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Five reasons to study our MSc in International Human Resource Management

ss0122 — Thu, 22 Oct 2026 15:36:19 +0000

Five reasons to study our MSc in International Human Resource Management ss0122 Thu, 22/10/2026 - 16:36 News

Do you want to help organisations attract, develop and support people across international markets? Our International Human Resource Management MSc will equip you with the global perspective, practical skills and industry insight to build a career in people management. Here are five reasons to choose ��.

1. Gain a global perspective on people management

Explore international human resource (HR) strategies, cross-cultural management, global talent management and employment practices across different countries and time zones. We’ll prepare you for a career in global people management by covering topics such as workforce mobility and managing people across borders.

You'll also benefit from learning alongside students from around the world with a range of professional backgrounds, gaining diverse cultural, professional and personal perspectives.

2. Develop practical skills for real-world human resource challenges

On this masters you will apply theoretical knowledge through business case studies, consultancy-style projects, interactive learning activities and practice-based assessments that reflect contemporary HR challenges.

For example, you may examine how multinational organisations recruit and retain international talent, manage employees across different cultural contexts, address employee engagement and wellbeing, and respond to differences in employment regulations across countries.

These activities will help you develop analytical, problem-solving and decision-making skills relevant to contemporary HR and people management roles.

3. Build future-focused HR and analytical capabilities

Today's HR professionals must navigate an increasingly complex global landscape, balancing compliance with local employment laws, managing internationally distributed teams and responding to changing workforce expectations.

Artificial intelligence and digital technologies are also reshaping how organisations manage people. From AI-assisted recruitment and workforce planning to the use of people analytics to understand employee engagement and retention, HR professionals increasingly need to evaluate both the opportunities and ethical challenges associated with data-driven decision-making.

Through the programme's emphasis on evidence-based HR practice, research methods and opportunities to study people analytics, you will develop the analytical and critical thinking skills needed to understand and respond to these developments.

You'll graduate with expertise in evidence-based HR decision-making, research methods and contemporary people management.

4. Tailor your degree to your career aspirations

You can choose from a range of optional modules, including People Analytics, Performance, Engagement and Wellbeing, International Business Management, Employee Resourcing and Contemporary Employee Relations, to develop expertise aligned with your professional interests.

Unlike our CIPD‑accredited Human Resources Management MSc, which is aligned to the CIPD’s Profession Map, our IHRM MSc gives you greater flexibility in the choice of modules. This enables you to drill down to tailor your studies around your specific interests and academic background.

5. Learn from academic expertise and industry practitioners

You will join a programme built on established HR expertise delivered by a School with a strong reputation for postgraduate human resource management (HRM) education.

You will be taught by academics with HR experience and guest speakers working across a range of sectors, giving you insight into current HR business challenges and how management concepts are applied across different sectors and organisational contexts.

The modules are led by academics including:

Professor Carol Woodhams whose work has investigated gender pay inequality. Her research has been recognised with the award of a high-profile national project by the UK government's Department of Health and Social Care.
Dr Tracy Xu whose research explores employee well-being, leadership and staff turnover. She has received research funding from organisations including the European Commission's Horizon Europe programme and UK Research and Innovation.
Dr Hamid Roodbari focuses on employees’ health and well-being, leadership, career, organisational interventions, and HR implementation. His work has been published in leading academic journals including British Journal of Management, Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, International Journal of Human Resource Management, and Applied Psychology.

Explore our International Human Resource Management MSc to find out more about modules, entry requirements and career prospects, or discover our full range of postgraduate programmes here at �� Business School.

Dr Anna Luca Stuart

Senior Lecturer in Organisational and Business Psychology

Dr YingFei Heliot

Associate Professor in Organisational Behaviour

Dr Hamid Roodbari

Senior Lecturer in People and Organisations

Prof Carol Woodhams

Professor of Human Resource Management

Dr Tracy Xu

Associate Professor in Future of Work; Co-Director of Future of Work Research Centre

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�� ranked eighth in UK for developing the next generation of AI talent

dn0009 — Thu, 22 Oct 2026 14:21:24 +0000

�� ranked eighth in UK for developing the next generation of AI talent dn0009 Thu, 22/10/2026 - 15:21 Press release

The �� has been ranked eighth among universities creating the most AI-ready graduates, recognised for its strength in AI education, graduate employment and commercial innovation, according to a new report.

