The University of Bolton is delighted to support the 2023 Bolton Business Awards.

We are proud to be at the heart of the local community and to champion events such as these Awards which celebrate the many successful and diverse businesses and the best our town has to offer.

These are exciting times for the University of Bolton. We have come a long way since we were founded in 1825 as the Bolton Mechanics’ Institute. Then the mission was to provide vocational education opportunities to local working men and women, support industry and enhance the social and economic wellbeing of the area - to provide the widest possible access for individuals to achieve their potential.

Almost 200 years on, the University’s commitment to making a positive local impact and playing a key civic role remains central to our contribution to Bolton and Greater Manchester.

We are proud to have one of the most socially inclusive and diverse student populations of any university in the UK.

Many of our students come from some of the most deprived communities, while students with disabilities and care leavers are well represented. We are one of the most successful in England at widening access to HE for traditionally under-represented groups.

We are one of only two ‘dual sector’ universities in the UK; with Bolton College we have formed a unique national pilot between Further and Higher Education within a single overarching structure.

The University of Bolton has been named in the top 30 best UK universities in The Guardian guide for 2024 released in September. The University is now ranked 30th, having moved up eight places after last year being placed 38th out of 121 Higher Education institutions in the national newspaper’s annual Guide. It is the highest place 'post '92' university in the whole of the UK.

The University of Bolton’s Greater Manchester Business School, in Newport Street, specialises in courses tailored to meet employers’ needs. It is a great place to realise your full potential, expand your knowledge and develop skills if you are interested in a career in the exciting and fast-paced world of business, accountancy and law. Our business, accounting and law courses are developed by experts, which help our students gain recognised qualifications, skills and the confidence to build rewarding and successful careers.

Our courses include specialist lectures, visits, workshops, conferences and internships so that students can gain ‘hands-on’ business experience and develop strong portfolios. We enjoy close links with professional bodies and programmes help small and medium-sized businesses across the North West and beyond to seize opportunities to extend their markets, embrace new technologies and improve their performance.

The University of Bolton excels at teaching and student support across all our programmes, and we are a leading new university in the North West, as demonstrated by our 2023 National Student Survey (NSS) scores which placed us top in the North West for teaching.

Exciting future plans include the University of Bolton’s £40m Institute of Medical Sciences, an innovative and nationally recognised University project. It is closely connected to the Royal Bolton Hospital and will be based on the hospital site, providing a springboard for further ambitious plans, including the development of a full University of Bolton Medical School.