Bournemouth University (BU) is to host its first ever Festival of Enterprise which will bring together young people, practitioners, academics, and local business leaders, as part of the University’s commitment to engage, support and develop entrepreneurship in the region.
Taking place on Saturday July 18, the free festival welcomes start-up and small/medium enterprise owners (SMEs) to attend a series of short ‘on the sofa’ sessions with experienced entrepreneurs and BU academics at ‘The Enterprise Café’.
Key themes such as Creative, Marketing, Finance and Cyber Security will be discussed. This new BU event will be supported by colleagues from the Arts University Bournemouth (AUB).
The event, held in the newly-created Student Centre on BU’s Talbot Campus, will feature sessions by experienced entrepreneurs, reflecting on the founding of their respective businesses, and how these have been shaped by the peaks and pitfalls of their successes.
Chaired by an interviewer, the 30 minute Q&A events will then be opened to questions from the floor for 30 minutes. Audiences will be invited to pre-register for these short sessions which run throughout the day, during which there will be networking opportunities with local business development organisations.
Year 12 students will also take part in an ‘Enterprise Den’, where five teams will work on a practical, guided activity to create a digital business, with invited team members from both industry and the university helping to build their knowledge and skills for creating new business opportunities. Prizes will be awarded at the end of the day, which will run in Kimmeridge House.
Keith Pretty, a Lecturer in Business Development for IT at Bournemouth University said: “This event is a great opportunity for people to meet entrepreneurs and SMEs, and get a feel for how they can have an impact in the industry, learning valuable lessons from those who have seen their careers flourish.
“It’s also an opportunity for the university to engage with people of all ages in business development; fostering new talent in entrepreneurship together with offering useful advice and guidance from professionals.”
Matt Hawkins, Chairman and Founder of C4L, is already a confirmed speaker at the Festival of Enterprise. Matt explained why he is involved with this event: “I appreciate the opportunity to give something back to our Digital Hub community and hopefully help nurture some of the entrepreneurial talent the South Coast has to offer. Young entrepreneurs are our future and I commend BU for giving them this platform for growth, I hope sharing my experience and scars along my business journey will increase the student’s chance of success”