The study, published by money.co.uk, assessed 146 UK universities on their capacity to develop AI talent and translate it into business growth, a capability the UK government has identified as central to its ambition for British small and medium-sized businesses to become the most AI-confident in the G7 by 2035.

�� was credited with offering one of the highest numbers of AI-specific courses in the analysis, at 11, alongside 23 active spinouts in engineering, physical sciences and mathematics.

The ranking reflects an approach to AI that runs through the whole institution. From September 2026, �� embeds discipline-specific AI teaching across all subjects and levels of study. Rather than treating AI as an additional skill, the University is ensuring students develop deep disciplinary expertise alongside the critical ability to evaluate and deploy AI within their own field. Civil engineering students use large language models to generate and test structural design concepts, then verify every AI output against their own calculations. Business students use AI to produce a first-draft market analysis, then interrogate it, rebuild it and take ownership of the result.

��’s discipline-specific approach to embedding AI means students learn to understand how AI changes the conditions of judgement within that discipline, including what it makes newly possible. This means students do not simply use AI; they learn to judge it. The aim is to graduate students who can use, question and lead with AI while applying their field's professional standards. Professor Annika Bautz, Professor Annika Bautz, Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Executive Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Business and Social Sciences, and lead for the AI in Education Framework

Our findings come as AI becomes increasingly accessible to smaller businesses, potentially lowering the cost and expertise required to launch and grow a company. The next generation of AI-enabled businesses may not necessarily be traditional AI startups. They could include small businesses using AI to build new products, improve existing services or operate more efficiently. The universities producing graduates with those skills, while also supporting spinouts and commercialisation, could play a huge role in determining what the UK's next generation of small businesses looks like. Joe Phelan, Business Finance Expert at money.co.uk

��'s position reflects combined performance across all three metrics assessed by the study: course provision, graduate outcomes and spinout activity.

The top 10 most AI-ready universities:

Imperial College London
University of Leeds
University of Bristol
University of Birmingham
University of Liverpool
Loughborough University
University of Edinburgh
��
University of Nottingham
University of Oxford

Prof Annika Bautz

Pro-Vice-Chancellor Education - seconded from: Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Executive Dean, Faculty of Arts, Business and Social Sciences

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Nanotechnologist Ravi Silva receives prestigious honour

dn0009 — Thu, 22 Oct 2026 09:18:18 +0000

Nanotechnologist Ravi Silva receives prestigious honour dn0009 Thu, 22/10/2026 - 10:18 Press release

World-renowned materials engineer Professor Sembukuttiarachilage Ravi Pradip Silva (Ravi Silva) has been presented with the Chinese Government Friendship Award – the highest honour in China for foreign experts.

The Friendship Award was presented to Professor Ravi Silva for his “important” contribution to China’s modernisation efforts, as well as his “exchanges and cooperation with other countries”.

Professor Silva is a Distinguished Professor at the ��, where he is Director of the Advanced Technology Institute, a multidisciplinary research facility that uses nano-scale design of materials for next-generation technologies. ATI’s research spans clean energy, semiconductors and flexible electronics including perovskite solar cells, carbon nanomaterials, batteries and zero-burden wearable technology devices for healthcare applications. Sri Lankan-born British engineer Professor Silva is also a Distinguished Professor at Zhengzhou University, where he has held a post since 2018. In 2023, he was elected a foreign academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

Professor Silva was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2021 New Year Honours, elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2008 and is the recipient of several international awards, including the UNESCO Albert Einstein Silver Medal, and medals from the Institute of Physics, the Institute of Engineering and Technology and The Royal Society.

