Responding to concerns facing students when competing for jobs in contemporary labour markets requires a step change by higher education to the design, delivery and assessment of academic awards. One of the key design challenges involves the provision of an increasingly integrated approach to the study of business and management disciplines which moves away a ‘silo-based’ approach encouraged by modular based schemes and awards (Ortiz, 2004).

This paper presents a case study response to the question of how higher education may respond to concerns about retaining the relevance of curricula to future employment. The focus of this paper is the first year of a suite of undergraduate awards (BA Business Excellence). The purpose of these awards is to equip students with relevant knowledge and skills for employment in today’s and tomorrow's business world.

To design and deliver the curriculum a cross subject team of tutors was established. For example, in the module the Market Place there are elements of quantitative techniques, finance, marketing (including marketing of self), HR and research methods, each of which is taught by a different tutor.

The curriculum was designed around the following themes; establishment, finance, operation and regulation. In addition students learn about the dynamics of decision making processes within these boundaries and the complexities of organisational existence within the context of an international market-place. The real test however was to operationalise the principles behind team teaching and the processes related to integrated assessment.

Coca Cola was identified as a suitable organisation to provide the focus and context for this development and their consent and support was gained. The structure of the company and its role as an official supplier to the 2012 Olympics provides a unique backdrop, and future focus, against which a number of subject focussed assignment briefs could be developed.

Our paper begins by presenting the design and delivery of the new curriculum and focuses upon the integrated assessment regime. By integrated we mean an approach within which several subjects could be meaningfully included for assessment purposes, both formative and summative to help the student understand how these issues articulate with one another in a business setting. We present quantitative and qualitative data collected from students and academic staff (specifically about timetabling and the new assessment regime) and discuss the results of this data in terms of how the experience met the outcomes which were anticipated during the design process.

Despite the logistical difficulties of organising a curriculum in the way described the outcomes have considerably exceeded our expectations particularly in terms of the willingness to engage with the principles from academic staff and the enthusiastic ways in which students engaged themselves in the spirit of the approach.