Last week, we welcomed back alumni from all over the globe at the KBS Alumni Summer School. Some came in person, excited to revisit their old school and catch up with former classmates and lecturers, while others took part online. They were joined by some current students, staff and special guests of the businesses, alumni and academics that enabled us to put on this lifelong learning event once again. As always, the conversations were flowing and lively debates were had on a variety of current business topics.
The event kicked off with Kent Law School alum (LLB 2006), Jemma Fairclough-Haynes, now CEO of Orchard Employment Law in Chatham with ‘How to embrace flexible working in intergenerational workplaces’. Reflecting afterwards, Jemma said, ‘The workshop-style talk sparked engaging discussions and valuable contributions from all attendees. It was especially meaningful to return as a former student and experience the excellent facilities in Kent Business School.’
She was followed by a double act, Anwen Cooper and Dan Corpe, co-founders of Thrivall in Maidstone, discussing ‘How to pioneer a new approach to workplace wellbeing, develop outstanding leaders and workplace culture’.
Over the two hours, the group explored the current UK mental health, productivity and employment engagement crises, the impact of leadership (positive and negative), why we need more sustainable employment (and what that is), and how to create psychological safety. So, you could say it was a day focused on examining the best people management practices for the modern world.
The following day we changed direction and started with Aly Young, Managing Director of Aly Young Law in Dover, hosting a workshop on ‘How to win in a battle of the contracts: a workshop on contract law’. Aly kindly stepped in at the last minute, after our original speaker was sadly taken ill, so kudos and much gratitude to her for enabling the show to go on. After examining what a contract is (or should be) and much discussion on some real life court cases based on the lack of meaningful contracts, Aly shared her tactics for winning the battle.
She was followed by John Parkinson, CEO of HRGO plc, who is no stranger to the University of Kent as we have been working with him on a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) through Innovate UK for some years. John’s workshop focused on when to use AI (and when not to) to get the best customer experience and where AI can be applied in value chains.
Professor Des Doran, who attended this workshop, said, ‘John outlined the significant potential that AI tools are having upon the recruitment industry and detailed some of the challenges that the sector now has as potential job applicants begin to use the plethora of AI tools available to them to enhance their CVs and job applications.’
On Thursday, we segued into the healthcare sector. The first workshop ‘How do we deliver the business in healthcare’ was hosted by two alumni (MBA 2022), Rhona Clover, Head of Operational Services Health Visiting at Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust and Seeth Krishnamurthy, General Manager Acute Medicine, Geriatics and Stroke Services at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust.
Afterwards, Rhona said, ‘We had some really interesting conversations and positive interactions, even if we couldn’t come up with the magic cure for the NHS. I would wholeheartedly recommend these events to my fellow alumni, it’s so refreshing to hear alternative, and particularly student ideas and viewpoints.’
In the afternoon, Dr Catherine Marchand and Dr Simon Fletcher from the Centre for Health Studies led the discussions on ‘How to navigate health and social care policy’. Using examples such as transgender and non-binary people, women’s health, and race and ethnicity, the session explored the difficulty in disentangling political and ideological agenda from healthcare policy.
MBA alum, Shubhra Kamat (2022) posting after the event, ‘What a privilege it has been to be part of this incredible group discussing the navigation of leadership – health and social care policy politicisation and discourse with my alma mater. This programme has not only boosted my confidence to aim high and stay focused but has also encouraged me to positively challenge myself and strive for excellence and success in my career journey. But more importantly it has shaped my own personal leadership journey to help support others in the best possible way.’
On Friday, Will Scobie, MD of Horizonscan Ltd (MBA 2018) and his colleague, Business Development Manager John Benfield (current part-time MBA student) hosted a workshop on ‘How to be a crisis leader in the face of an ever more volatile world’. Today’s constantly changing challenges mean that every business leader must also be a crisis commander and this strategic session was designed to equip attendees with the necessary tools to lead when things go wrong. It certainly opened a few people’s eyes to the need to act quickly and decisively when disaster hits, and to ensure a carefully thought out plan is in place for their company or organisation.
This led nicely into our final workshop ‘How to protect yourself: cybersecurity for people with non-technical backgrounds’, designed to demystify cybersecurity concepts and best practices in a clear and accessible manner. The emphasis being on the importance of cybersecurity in everyday life, both personally and professionally, equipping those present with practical strategies to enhance their cybersecurity posture.
This one was delivered online by Dr Waleed Bin Shahid, Lecturer at the Royal Holloway, University of London on behalf of his colleague, Dr Fauzia Idrees Abro (MBA 2022), who unfortunately was unable to attend on the day.
One attendee, Yasamin Talebi (current BSc International Business and Management student) who came along to all workshops, described the Alumni Summer School as an enriching experience. She continued, ‘The intellectual rigour and comprehensive depth of the sessions have significantly broadened my academic and professional horizons.’
Waqas Paracha (BBA 2010) agrees, ‘They were very informative sessions and a great learning experience, despite remotely attending via Microsoft Teams. These sort of seminars should take place regularly for alumni, so we keep growing and get the classroom experience we used to while being a student at the university.’ If there is enough demand, perhaps we could consider doing a Winter Summer School in January. Let us know what you think.
While another, Mark Evans (MBA 2019) said, ‘It’s was a great opportunity to reconnect with MBA alumni past and present, with some great sessions on contemporary business topics and some invaluable knowledge shared. Looking forward to next year.’
We’re working on it already, so keep the first week of July 2025 free in your diary!