I am honoured to receive this prestigious Friendship Award. My hope is that it recognises my work and that of my countless students and colleagues at �� and in China, as we pursue a swift shift away from old, inefficient technology that damages our planet and locks so many people into poverty. My sincere belief is that if the planet is serious about achieving a greener, more sustainable future, we will have to use modern clean technologies with people-power, as one global community. Professor Ravi Silva, Distinguished Professor, Director - Advanced Technology Institute (ATI) and Head of NanoElectronics Centre

For almost a decade, Professor Silva has sat on the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Transforming Systems through Partnerships (TSP) programme that has conducted over 300 projects worldwide placing engineering at the heart of society. These projects have supported international initiatives targeting areas critical to a more sustainable future – such as net-zero, decarbonisation, feeding a growing population and healthy living for an ageing population.

Professor Silva joins a community of recipients of the Friendship Award, which includes several Nobel laureates – physicist Tsung-Dao Lee, chemist Alan MacDiarmid, cell biologist Erwin Neher and economist James Heckman.

Ravi's commitment to using his research, and the work of the students and colleagues he mentors here at ��, to tackle real problems in disadvantaged communities and the environment is inspiring. From low-cost solar cells to sensors that detect contaminated water, his work reaches far beyond the lab. I want to congratulate him on this latest honour and for continuing to make our University proud. Professor Emma Flynn, Provost and Senior Vice-President

Prof Ravi Silva

Distinguished Professor, Director - Advanced Technology Institute (ATI) and Head of NanoElectronics Centre

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�� students to take part in the largest global live student broadcast

rm0045 — Thu, 22 Oct 2026 08:13:06 +0000

�� students to take part in the largest global live student broadcast rm0045 Thu, 22/10/2026 - 09:13 News

Once again, students from Music and Media are leading the �� contribution to the largest global live student broadcast, ‘On Air’ on Thursday 22 October.

The production content is a combination of work from students studying the Film Production and Broadcast Engineering BEng degree, Music and Sound Recording (Tonmeister) degree, and the masters degree in Film, Animation and Digital Arts , plus student societies Stag TV and Stage Crew in partnership with ��’s Creative Challenge Lab.

�� will be providing a cultural programme, �� Tapestry, for the UK cultural channel, airing at 4:40pm, and �� at the Cinema, live on the film channel at 8:45pm.

Susan Pratt, Associate Professor on the Film Production and Broadcast Engineering degree, comments: “We’ve only had three and a half weeks since the start of term to prepare all the content and introduce new students to running a TV production and learning how to work in a live TV gallery. The team is doing an incredible job.”

This year there will be a live performance from Music and Media students in the Performing Arts Technology Studios (PATS), plus highlights and Director/Production Manager commentary from the 10-year anniversary show of Strictly Come ��.

We will also follow a Guildford School of Acting (GSA) and Music and Media student group as they take on the challenge of performing in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival last summer. The Film, Animation and Digital Art students have added their imaginative motion graphics set to a poetic vision by an English and Creative Writing student. We also explore the international food culture that forms the ingredients of a thriving student community at �� and much more.

�� at the Cinema will feature final year projects from the Film Production and Broadcast Engineering degree, showcasing films, animation and an award-winning documentary.

The �� has also been nominated in five award categories for their contribution to the 2025 On Air production:

Production values
Technical Production
Interview or guest feature - for our interview with Tonmeister alumnus Michael Price
Student Storytelling - which was based around a GSA collaboration
Future broadcast Team - which reviews the overall final output and skills of the students.

Susan Pratt continues: “We are delighted to have been nominated and look forward to another exciting day for our students to take on new broadcast challenges.”

Join us in watching the live broadcast, or for ��’s features:

4.40pm- On Air Culture, UK
7.00pm- On Air Awards 2025
8.45pm - On Air Film Channel.

Susan Pratt

Senior Director of Employability, FABSS, Associate Head of Employability, School of Humanities, Arts and Creative Industries. Associate Professor

Music and sound recording

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�� spin-out develops algorithmic framework to boost mobile network connectivity and connect more devices without new masts

dn0009 — Wed, 21 Oct 2026 15:25:45 +0000

�� spin-out develops algorithmic framework to boost mobile network connectivity and connect more devices without new masts dn0009 Wed, 21/10/2026 - 16:25 Press release

Mobile networks could carry more data and connect more devices from the masts already standing, using signal processing developed by Noema Signal Labs, a new spin-out from the ��.

