Entrepreneur alumnus joins influential business advice team

Local entrepreneur and NUBS alumnus Aaron Dicks has joined the University of Nottingham’s influential Entrepreneurs in Residence (EIR) programme to support engagement between the University and local SMEs, entrepreneurs and students.

Mr Dicks, who founded multi-award winning digital marketing agency Impression alongside partner Tom Craig, will form part of the panel that has been established in collaboration with the Small Business Charter (SBC) and the Haydn Green Institute. Together with other successful entrepreneurs from around the city, he will engage in activities including mentoring student business and SMEs, guest speaking and aiding academics in their research.

Enthusing about this new role, Mr Dicks commented: “Founding and growing a successful digital marketing agency has taught me a lot and really opened my eyes to the vast array of opportunities available to entrepreneurs, particularly here in Nottingham. It’s been an incredible journey and I’m very pleased to be able to support others taking their first steps through the Entrepreneurs in Residence programme.

“Nottingham is home to some of the UK’s leading brands and also to a huge range of small and growing businesses, all of which contribute to the very varied economic landscape that’s developing here. We chose to base our digital marketing agency here because we believe Nottingham to be a real hub for digital growth in particular; we regularly support and host events, training, guest speaking and business development opportunities ourselves with a view to supporting that ongoing growth for years to come.”

The Nottingham Entrepreneurs in Residence scheme is part of the national programme run by the Small Business Charter and spearheaded by Professor Rob Carroll, Professor in Practice of Venture Capital and Private Equity at the Haydn Green Institute, the Business School's leading centre for enterprise education and entrepreneurial skills development at Nottingham. Professor Carroll is also Vice Chair of the Small Business Charter.

In 2013 Mr Dicks graduated from the Growth 100 programme, an initiative jointly delivered by the Haydn Green Institute and Nottingham City Council which was specifically aimed at developing the skills and knowledge of business owners and directors from local SME's with growth potential to help them exploit opportunities and lay the ground for future investment.

Over the past two years Impression have partnered with the Business School to provide professional development opportunities in digital and social media marketing for alumni and SME's across the region and in London. Further events are planned for April and September this year.

More details of Business School alumni events

More about the EIR scheme