SMALL businesses are being offered help with enterprise and technology projects through a free consultancy scheme run by Northumbria University.

Second-year students studying a range of IT-based programmes in the School of Computing, Engineering and Information Sciences work on live projects as part of their consultancy project module.

Over the last decade, students have helped organisations with numerous projects including researching business or market needs, producing business plans, web and database development, security audits, analysing and evaluating information systems and employee training.

Module tutor, Paula Brumby, said: “Many businesses know that taking a new project or initiative forward could bring benefits, but existing commitments make it difficult to find the time to begin.

“The consultancy module helps both the organisation and the student. It gives the student excellent experience of working on projects that will have a real impact, and businesses benefit from a fresh perspective and free support over an extended period to identify, plan, implement or evaluate new schemes or existing initiatives.”

Consultancy projects will run between November and April. All consulting time is free of charge although businesses are encouraged to reimburse students’ travel expenses.