The technology upgrades the algorithms inside existing equipment, so it needs no new antennas, spectrum or radio hardware.

Founded by Konstantinos Nikitopoulos, Professor of Wireless Communications and Signal Processing at ��’s 6G Innovation Centre, Noema won the Best Startup Award at the 2026 EuCNC & 6G Summit in June, within months of being incorporated. It has since won a place on Deutsche Telekom's Tangible Tomorrow programme and has secured around £1.2 million of funding to bring the technology closer to market.

Phones that show a strong signal but will not load a page or send a message are a familiar frustration in busy city centres. A study commissioned by BBC London, reported in September 2026, found that more than one in four mobile data tests on streets near Covent Garden failed outright on a weekday evening. Off-peak tests performed far better, which points to congestion as the issue rather than a lack of coverage.

Operators usually meet rising demand by adding base stations, buying spectrum and installing larger antenna arrays that draw more power. Each approach raises upfront costs, running costs and energy use.

Noema takes a different approach. Conventional base stations use linear signal processing, which divides the overlapping radio signals from many phones into simpler streams so they can be decoded quickly, but leaves part of the channel's capacity unused. Noema's patented non-linear processing technology decodes the signals together. It works alongside radio resource management (RRM) software, which decides how a network shares its airwaves between users. The technology replaces the algorithms inside base stations, Wi-Fi access points, satellite systems and mobile devices, without new radio hardware or antennas and without changing how devices talk to the network.

On a 5G Open RAN system built to 3GPP standards and tested with commercial devices, Noema's first-generation technology delivered more than 200 per cent higher throughput, connected more than 300 per cent more devices and used 50 per cent fewer antennas and underlying radio circuitry. Open RAN lets operators combine equipment and software from different suppliers, while 3GPP is the partnership that sets global mobile standards.

Noema’s technology could let operators meet rising demand with less infrastructure, spectrum and power, cutting costs and emissions while improving service. Noema sees uses across public, private, defence and satellite networks. The technology could also support industrial automation and physical AI that require constant connectivity, where robots and machines sense and act in the real world.

As more devices and applications rely on real-time connectivity, mobile networks will need to carry more data efficiently. Noema unlocks capacity that sits unused in today's infrastructure, which makes reliable, high-capacity connectivity sustainable at scale. This opens up new possibilities for delivering high-capacity connectivity as demand continues to grow. Professor Konstantinos Nikitopoulos, Professor in Wireless Communications & Signal Processing

Noema was incorporated in March 2026. In June, Professor Nikitopoulos pitched the company at the EuCNC & 6G Summit in Málaga, Spain, where it won the Best Startup Award. At the same event, he and Chathura Jayawardena won the Best Poster Award for research on connecting devices directly to satellites.

In October, Noema joined Tangible Tomorrow, a programme run by hubraum, Deutsche Telekom's tech incubator, with T-Labs. The programme connects start-ups and spin-outs with Deutsche Telekom's business and technology teams to explore and speed up commercial collaboration.

Professor Nikitopoulos' Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) New Investigator Award funded the foundational research at ��’s 6GIC. Innovate UK and the UK Government, through the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and later the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), then supported its development, including NL-COMM, a project funded through the Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) Future Telecommunications challenge.

In 2025, �� and test equipment company Keysight demonstrated the technology, then known as NL-COMM, at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, as one of 33 showcases presented by O-RAN Alliance participants. The University also supported the spin-out process and funded and managed the patents behind Noema's technology.

Noema shows what patient, publicly funded research can realise. The University backed this work from the first research grant, through to protecting the IP, developing the commercial proposition and forming the company. In its first months, Noema has won a European award and a place on a highly selective Deutsche Telekom programme. We are working with more brilliant �� researchers to follow the same path from lab to market. Dr Jim Shaikh, Managing Director of Innovate �� Ltd

Innovate �� Ltd leads the commercialisation of research at the ��. It helps �� researchers to turn their intellectual property into real-world impact through licensing and creating spin-outs, spin-ins, start-ups and scale-ups. Once companies are formed, they receive ongoing support through the �� Innovation District, which brings together �� Research Park, the University's incubation and acceleration programmes and its work with regional innovation clusters.

