It is also an opportunity to fully realise the potential of the next generation of business leaders and innovators.
“If we can create a business school that has an immediate, as well as an enduring positive impact, it will be a fantastic coup for Derby and the wider region, and a fitting tribute to the team who have worked so hard to bring it to reality and the generous supporters who have helped fund such a remarkable facility,” says Cavendish.
Cavendish Building residents
Claire MacDonald runs MacMartin, “a marketing agency with a bit of a difference”, with her sister Anna. This autumn, they will become one of the first new tenants in the Cavendish Building, working alongside – and with – Derby International Business School students.
“Our campaigns aim to change behaviour in communities,” says MacDonald. “These have included encouraging people to stop smoking or to get tested for hepatitis. Moving into the Cavendish Building is a fantastic opportunity for us – it will enable us to workshop campaign ideas with students, bringing them in to work on live briefs and providing them with experience of what it’s like to work in business. A lot of our work is evidence and research based, so a closer tie with the university will be extremely beneficial.
“As an alumna of the university’s Help to Grow Management programme, I have witnessed Derby’s academic knowledge and expertise. It is fantastic that business students will have the opportunity to benefit from these insights in such a collaborative and inspiring environment.”
Renting a second-floor office will give MacMartin access to the building’s communal areas, including meeting rooms and a podcast studio. “We hope to make use of wider facilities. For us, the key benefit is the links with the university,” says MacDonald. She also hopes the city centre location will enable the seven-strong team to recruit new employees.
To find out more about Derby International Business School, visit derby.ac.uk
