Polina Baranova

Enhancing the student experience through service design

The student experience in higher education is firmly placed at the top of the strategic agenda for the majority of higher education institutions (HEIs) in the UK at present. In the current climate of public cuts, universities increasingly have to strike a delicate balance between cost efficiencies and delivery of the highquality university experience to attract students onto their programmes. Student experience is therefore seen as a critical area where universities have the opportunity to differentiate their offer and potentially ensure the longterm sustainability of their provision. A number of academy key performance indicators (PIs) are based around surveying students with regard to their experience of university. At present, there is a range of sector-wide student surveys at national level, for example the National Student Survey (NSS), Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES), and International Student Barometer (ISB). A number of HE league tables are based on the performance of institutions in the surveys and therefore the pressure to perform well in the surveys is dominant for the majority of universities. Recently there has been a shift in a traditional understanding of the student experience where it is predominantly seen as delivered through teaching and learning interfaces. Increasingly, a broader perspective of student experience is introduced where Polina Baranova (BA, PGCE, MBA) is programme leader for the MBA in the Faculty of Business, Computing & Law at the University of Derby. She lectures in strategy and service management and operations. Her research specialisms are service design and strategy development. She was the academic consultant for the JISC DERBI project and is a doctorate student at the University of Nottingham Business School. Address for correspondence: University of Derby, Faculty of Business, Computing and Law, Kedleston Road, Derby, DE22 1GB, UK. Email: p.baranova@derby.ac.uk

The Low Carbon Economy

We explore the low carbon economy, now a growing,

Environmental capabilities of small and medium sized enterprises: Towards transition to a low carbon economy in the East Midlands:

600 bn+ pa revenue opportunity. Between 2015 and 2020, solar PV and onshore wind will add more to global energy supply than US shale oil production did between 2010 and 2015. By 2020, six in ten lightbulbs will be LEDs; and our analysts expect carmakers to sell 25 million hybrid & electric vehicles by 2025, 10x more than today. We estimate that these technologies will save >5 Gt of CO2 emissions per annum by 2025 and could help global emissions to peak earlier than expected around 2020, with ripple effects felt across our global coverage.

The transition to a low carbon economy: a call for collaborative action towards the ‘new normal’.

This paper presents the results of a survey-based study, which involved 120 small and medium sized enterprises in the East Midlands region of the UK, and aims to explore small and medium sized enterprises environmental practices, environmental capabilities and awareness of the regional support for green growth. Environmental capabilities of small and medium sized enterprises are found to be bound to energy efficiency projects, with very few small and medium sized enterprises having a strategic outlook toward developing these capabilities. The majority of small and medium sized enterprises did not access governmental grants to improve energy efficiency, and those who did accessed governmental rather than NGO or private sources. Around a third of small and medium sized enterprises did not invest in any form of Environmental Management System or Environmental Management Accreditation over the last two years. Environmental capabilities, which are considered to have a direct positive impact on cost reduction, are found to be attracting the highest demand from small and medium sized enterprises. The study offers a typology of small and medium sized enterprises environmental capabilities providing a valuable conceptual development in understanding the links between various environmental capabilities and their significance for the strategic success of an enterprise.

Transition to a Low-Carbon Economy: On the Cusp of Emerging Challenges and Opportunities

This concluding chapter brings together a number of key themes discussed throughout the eight preceding chapters of the book. It outlines the need to understand the sustainability transitions and associated changes at various levels and in diverse contexts to a greater depth. It calls for greater attention to the ‘green’ skills development agenda in supporting transition to a low-carbon economy in which universities occupy a prominent position. The growth-enabling approach to low-carbon and ‘green’ organisational strategies is outlined as a ‘balanced’ answer to a traditional focus on cost-cutting initiatives often associated with a low-carbon orientation. The authors argue that collaborative action and leadership for sustainability are enabling and essential ingredients of successful sustainability transitions, including the transition to a low-carbon economy.

Transition to a low carbon economy: an SME perspective.

This chapter sets the context in which the present study of the opportunities and challenges presented by the transition to a low-carbon economy is undertaken. It outlines the significance of a low-carbon economy and the benefits associated with the green growth. The theme of sustainability transitions is explored at the beginning of the chapter and is used to frame a number of key scholarly debates about the scope and direction of sustainability initiatives at the national, regional and organisational levels. The chapter provides a brief overview of the book chapters outlining their contribution to the academic and professional debates in the relevant fields. The chapter concludes with emphasising the importance of leadership for sustainability at various levels. It calls to widen the remit of sustainability initiatives associated with the transition to a low-carbon economy from a narrow view of cost-cutting measures to broader initiatives that strengthen competitive success and organisational strategies towards sustainability.

Engaging with environmental stakeholders: Routes to building environmental capabilities in the context of the low carbon economy

This chapter provides in-depth insights into small- and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs) organisational practices and strategies in the context of the transition to a low-carbon economy. The focus is drawn towards the importance of SMEs’ role in the development of markets for low-carbon products and services as well as their contributions towards a decarbonised economy (DECC 2008, 2011, 2013). A range of case studies presented in the chapter illustrates strategies adopted by SMEs towards achieving advantage in their respective industries through green and/or low-carbon innovation and organisational practices towards sustainability. The chapter explores the complexity of the challenges and opportunities presented by the transition to a low-carbon economy in the UK and internationally. The chapter concludes by developing a range of recommendations towards strengthening SMEs’ potential to ensure their competitiveness and their continuous pivotal role as an economical and social force in transition towards a low-carbon economy.