###

NOTES TO EDITORS

Professor Konstantinos Nikitopoulos is available for interview. Please contact mediarelations@surrey.ac.uk to arrange.

Prof Konstantinos Nikitopoulos

Professor in Wireless Communications & Signal Processing

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�� students gain real-world festival experience through unique partnership

ss0122 — Wed, 21 Oct 2026 15:18:58 +0000

�� students gain real-world festival experience through unique partnership ss0122 Wed, 21/10/2026 - 16:18 News

Each summer, thousands of people head to Latitude Festival for a weekend of music, comedy, theatre and culture. Behind the scenes, through ��’s unique relationship with Latitude Festival since 2022, our students had the opportunity to step beyond the classroom and experience first-hand what it takes to deliver a major live event.

While ��’s connection with Latitude has strong roots in �� Hospitality and Tourism Management, opportunities to get involved were opened to students from across �� Business School this summer. A team of 27 students supported the festival across a wide range of roles, including artist liaison, talent buying, arts promotion, quality control, accessibility, sustainability, and workshop and activity support. The Festival organisers said: "We heard lots of good comments about ��’s students this year, they did a good job, we were very happy having them to help with the festival, and would like to have ��’s students again".

For students considering careers in management, events and related industries, experiences like Latitude offer an impressive addition to a CV, but also provides the chance to put skills into practice in a fast-paced professional environment, build industry connections and gain a deeper understanding of the breadth of careers available across the sector.

The experience has also led directly to further opportunities for �� students. Two students were recruited into key roles within the Licensing and Production offices in July, while one postgraduate International Event Management student went on to secure a further managerial role following a successful summer at the festival.

These opportunities demonstrate the value of combining academic learning with meaningful industry experience, giving students the confidence, connections and practical skills to take the next step in their careers. Dr Li Yanning, Senior Lecturer in Events, Projects, Organisations, Operations, Creative Industry, said: "Learning by experience is an essential part of higher education because it enables students to bridge the gap between theory and practice. Through real-world experiences, students can apply their academic knowledge, develop transferable and industry-specific skills, build confidence, and gain a deeper understanding of the professional workplace. It is so encouraging to see how students’ experience at Latitude developed their teamwork, leadership, adaptability, problem-solving and reflective learning. It is very rewarding seeing our students transform, and even more rewarding seeing that they had a great time and forged friendships."

Dr Yanning Li

Senior Lecturer (Assistant Professor) Events, Projects, Organisations, Operations, Creative Industry

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Motor Characteristics of Early Walking in Children with Williams Syndrome

ps111io — Wed, 21 Oct 2026 10:01:32 +0000

Motor Characteristics of Early Walking in Children with Williams Syndrome ps111io Wed, 21/10/2026 - 11:01 News

A journal article, led by Gloria Yoshkova and published in April 2026, examines motor characteristies of first unsupported walking in toddlers with Williams syndrome (WS) compared to neurotypical peers.

The study found that children with WS began walking independently significantly later than their neurotypical peers. Despite this, their overall walking quality did not differ significantly within a month of walking onset, with only subtle differences in movement patterns.

These results highlight the importance of closely examining early motor development, as subtle differences in movement may be linked to later difficulties and could help inform targeted interventions and provide insight into how motor skills develop.

To access the paper: Yoshkova, G. K., Moss, J., & Farran, E. K. (2026). Motor characteristics of

early walking in children with Williams syndrome. Perceptual and Motor Skills.

https://doi.org/10.1177/00315125261439975

Gloria Yoshkova

Postgraduate Research Student

Prof Emily Farran

Professor in Developmental Psychology

Psychology

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New materials library could help AI design better sodium-ion batteries

vb0027 — Wed, 21 Oct 2026 08:30:37 +0000

New materials library could help AI design better sodium-ion batteries vb0027 Wed, 21/10/2026 - 09:30 Press release

The start of a new battery materials library could pave the way for future AI models to help scientists design sodium-ion batteries that charge faster, last longer and store more energy, according to new research from the ��.

