The Ningbo Camellia Award is the city's highest honour for foreign individuals recognising their contribution to local development, whether in business, technology, culture or education.

Commenting on the award, Professor Lockett said, "I'm delighted to receive this prestigious reward which reflects above all the hard work and competence of the academic and professional staff in Nottingham University Business School China. I'm pleased to have contributed to NUBS China's development and more widely to the City of Ningbo."

Since first visiting China in 1975, Professor Lockett has maintained a strong bond with the country. In the 1980s, he participated in a research project with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences on industrial management, followed by observation of China's then-new special economic zones. He has also repeatedly expressed ideas about China on media, notably BBC World Service and the China Global Television Network (CGTN).

Since June 2017, Professor Lockett has served as the Dean of NUBS China. Under his leadership, NUBS China recruited many high-level talents from all over the world. All undergraduate programmes offered by NUBS China have been recognised by Ningbo City. The 'International Business' programme has been awarded the title of 'Key Discipline' by the Ningbo Municipal Government. In the 2018 Shanghai Academic Ranking of World Universities, NUBS China ranked among the top 35 business schools in China, and in 2021 was ranked in the top 150-200 universities worldwide in the Business Administration and Management subject areas. The BSc Finance Accounting and Management programme was awarded National Level 'First Class'' Programme in 2019. NUBS China's 'Marketing Management' module won one of UNNC's first-ever National First-Class Module Awards in 2020. Professor Lockett also promoted establishing a business school advisory committee to strengthen the relationship between the business school and industry.

At the same time, he is also actively promoting Ningbo in academia. He was the editor-in-chief of the Asia Pacific Journal of Business Administration from 2018 to 2021. He has given many speeches at Chinese and international academic conferences and events, including the Academy of International Business (AIB), the Association of Masters of Business Administration (AMBA), and the International Association for Chinese Management Research (IACMR). As a Ningbo investment ambassador, Professor Lockett is also committed to promoting Ningbo in the international market.

Professor Martin Lockett graduated from Cambridge University in Engineering and Management, then continued to research in Cambridge and received his PhD degree in Social and Political Sciences. Professor Lockett has over 25 years of experience in academic management, research and teaching at Oxford University, Imperial College of Science and Technology, Cambridge University, the Open University and Ashridge, as well as 16 years in strategic consulting, general management, business development and large scale change implementation in international companies. He has 6 years of experience as a university governor. Before joining NUBS China, Professor Lockett was the Global Dean, Academic Affairs, and Strategic Management at Ashridge & Hult International Business School. He has been on business and academic advisory boards. He is a reviewer of academic quality for organisations including the QAA and HKCAAVQ, the higher education quality agencies in the UK and Hong Kong SAR.