UNIVERSITY of Bolton chiefs have set their sights on making their new business school compete with the best in the world.

Just under 1,000 students study at the school, which was officially launched by millionaire bookmaker Fred Done in front of more than 100 entrepreneurs on Wednesday night.

Most of the courses already existed, but education bosses are hope that introducing new ones in September and bringing all business-related courses together under the new name will mean they can continue to draw students from across the globe.

The university’s pro vicechancellor, Professor Rob Campbell, said: “We have ambitions to be a business school of international renown and our business courses are firmly established already in several international locations.

“We have students studying for University of Bolton degrees in business-related subjects at locations as far away as Vietnam and Zambia, but we are very focused on the significance of our regional business communities and what we can do to build success for business here and so we were delighted so many could be with us at our launch.”

A new executive MBA course will be available from September, which is a post-graduate course for people working fulltime in management positions The business school’s manager, Lisa Cove-Burrell, said: “The school’s core values focus on ensuring our students gain the right knowledge and the extra skills their chosen profession looks for in graduate employees. We are also aware that they have busy lives that may not be able to revolve around traditional timetables.”

The university’s professor of law, part-time judge and barrister, Stephen Hardy, added: “We are building a business school that will be internationally recognised for its strengths, a provider of focused portfolios of courses at under-graduate and post-graduate levels, underpinned by business, law and finance sector research that will meaningfully contribute to our areas of expertise.”

Visit bolton.ac.uk for more information.