Credit: Getty Images

Sodium-ion batteries are being developed as a promising alternative to conventional lithium-ion batteries, as sodium is much more abundant and widely available. However, improving the amount of energy they can hold and how well they perform over repeated charging is a major barrier to their wider use.

In a new study published in the Journal of Materials Chemistry A, researchers investigated how changing the chemical makeup of sodium manganese oxide could improve its performance as a cathode – a key battery component that helps determine how much energy a battery can store and how well it performs.

The team created a library of 28 different compositions, substituting some of the manganese with varying amounts of iron, titanium and vanadium, before comparing how each performed when tested in sodium-ion batteries.

The results showed that iron was linked to higher energy-storage capacity, vanadium improved stability over repeated charging and discharging, and small amounts of titanium improved performance at higher rates. Some titanium-containing compositions also retained more than 90 per cent of their capacity after 100 cycles.

An automated approach was developed to analyse the large amounts of data generated by the experiments, with the resulting dataset used to train a machine-learning model. While the current library is too small for reliable predictions, expanding it could eventually allow AI to identify new battery compositions before they are made and tested in the lab.

We rely heavily on lithium-ion batteries, but lithium resources are relatively scarce and unevenly distributed around the world. Sodium is far more abundant, making sodium-ion batteries an important technology to develop.

“The challenge is finding materials that deliver the performance we need. This work is a first step towards building the larger datasets needed for machine learning to guide that search – helping us identify promising materials faster and accelerate the development of better sodium-ion batteries. Dr Daniel Commandeur, �� Future Fellow

Expanding the approach to a much wider range of cathode materials could create the larger, high-quality datasets needed for machine learning to help speed up the discovery of new battery materials.

What stood out most was how relatively small changes in composition could shift the balance between how much energy a material can store, how it performs at higher rates and how well it lasts. Mapping those relationships gives us a much clearer picture of where to look next. Eden Marks, PhD Student in Space Engineering

In future, expanding the materials composition library could help scientists tailor sodium-ion cathodes to different performance needs – whether the priority is storing more energy, charging faster or lasting through more charge cycles.

The research was co-led by postgraduate researchers Eden Marks and Lawrence McCaul, with Dr Commandeur cited as corresponding author.

###

Notes to editors

Dr Daniel Commandeur is available for interview; please contact mediarelations@surrey.ac.uk to arrange.
The full paper can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1039/d6ta04588j

New research brings AI-designed sodium-ion batteries a step closer

Dr Daniel Commandeur, Lecturer at ��'s School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, explains the work they've been doing - and how it could pave the way for AI to help accelerate the development of better batteries.

Dr Daniel Commandeur

�� Future Fellow

Eden Marks

PhD Student in Space Engineering

Chemical and process engineering Research

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Top jobs with a masters in business and management

ss0122 — Tue, 20 Oct 2026 20:32:32 +0000

Top jobs with a masters in business and management ss0122 Tue, 20/10/2026 - 21:32 News

Find out what you could do with a masters in business and management, and discover some of the jobs our graduates have secured over the past few years. 

Top jobs in business and management

We have a proven track record in developing and equipping highly skilled graduates who are highly sought after by employers.  

Careers with a business and management masters

Chief Executive Officers/Managing Directors
Chief Operating Officers
Data Analysts
Entrepreneurs
Finance Directors
Human Resources Directors
Supply Chain Managers.

And what else?

Business Development Directors
Digital Marketing Executives
Forecasting Analysts
IT Directors
Management Consultants
Market Researchers
Product Developers
Social Media Managers.

What jobs do �� business and management postgraduates go on to do?

Analyst
Associate Consultant
Customer Executive
Marketing Associate
Media Buyer
Operations Assistant
Recruitment Consultant
Strategic Analyst
Technical Consultant.

Who do our business and management postgraduates work for?

