Celebrating one year as Bayes Business School
As Bayes Business School marks its first birthday, we take a look at some key milestones from the last 12 months.
This week marks one year since our business school officially changed its name from Cass to Bayes.
The name change was prompted by the recognition that it does not align with our values as a global business school to honour a slave trader through our name, and fuelled by a desire to ‘change more than a name’ – doing more for diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Here is a look back on some of the highlights of the last year.
6 September 2021: Day One of Bayes Business School
We became Bayes Business School on Monday 6 September. This followed several months of consultation with all stakeholders, including a crowdfunding site where students, alumni, and staff could suggest other naming options, due diligence and translation checks, focus groups and surveys. More than 8,000 stakeholders participated and Bayes Business School was chosen as the overwhelming favourite from a shortlist in April 2021.
Read the official announcement of the new name.
Along with this came a strong commitment to changing more than a name and addressing issues surrounding inequality and opportunity. For the first time, all new undergraduate and MSc students received Inclusive Teamworking Workshops as part of their induction programmes to explore the benefits and key considerations of working in an inclusive global environment.
25 October 2021: Bayes ranked as UK’s top MBA programme for entrepreneurship
In October, Bayes was ranked as the UK’s best MBA programme for entrepreneurship for the second year in a row, as well as third in Europe and rising eight places to a top ten position globally.
The ranking used indicators like available resources, entrepreneurship curricula and the number of graduates starting companies or working for start-ups.
Read more about the 2021 Poets Quants Top MBA Programmes for Entrepreneurship list.
29 November 2021: Bayes launches new scholarship programme for black British undergraduate students
The first of Bayes’ new scholarship programmes was announced in November, with the introduction of the Bayes Business School Black Students Scholarship, a ten-year fully-funded programme aimed at achieving greater racial diversity in both Higher Education and in business.
From this academic year, Bayes will award up to ten scholarships per year to UK-domiciled students of black ethnicity from lower-than-average income households. It will cover tuition fees at home-fee level along with a living stipend and mentoring support.
The funding for this Scholarship comes from repurposing the original £5 million grant received in 2002 from the then-called Sir John Cass Foundation – now the Portal Trust – that resulted in the business school taking the Cass name.
Read more about the Scholarship and find out how to apply.
24 January 2022: Professor Lilian de Menezes appointed as Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Professor Lilian de Menezes was appointed as Bayes’ first Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in January to oversee the School’s widening participation activities.
In her previous position as Co-Director for Racial Equity and Inclusion, Professor de Menezes was instrumental in the name change process and helped to develop the School’s strategy on racial inclusion.
The Associated Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is a member of the School’s Leadership Team.
Find out more about the appointment.
24 February 2022: Rt. Hon. Rishi Sunak MP delivers the Mais Lecture and Professor David Olusoga OBE delivers the Tacitus Lecture
In February, the then-Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, was at Bayes to deliver the 34th Mais Lecture, where he set out his vision for a lower tax economy delivered in a responsible way.
The event at Bunhill Row was attended by members of the media, business leaders and representatives of the Bayes and City communities. The speech was followed by a Q&A with hosted by Barbara Casu, Director of the Centre for Banking Research and Professor of Banking & Finance at Bayes.
The event was covered by national and international media, including the Financial Times, The Telegraph, The Guardian, BBC News, ITV News and Bloomberg.
Read more about the 2022 Mais Lecture.
On the same day at London’s Guildhall, Professor David Olusoga OBE delivered the Tacitus Lecture which was sponsored by Bayes.
The Tacitus Lecture is the largest lecture of its type in the City of London, bringing together the international business community, City livery companies, educators and students.
Professor Olusoga’s lecture highlighted the pervasive influence that the Atlantic slave trade still has today on UK social behaviour two centuries after abolition.
8 March 2022: Professor André Spicer appointed as Dean
Professor André Spicer was appointed to succeed Professor Paolo Volpin as Dean of Bayes Business School in March. Professor Spicer is known for research on organisational culture, employee identity, wellbeing, workspaces, and leadership, and for its application in a wide range of business settings. He also co-founded the Centre for Responsible Enterprise (ETHOS) at Bayes.
A respected media commentator, Professor Spicer has authored books around navigating the workplace, including The Stupidity Paradox, The Wellness Syndrome, Business Bullsh*t and Desperately Seeking Self Improvement.
Read more about Professor Spicer’s appointment.
12 May 2022: Bayes ranks fifth in the UK for research excellence
Bayes was ranked highly in the delayed Research Excellence Framework (REF2021), released in May 2022.
Based on Times Higher Education league tables, Bayes ranked 5th in the UK, with 92% of our research classified as ‘world leading or internationally excellent.’
Read more and find out about some of the top Bayes submissions.
13 June 2022: Bayes MSc Finance ranked 22nd in the world
Bayes’ MSc Finance programme climbed three places globally to 22nd in the Financial Times’ Masters in Finance Ranking 2022. In addition, the School was placed 5th in the UK and 3rd in London.
Overall alumni satisfaction was ranked 9th in the world, with alumni career progress rated 3rd in the UK. Bayes’ score was predominantly driven by average alumni salary levels (also found to be the most of any UK university in a separate study), career progress and student diversity – with greater female and international representation across the programme.
Read more about the Financial Times’ Masters in Finance Ranking 2022.
28 June 2022: Bayes Summer Celebration
Around 900 Bayes students, staff and alumni came together in the City of London for the Bayes Summer Celebration in June at Sushisamba in the Heron Tower – the first in-person event of its kind since the pandemic.
Looking over magnificent views of the City, Tom Ilube, alumnus and Chair of the Rugby Football Union (RFU), delivered a keynote speech in which he stated his belief that the name change was the most exciting moment in the Business School’s history.
8 July 2022: Bayes launches Boyle-Rodney Scholarship to support MSc studies
In July, Bayes launched the Boyle-Rodney Scholarship to support widen access to our MSc programmes. The Scholarship is part-funded by James Boyle, an alumnus of Bayes (MSc Real Estate Investment, 1997) and named after Bill Rodney, Senior Lecturer in Valuation at Bayes. It will support two students per year on any Bayes MSc postgraduate degree, covering the full tuition fee and paying out a living stipend.
Find out more about the Scholarship and how to apply.
Happy Bayes Day!