Back Back

International partnership with Wolves FC is music to students’ ears

15/06/2023
Screen shots of a Zoom meeting between Podar College students and Wolves

The University of Wolverhampton and Wolverhampton Wanderers FC (Wolves) hosted an online event in partnership with one of its key education partners based in India recently. 

This year, business students at Podar World College, Mumbai, a collaborative transnational education partner of the University of Wolverhampton, took part in an international project working with Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club. 

Podar World College (PWC) is part of the Podar Education Trust, which has offered education opportunities for over 90 years and works with the University of Wolverhampton to offer local students Business Management Undergraduate and Business Administration Master’s degrees.   

Following the launch of Wolves Records in 2022, the project tasked students to explore possible creative routes and ideas for Wolves to enter and establish the Wolves brand in the Indian music industry.  Students worked as external marketing consultants with Russell Jones - General Manager of Marketing and Commercial Growth at Wolves. 

The label, Wolves Records, is an ambitious and unique proposition that is uniting two of the world’s biggest passions – music and football.  Students worked in small groups and proposed a range of unique strategies for Wolves to consider their growth into India.  Some ideas included music events, collaborations with Mumbai City FC and music stars, taking advantage of the Metaverse, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and digital tokens, bi-lingual music to celebrate diversity, merchandising and one group even created an Indian flute version of ‘Hi-Ho Silver Lining (Wolverhampton!)’. 

The student groups competed against one another online to pitch their ideas to Russell Jones. 

Rubaina Shaikh, International Business Management student, said: “One of our main ideas was to collaborate with a famous influencer named King who is a singing sensation and shares a large fan base.   

“We enjoyed creating a fusion of a flute instrumental tune, as an anthem for Wolves - positioning the label with the most loved sport in India - cricket and having Wolves records in tunes with the teams in the Indian Premier League.  

“As a student participating for 4 consecutive years in the International Project with Wolves FC across diverse ranges like Football, Fashion, Esports and Music has been extremely rewarding for management students like us glocalising market entry strategies.”   

Alviya Shaikh, Business Management student, said: “Working on this International Project was a profound experience for our group and it gave us first-hand experience in the world of business. In our pitch, we were able to apply our module learning in a practical real-world situation and truly showcase our creative side.  

“Working with the Wolves and exploring ideas for the entry of the Wolves into the music industry gave us insight into segmentation and the market scenario of India. We learned a great deal from our seniors; listening to their pitch was a worthwhile experience. Being runners-up in the International project has been enormous, we are already looking forward to the next International Project and aspire to win.” 

Russell said: “It’s always an absolute pleasure to see and hear the presentations from Podar students. I can honestly say that the students’ creativity, dedication and enthusiasm is truly inspirational, which is why I enjoy the sessions so much. It’s a real honour for Wolverhampton Wanderers to be part of this partnership. Every year the quality of output gets better and better - this year is no exception, and I offer my huge congratulations to all of the students and teaching staff.” 

Joshua Whale, Lecturer of Enterprise and Entrepreneurship at the University, has been supporting Podar World College for five years as a Link Tutor and said: “It is an absolute pleasure of mine to work with the students at Podar World College as they are a credit to the University of Wolverhampton.   

“Wolves have always been willing to support with creative opportunities for our students and projects such as this have been delivered annually since 2019.  Students who take part in the projects are given an opportunity to put theory into practice with hands on learning with an English Premier League and globally recognised football team – a moment they treasure for years to come.” 

Anyone interested in courses being offered should check out the website or register for one of our forthcoming Open Days. 

ENDS 

  

For more information please contact the Corporate Communications Team.

Share this release

Related Stories