Accenture
Capgemini
Computer Centre
CT Automotives
Densify
Glorydale Merchant Services
Sea Money
The 7 Stars
UIBE.

One of the best things about �� is how practical and career‑focused it is. The University puts a lot of emphasis on real‑world application, collaborations, and helping you think about your future from the start....

Kayal, Entrepreneurship & Innovation Management MSc

How �� sets you above the crowd in the jobs market

Your teachers will show you how to apply academic theory into practice. You’ll benefit from meeting and networking with industry professionals.

As a business and management masters students, you’ll develop your ability to analyse complex issues and reach sound conclusions: a skill set highly desired by employers. Our business and management postgraduates have gone onto work for employers in the commercial sector, finance, start-ups and operations.

Your career will start as soon as you make your first step onto the ��’s campus!

Yifan, Business Analytics MSc

�� is home to outstanding academic minds, many of whom are active researchers or have years of industry experience, keeping our courses job-relevant to give you a clear advantage.  

We link our degree to a wide range of businesses and industries, including start-ups, consultancies and corporations. We regularly invite experts to talk to our students about their work and the career opportunities available in their industry.  

We offer a range of one-to-one and group mentoring opportunities for our students. 

The best thing about my course is the emphasis put on employability throughout, woven into the course content. This has paid off immensely.

Amr, Occupational and Organizational Psychology MSc

Real business challenges

As a business and management student, you will be able to apply your learnings to authentic business projects and issues. Previous MSc student teams have helped numerous start-ups by:

improving product prototypes
creating social media channels
undertaking market research
designing websites and creating content
carrying out SEO audit and optimisation.

Opportunities to enhance your employability at ��

Business networks

Accelerate your career via our 2,300+ business partners, ranging from the entrepreneur to the multinational corporate, plus charities, government organisations and partner universities worldwide.  

Our in-house employment agency, Unitemps

Unitemps is the University's in-house job agency and can help you find temporary work across campus and in local Guildford businesses. With an office on campus, you'll be able to work alongside your studies.

Lifetime's access to �� Pathfinder

Our digital hub where you can find everything from careers appointments and event bookings, to job listings, placements and interactive development tools.

��Connects

This is the ‘LinkedIn’ of the �� where you can connect with �� staff, students and alumni. It's a place where students and recent graduates can contact each other for mentoring, networking and gaining some invaluable career advice.

�� Hatchery

Have you got a business idea? �� Business School’s very own start-up hub hosts workshops, networking events and talks from industry speakers. It’s a great place to get professional support and advice while building a community of like-minded entrepreneurs.

Discover more about our business and management masters programmesour award-winning Careers and Employment team and student life at ��.

Business, marketing and management

�� Business School

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Oli Jacobs - mixing instinct, innovation and a �� sound

kg0046 — Tue, 20 Oct 2026 15:46:33 +0000

Oli Jacobs - mixing instinct, innovation and a �� sound kg0046 Tue, 20/10/2026 - 16:46 News

Grammy-winning mixing engineer Oli Jacobs has worked with some of the world’s biggest artists - including Harry Styles, Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar and Peter Gabriel. Now, the �� Tonmeister graduate has been named winner of the Young Achiever Award in the University’s 2026 Vice-Chancellor’s Alumni Awards

For Oli, the best moments in music are still the simplest: hearing a song he helped craft drift from a passing car, or watching thousands of people sing it back at a live show.

“That’s when I feel the proudest,” he says. “Seeing other people enjoying something that I helped bring into existence - that’s the best feeling.”

It is a feeling Oli has experienced many times over. Since graduating from ��’s renowned Music and Sound Recording (Tonmeister) course in 2014, he has built a career at the very highest level of the global music industry, becoming one of the most sought-after mixing engineers of his generation. His credits span major artists and landmark projects, while his work in immersive audio and Dolby Atmos has placed him at the forefront of a rapidly evolving field.

Finding the right frequency at ��

Oli arrived at �� with a love of both music and technology - and a strong sense that Tonmeister was the only course that truly brought the two together.

