MBE for founder of Northumbria University's pioneering Business Clinic

A Northumbria University academic who founded a pioneering Business Clinic that has connected thousands of students with real-world business challenges has been recognised in His Majesty The King's Birthday Honours 2026.

Nigel Coates has been awarded an MBE for services to Higher Education and to Business.

Nigel founded the University’s Business Clinic in 2013, developing it from initial concept into one of the most recognised real-world experiential learning initiatives in UK higher education.

Under his leadership, more than 3,000 final-year undergraduate and postgraduate students who study in the University’s Newcastle Business School have worked on almost 800 live consultancy projects for external clients.

The Business Clinic model ensures students can gain practical experience while helping businesses, charities, and social enterprises tackle genuine challenges.

Clients valued the consultancy reports developed by students during Nigel’s time as Director at an average of £5,500 each, meaning Northumbria’s Business Clinic provided more than £4.3 million of pro-bono support, with further benefits realised as organisations implemented recommendations over time.

The success of Northumbria’s Business Clinic has led to Nigel advising more than a dozen universities in the UK and abroad on how they can establish their own version.

The initiative has received a series of national accolades, including the Exemplar Status from the Small Business Charter which recognises the Business Clinic as a benchmark for best practice across the sector, and the Small Business Charter award for Outstanding Support for Student Enterprise and Entrepreneurship.

Nigel retired as Associate Professor and Director of the Business Clinic in 2024 after working at Northumbria for 36 years and retains his link with the University as a Visiting Fellow.

He said: "I am genuinely overwhelmed – and utterly surprised – to receive this MBE. It is an honour I hold with enormous pride. But this award does not belong to me alone. Everything we achieved at the Business Clinic was down to a truly wonderful team whom I had the great privilege of leading.

“I am also deeply grateful for the unwavering support of the University, without which none of this would have been possible. I accept this with a very full heart."

Professor Andy Long, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of Northumbria University, said: “We are so pleased to see this outstanding recognition of Nigel’s work, which has had such a significant impact on thousands of students and on hundreds of businesses over more than a decade.

“The Business Clinic is one of Northumbria University’s most innovative schemes, ensuring students are supported to gain real-world skills and connections they need for their future careers during their studies. The model developed by Nigel has been recognised within and beyond higher education as an exemplar of best practice, setting not only a standard for others to follow, but also setting thousands of Northumbria graduates out into the workplace with experiences few others would have.”

The Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) is awarded in recognition of distinguished service to a particular locality or type of activity, public service, or voluntary work.

Beyond the Business Clinic, Nigel serves as Chair of the Chartered Institute of Marketing Charitable Trust, overseeing the advancement of marketing education and research for the benefit of the public, and has been a national judge for both the Young Enterprise Start Up Programme and the RSA Student Design Awards. In 2025, he was awarded Honorary Life Membership of the Academy of Marketing in recognition of extraordinary service to the discipline.

He has served as a Trustee and Director of Smile for Life Children's Charity since 2011, and as a Governors at Sir Charles Parsons Special School since 2009 and has recently taken up the role of Chair.

A former Chairman of the CIM North East Branch and CIM Region, and recipient of the CIM National President's Award for outstanding service to the Institute, he has also acted as Knowledge Based Supervisor for three major Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, each independently rated as Outstanding.

Read more about the Business Clinic and its achievements here.