The Hartpury Sport Business Hub (HSBH) was established in 2020 as a Community of Practice connecting students with a variety of sport and business organisations. Building relationships and establishing partnerships though the Hub, students gain opportunities to engage in ‘real world’ projects, jobs, and placements, which have impact both locally and nationally. These range from consultancy projects, where students aim to collect data to solve organisational tasks, through to digital marketing support where students help manage and create content to increase awareness and engagement. Students can secure placement opportunities as well as deliver various evaluation support also.
As of March 2023, the HSBH has secured £316,000 worth of funding since its inception, which is certainly down to the collaborative approach adopted.
Students are embedded at the heart of all activities in the Hub including continuous development and future collaboration. Noah Geltman’s journey captures the Hub’s ethos and impact.
Noah’s first involvement with the Hub was a digital marketing project with a local sports club where he provided services and training for staff which they described as “a real game changer for our marketing activity”. Noah then achieved a placement at a local rugby club, Bream RFC, where he oversaw market research for a new £1million clubhouse project. On the back of his experiences and knowledge gained, upon graduation Noah started his own marketing agency and has collaborated with the Hub as a partner in the Essex LDP £200,000 funding bid, carrying out a social media audit and delivered guest lecturers to current sports business management students. Noah demonstrates how both local and national projects can benefit students in alignment with the University’s strategic goals.
