University of Buckingham forms new partnership with MK Lightning

Smith Recycling Milton Keynes Lightning is proud to announce a new partnership with The University of Buckingham.

This comes as the club embarks on the exciting challenge of competing in the top tier of UK ice hockey for the first time.

As part of the partnership agreement with Lightning, four of the 2017-18 team will study for a Masters in Business Administration with the University.

Jane Tapsell, Dean of The University of Buckingham, said: “We are delighted to be entering this partnership with MK Lightning and look forward to welcoming the Lightning players to the University. We’re very excited by the opportunities this partnership will provide, both to our staff and student body and everyone involved with MK Lightning. As the University enters its 41^st year we are thrilled to be continuing our close working relationships with Milton Keynes.”

MK Lightning and GB Head Coach Peter Russell added: “This is a very exciting time for the MK Lightning having four MBA placements available at Buckingham University will help make us a more competitive team, so this is a partnership I am very proud to be part of.”

Lightning’s Commercial Manager, Sarah Jane Smyth, commented: “From the minute I had my first telephone conversation with Jane, I felt The University of Buckingham was the University we needed to work with. Their ethos and forward-thinking approach to learning has helped keep them at the top of the UK university satisfaction rankings, and we are delighted to be working with them.”

Buckingham, which is the only UK university independent of direct government support, has used its independence to pioneer a distinctive approach to higher education and became the first in Britain to open a private medical school two years ago in a partnership with Milton Keynes University Hospital.

The University’s continuous commitment to quality has seen it placed at or close to the top of the National Student Survey rankings for student satisfaction since 2006. In 2016, it was named University of the Year for teaching quality by The Times and Sunday Times.

A more attractive staff-to-student ratio than the UK university average means a high and continuous level of support is maintained, allowing a degree of interaction between staff and students that is rarely seen in other universities. The University offers a diverse range of courses, from accounting to diplomacy and from marketing to international studies.

Formed in 2002, MK Lightning competed in the English Premier Ice Hockey League, leaving as the most successful team ever to compete at the level – with nine major trophies. From September the club will compete at the top tier of the sport in the UK, the Elite League.

Under the ambitious new ownership team of Graham and Monica Moody, the club has already made a statement of intent with the signings of Guillaume Doucet from reigning Elite League champions Cardiff Devils, and Kevin King from reigning French league champions Gap.