“When I looked into it, it became clear it was the only course that captured what I wanted to do,” he says. “It had a history of strong graduates doing great things, great facilities, staff who had done it for real, and the placement year was a massive bonus.”

He almost didn’t make it. Oli remembers being told he was on the reserve list, only to receive a place shortly afterwards when someone else dropped out. “I got really lucky,” he says.

Once he arrived, that sense of belonging was immediate. It was not one defining lecture or single project that confirmed he had made the right choice, but the people around him.

“You get there and meet people who have the same urge to know what’s what,” he says. “Their interests line up with yours. That’s confirmation you’re in the right place.”

He also remembers being let loose in the studios early on: “Someone was like, ‘You can just go and figure that out.’ There was this freedom and excitement.”

A community that keeps going

For Oli, ��’s impact did not end at graduation. More than a decade later, the Tonmeister community remains a living network of friends, collaborators and colleagues.

“I left 12 years ago and I’m still in touch with a lot of people who went there,” he says. “It doesn’t feel like a course you go and do and then leave. It becomes very much a part of your life.”

That network has also shaped his career. Oli has worked with fellow �� graduates on major records, including collaborations connected to Sam Fender and other projects, and still turns to fellow �� Tonmeisters for advice across different corners of the industry.

“The people you’re on the course with will be your future colleagues,” he says. “Work really hard - and work with your friends.”

From Real World to Los Angeles

After completing his placement year at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios, Oli returned there straight after graduation. His graduation ceremony was followed, the very next day, by his first day of work.

“There were no days off,” he laughs.

He spent almost a decade at Real World, learning the discipline, urgency and etiquette of studio life. The early years were demanding: long days, modest pay and a need to “earn your stripes”. But Oli sees that period as essential.

“You learn how studios work, when to leave the room, when to speak, when to be quiet,” he says. “You learn the importance of the project.”

A major turning point came when he engineered a record with Harry Styles. “After that, there’s another level of trust and understanding,” he says. “It really helped catapult me.”

Later, projects with The 1975, Jack Antonoff and Sam Fender helped accelerate his career further. In recent years, now based in Los Angeles, Oli says the trajectory has felt almost surreal: “Sometimes you’re like, ‘How did I get to do that?’”

Innovation in immersive sound

Alongside stereo mixing, Oli has become recognised for his work in immersive audio, including Dolby Atmos. He sees the format as an exciting space for artists to communicate with listeners in new ways.

“Anything that challenges the norm and gives engineers and artists new ways to communicate with audiences is amazing,” he says. “There’s a possibility for new ways for artists to express themselves beyond stereo.”

He points to Peter Gabriel’s Grammy-winning immersive album, i/o as an example of the format at its best: an artist genuinely engaged with the possibilities, rather than treating Atmos as an afterthought.

“When an artist is really behind it and excited about it, that’s where it comes into its own,” Oli says.

Giving back to the next generation

Despite a demanding international career, Oli has remained closely connected to �� and has returned to deliver workshops for final-year students, as well as volunteered at “Ask An Alum” networking events.

For him, giving back is simple. “�� gave me so much early on when I didn’t have a clue where to begin,” he says. “It gave me options and ideas. It’s also a place where a lot of new talent is learning, so doing what you can to help the next generation of music creators is really important.”

When current students ask about careers, Oli’s advice is reassuring: keep an open mind, work hard and follow the opportunities that appear.

“There are jobs in music,” he says. “They might not be exactly what you intended, but if you work really hard and stay open-minded, there’s a lot going on.”

A full-circle honour

Winning the Young Achiever award as part of ��’s 2026 Vice-Chancellor’s Alumni Awards came as a surprise.

“It’s very humbling and deeply surprising,” Oli says. “Awards aren’t something I set out to achieve. To be recognised by the place that gave you so much is amazing.”

For ��, Oli’s success represents the best of the Tonmeister tradition: technical excellence, creativity, collaboration and generosity. For Oli, the work still comes back to people - the artists, friends, mentors and listeners who make music matter.

“Music can be a place of sanctuary and solace,” he says. “It’s sometimes less direct than some artforms, but it absolutely has that power.”

Music and sound recording

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