Newcastle University Partner with CrowdHouse Energy Limited To Support Their Global Expansion

Newcastle University Business School (NUBS) and CrowdHouse Energy Limited have joined forces to strengthen links between business and academia.

Newcastle University Business School and CrowdHouse Energy Limited have joined forces to strengthen links between business and academia. CrowdHouse Energy has tapped into engagement opportunities throughout the Business School to support the company’s global expansion while also providing practical learning opportunities for students.  

CrowdHouse Energy’s introduction to the Business School

As part of the University's aim to engage with industry, the MBA programme hosted a networking event for MBA students to meet with businesses of the Newcastle Helix. Among the companies invited was CrowdHouse Energy, a renewable energy innovation company that had recently relocated to the Newcastle Helix.  

CrowdHouse Energy CEO Richard Blackwell was impressed by the quality of students he met during the event and wanted to connect with the expertise and talent available at the Business School.

Finding solutions to business challenges

CrowdHouse Energy met with team members at Newcastle University Business School and discussed how students could help with their business challenges, specifically around market expansion and exporting their renewable products.

To help them gather information, CrowdHouse Energy was paired with a team of students from the International Business Management MSc programme. As part of their dissertation, the postgraduate students were tasked with learning about CrowdHouse Energy’s renewable products and researching the scale of growth in Europe - is it sufficient to warrant further significant investment and resource? 

“Europe presents as a significant market for our product and is an area identified in our expansion plan.” Richard explained. “This research will allow us to better understand the market scale and help us build a strategy around it.” 

Collaborating to support business growth  

Based on their commitment to sustainability and the North East, CrowdHouse Energy was then awarded the opportunity to host the prestigious Herbert Loebl Export Academy Internship. 

The internship is funded by an endowment made by Herbert Loebl and enables one student the opportunity to work on-site with an SME focusing on exportation. MBA student Tarun Jindal, was the successful candidate for the 2023 Herbert Loebl Internship and gained valuable experience with CrowdHouse Energy.

“This internship really helped me utilise all the MBA learning in practical business development.” Tarun explained.

“Embarking on this journey of market exploration and global expansion has been both a rewarding experience and an invaluable learning opportunity. It has reinforced my commitment to driving innovation and sustainable growth while navigating the complexities of today's business landscape.”

In addition to working with Tarun as a funded intern, CrowdHouse Energy also welcomed two other Newcastle University Business School students to the team. The new employees had each applied for the Herbert Loebl Internship but were offered full-time roles at the company instead.

Building on our relationship

Since that initial meeting at the Newcastle Helix, CrowdHouse Energy has not only hosted a student project and the Herbert Loebl internship, but also welcomed two Newcastle University Business School students into the organisation.

Reflecting on the relationship with Newcastle University Business School, Richard said, “We look forward to continuing to build on our special relationship with Newcastle University and benefitting from knowledge sharing and experience with their exemplary faculty and students for many years to come.” 

This post was originally posted on Newcastle University: https://www.ncl.ac.uk/business/news-events/news-items/2023/october/partnership-with-crowdhouse-energy-limited/