The successful 2018 event sees planning for next year’s summit put into motion.
Following the successful Kent Business Summit, which took place on 12 January 2018 at Kent Business School and brought together more than 200 business leaders, public sector chiefs, academics and students to discuss the economic future of the county, the summit report is now available. Within this you will find the most important outcomes of the event as well as actions to take forward.
Two key themes emerging from the round table discussions and the summit plenary session were, the digitalisation of modern business and the rapidly changing skills needs on the work floor. Businesses that wish to stay ahead of the curve need to invest in innovative technologies and skills development, even – or maybe especially – owing to Brexit.
Within the report the University of Kent pledges to develop strong partnerships between education, industry and the public sector by forming ‘innovation clusters’, and to continue to explore how its mix of courses and modules can best provide the sought-after skills needed by the business community. Kent Business School is taking bold steps in the areas of skills development, innovation and education, and Brexit-related research in 2018. It also wants to be a place for regional business, local government and academics to come together, exchange knowledge and forming working relationships.
The Kent Business Summit will be an annual event and Kent Business School is once again partnering with the Institute of Directors (IoD) and Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) in Kent to make the next summit bigger and bolder. Head of KBS, Martin Meyer:
“We need to keep the momentum that the summit helped to create and nurture an integrated approach to sustainable economic growth in Kent.”
Download a copy of the Kent Business Summit 2018 Report. A Kent Business Summit video has also been produced.