Tag Archives: creative

Festival of Enterprise: Saturday 18 July 2015

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FestivalOfEnterprise - graphicBU hosts its first ever Festival of Enterprise on Saturday 18 July 2015 in the Student Centre on Talbot Campus.

The event will bring together young people, practitioners, academics and local business leaders to foster entrepreneurial spirit in the region. The programme will include:

  • A series of short ‘on the sofa’ sessions at ‘The Enterprise Café’. Experienced entrepreneurs will reflect on the founding of their businesses and how these have been shaped by the peaks and pitfalls of their successes. Key topics include Creative, Marketing, Finance and Cyber Security, among others.
  • Networking opportunities with local business development organisations.
  • Year 12 student ‘Enterprise Den’. Participants will create a digital business with a prize giving at the end of the day in Kimmeridge House.

Keith Pretty, a Lecturer in Business Development for IT at BU 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”.

The event will be supported by colleagues from the Arts University Bournemouth (AUB).

You can find more information and book on the Festival of Enterprise website.

Festival of Design and Innovation returns for 2014

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Bournemouth University’s (BU) Festival of Design and Innovation returns in 2014 to celebrate the creativity of designs and prototypes created by students.

The annual Festival, which takes place from 20-23 June 2014, is an exhibition of final year projects by Design, Engineering and Creative Technology students. Students are encouraged to create designs and prototypes of their inventions and creations for display during the Festival.

This year, displays include a tunnel boring machine for laying cable, an atmospheric respirator, a trailer for use with hovercrafts and a product for treating jaundice in babies.

Students are encouraged to think about market need, function, engineering, sustainability and style when creating their product – to come up with something that is instantly usable and marketable to a wide audience.

Professor Jim Roach, Dean of the Faculty of Science and Technology, said, “The Festival of Design and Innovation is where education meets industry and commerce, providing a showcase for our students’ skills in design and innovation.

“We take great pride in the quality of the project work and the ability of our students to employ the latest technology in the design of solutions to real problems. Many of the projects are the direct result of industrial collaboration, a successful placement year or are linked to one of our research centres. It is great to see our students working on a huge range of exciting, innovative and creative projects.”

Admission to the Festival is free and members of the public are encouraged to come along and have a look at the displays, engage with the student inventors and enjoy their work. Free tickets can be gained through the Festival’s website, where you will also find more information about some of the projects being displayed this year.

Previous Festival designs have gone on to be mass produced and sold in the UK – one such example is the Quick-Pitch pop-up tent, often called the ‘Festival tent’ for its ease of use, which was originally picked up by camping brand Gelert at the Festival of Design and Innovation.

The Festival takes place on Friday 20 June, Saturday 21 June and Monday 23 June, opening at 10am and closing at 4pm.

Making Silicon Beach a reality

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MPs, businesses and council leaders have joined Bournemouth University and the Arts University Bournemouth in a pledge to enhance and encourage the creative and digital economy in Dorset.

They came together at a Digital Summit, hosted by BU, to sign a manifesto which set in place plans and commitments to make Dorset an international hub for the creative and digital industries.

Tobias Ellwood MP, Conor Burns MP and Tony Williams, chief executive of Bournemouth Borough Council, were among those who joined the vice-chancellors of both Bournemouth’s universities in signing the manifesto.

Professor John Vinney, Vice-Chancellor of Bournemouth University, said: “It will be after today that much of the hard work truly starts. Hopefully, this will be a powerful catalyst for us to take things forward.”

Dorset already has an established and growing creative and digital economy, supported by the world-leading universities.

The manifesto commits to encouraging and nurturing this through supporting start-up businesses, encouraging existing businesses to relocate to the area and raising the profile of the creative and digital industry in Dorset so graduates choose to stay.

Bournemouth West MP Conor Burns, who also sits on the government’s Culture, Media and Sport select committee, praised the idea of the manifesto.

He said: “It’s being focused on and driven by this that we have a huge opportunity to make this work,” he said.

“It’s a fantastic place to live and work. That’s the start of Bournemouth and Poole’s offering to those looking to relocate.”

Bournemouth University has committed up to £40,000 over the next 12 months to help raise the profile of Dorset as a hub for the creative and digital economy, through sponsoring events like the BFX animation and visual effects festival which takes place in September.

Bournemouth Borough Council also pledged to support the development of the digital hub in the area, through investing in infrastructure like super-fast broadband and offering small loans to creative companies.

Chief Executive Tony Williams said: “We recognise that Bournemouth will be a different place because of the digital economy, but we want it to be a better place, a thriving place.”

Representatives from established creative and digital businesses in the area, including Adido and Bright Blue Day, were also at the Digital Summit to offer their ideas and support.

David Ford, CEO of creative agency Bright Blue Day, will chair a working group which will work with the Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership to help deliver the objectives of the manifesto.

He said: “There are a number of world class agencies now here doing work around the world, doing an amazing job and competing on that world stage.

“We need to put Dorset on the map and make it an international hub for digital, to make our own Silicon Beach.”