Applications open for Help to Grow: Management Course at Queen Mary Business School

1 October 2026

Applications are now open for the January 2027 cohort of Help to Grow: Management Course at Queen Mary Business School, giving leaders of small and medium-sized businesses the opportunity to step back from the day-to-day demands of running an organisation and focus on its future. 

What does the Help to Grow programme involve? 

The 12-week programme brings together practical learning, academic expertise, mentoring and peer-to-peer support to help SME leaders address the challenges facing their businesses and make informed decisions about growth. Delivered by senior academics and industry experts at Queen Mary Business School, it is designed to translate the latest thinking in business and management into approaches leaders can apply within their own organisations.  

Participants will explore areas including strategy and innovation, digital transformation, winning new markets, marketing, brand development, organisational design, employee engagement, operations and financial management. Rather than considering these areas in isolation, the programme culminates in participants developing and implementing a Growth Action Plan for their own business. 

Alongside the taught programme, each participant will receive one-to-one support from an experienced small business mentor through Enterprise Nation, providing dedicated space to examine their organisation's particular challenges and opportunities. Participants will also learn alongside other SME leaders, creating opportunities to test ideas, encounter different perspectives and build a network that extends beyond the course itself.  

Why does the Help to Grow programme matter? 

Help to Grow reflects Queen Mary Business School's commitment to working closely with organisations and connecting rigorous thinking with the decisions businesses face in practice. 

Based in East London and connected to one of the world's most dynamic business and innovation ecosystems, Queen Mary Business School brings together academic expertise, businesses and entrepreneurs through its Entrepreneurship Hub. Help to Grow builds on this work by making businesses part of the learning process, giving leaders the opportunity to examine real organisational challenges while developing the judgement and confidence to respond to change. 

Building on Queen Mary Business School's commitment to SMEs 

The programme will launch following Queen Mary University of London's five-year reaccreditation with the Small Business Charter, which recognises the Business School and University's work in supporting SMEs, advancing entrepreneurship education and contributing to local and regional economic growth. 

Rui Barros Silva, Programme Manager for the Help to Grow Management Course, said: 

“SMEs are the backbone of the UK economy, and at Queen Mary Business School we are proud to support the leaders behind them. Through Help to Grow, we help participants build the confidence, skills and strategies needed to grow their businesses and thrive in an increasingly complex and competitive environment.” 

What do SME leaders need to know? 

Recognising that SME leaders need to balance developing their business with the demands of running it, Help to Grow combines online sessions with face-to-face learning at Queen Mary. The January 2027 cohort begins on 7 January 2027, with teaching running through to 30 March 2027. 

The programme is 90% government funded for eligible UK SMEs, with participants contributing £750 towards the cost. Businesses must be UK-based, have between 5 and 249 employees, have been trading for more than 12 months and have at least one layer of management. Applicants must be senior leaders or decision-makers responsible for their organisation's growth and strategy. 

Through Help to Grow, Queen Mary Business School will support SME leaders not simply to pursue growth, but to consider how and why they grow, equipping them to make better decisions, lead confidently through uncertainty and create resilient organisations that can contribute positively to the economy and society. 

Apply for Help to Grow 

Find out more about the programme, eligibility, and how to apply