To mark ten years since the first VentureDay was held at Cranfield School of Management, this year’s conference will have a festival feel. The event will celebrate the impact Cranfield has made by bringing together academic insights with practitioner action to create entrepreneurs who are making a difference in the world.
Taking place on Thursday 14 September, VentureDay is an opportunity for entrepreneurs and innovative individuals to come together for a day of networking, music, entertainment and enterprise.
A decade after Cranfield VentureDay was launched, the annual one-day conference has grown to become a leading UK event for entrepreneurs and investors. ‘Super growth’ is the theme of this year’s conference and alongside the usual expert sessions and networking opportunities, there will be a festival atmosphere with street food and music.
Serial entrepreneur and Board Member of FC Barcelona, Dídac Lee will be speaking at this year’s event along with our very own alumnus Harry Clarke, who started RingGo in a portakabin in 1997, which grew to become the leading phone parking brand that now serves over ten million UK motorists.
Sessions will include: Getting yourself ready for investment (led by event sponsor EMW Law); an interactive panel focused on recruiting, retaining and developing talent to support growth (led by event sponsor Smith & Williamson) and an address from Cranfield economist Dr Andrew Angus on the future of the economy post-Brexit.
Dr Shailendra Vyakarnam, Director of the Bettany Centre for Entrepreneurship at Cranfield commented: “It is a double celebration for us this year as Cranfield School of Management celebrates its 50th anniversary and VentureDay its 10th.
“Entrepreneurship and business start-ups are a major source of economic development globally, nationally and locally. Our aim, with VentureDay and the many other activities we run, is to equip individuals with the right tools to succeed and also encourage those with experience to impart their knowledge to future business owners.
“Entrepreneurship is in the DNA at Cranfield. The Bettany Centre is here to support and develop opportunities for new venture creation for students across the University and VentureDay lets us bring together our many stakeholders to share our innovation in entrepreneurship.”
Notes for editors
If you would like to attend or interview any of the speakers please contact:
Marie McCormack, Communications Manager Cranfield School of Management
T: 01234 754425 or email marie.mccormack@cranfield.ac.uk
About Cranfield University
Cranfield has been a world leader in management education and research for over 50 years, helping individuals and organisations learn and succeed by transforming knowledge into action. We are dedicated to creating responsible management thinking, improving business performance and inspiring the next generation of business leaders. We work to change the lives of our students and executives by encouraging innovation and creative thinking, as well as the drive to succeed and make a real impact on their organisations.
Organisations as diverse as Jaguar Land Rover, BAE Systems, Royal Dutch Shell, L’Oréal, UNICEF and the African Development Bank have benefited from our work, which ranges from management research projects, through staff talent management development on our MBA courses, to customised executive programmes.
Cranfield is one of an elite group of Schools worldwide to hold the triple accreditation of: AACSB International (the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business), EQUIS (European Quality Improvement System) and AMBA (the Association of MBAs).
We are in the Top 10 International Business Schools in the Forbes’ ranking.
Our open and customised executive education programmes are ranked in the top five in the UK, according to the latest Financial Times survey, and in the top ten in the world for international reach. Over 10,000 people come to Cranfield each year to benefit from our executive and professional development programmes.
