{"id":611,"date":"2023-01-19T11:56:34","date_gmt":"2023-01-19T11:56:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/ris\/?p=611"},"modified":"2025-05-19T12:38:28","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T11:38:28","slug":"innovation-amidst-gloom-a-hopeful-6th-kent-medway-business-summit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/ris\/2023\/01\/19\/innovation-amidst-gloom-a-hopeful-6th-kent-medway-business-summit\/","title":{"rendered":"Innovation amidst gloom – a hopeful 6th Kent & Medway Business Summit"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The 6th<\/sup>\u00a0Annual Kent & Medway Business Summit was held on Friday 13 January 2023 at our award-winning Sibson Building, featuring presentations, panel discussions and a keynote speech from\u00a0Lord (Michael) Hastings of Scarisbrick CBE<\/a>\u00a0(pictured above).<\/strong><\/p>\n

The event, attended by 202 delegates, was sponsored by\u00a0British Business Bank<\/a>,\u00a0KAYO Digital,<\/a>\u00a0Lower Thames Crossing<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Social Enterprise Kent,<\/a>\u00a0with supporting sponsors\u00a0Betteridge & Milson<\/a>,\u00a0Holiday Extras<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Spark Productions.<\/a>\u00a0Artist\u00a0Scribe Yak<\/a>\u00a0completed a poster of sketch notes throughout the day. KM Media Group was media partner.<\/p>\n

Enjoying locally produced refreshments and a sumptuous Kentish lunch with local wine, ticket holders had the opportunity to socialise and network with key players in business within Kent.<\/p>\n

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The day, hosted by Deborah Turner from the\u00a0Federation of Small Business<\/a>, started with a presentation from\u00a0Shane Weller,<\/a>\u00a0Deputy Vice Chancellor of Research and Innovation before Professor\u00a0Marian Garcia,<\/a>\u00a0Dean of Kent Business School introduced the guest speakers.<\/p>\n

Leader of Kent County Council, Roger Gough, presented a positive idea of how innovation is helping the county of Kent to thrive. \u2018The strengths of the University drive forward not just the frontiers of knowledge but specific opportunities for us in the county,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n

\u2018There are significant strengths and opportunities to build on\u2026we set out our aim to enable innovative, creative, productive businesses.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"Roger<\/a>
Roger Gough<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Roger was followed by Deputy Chief Executive of Medway Council, Richard Hicks, who gave an upbeat and exciting account of the changes being made to Medway. An area that he said is \u2018the largest urban area outside of London\u2019.<\/p>\n

Richard explained how the county was growing larger, with 17,000 new jobs on the horizon and a series of expansion and improvement plans, particularly in Chatham.\u00a0 Innovation, Richard explained, is at the heart of investment in the area.<\/p>\n

\"Richard<\/a>
Richard Hicks<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018Business is booming in Medway,\u2019 he said. \u2018The government talk about us as being one of the fastest growth areas in the UK.\u2019<\/p>\n

Eagerly awaited Kitty Ussher, lead economist at the Institute of Directors was up next, with a presentation that summarised a realistic picture of the economy and food for thought when businesses are operating amongst negativity.<\/p>\n

\u2018Inflation is probably at it\u2019s peak right now, but then falls sharply,\u2019 she explained.<\/p>\n

\"Kitty<\/a>
Kitty Ussher<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018I would think really, really carefully about what extent you and your colleagues are affected by the mood rather than the reality of the business environment. If everyone is really pessimistic, does that mean your competitors are? Can you steer them to make some decisions to ensure you are ahead of them?\u2019<\/p>\n

The presentations of the morning concluded with Adam Bryan, Chief Executive Officer at Southeast LEP, who spoke about economic development and growth in the Kent and Medway area.<\/p>\n

\"Delegates<\/a><\/p>\n

Panel debates were next up covering Skills, Placemaking, Sustainability and Productivity, featuring a mix of Kent Business School academics and key businesspeople.<\/p>\n

As panels came to a close, a presentation ensued from Kent Business School\u2019s Professor Kathy Kotiadis and Timothy Van Vugt from the Dover Harbour Board about the Business School\u2019s\u00a0Knowledge Transfer Partnerships<\/a>\u00a0with the organisation that have enabled advanced modelling techniques to be applied to check in and border infrastructure.<\/p>\n

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Over 200 delegates attended the Summit this year<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Last up was a keynote speech from the prestigious Lord (Michael) Hastings of Scarisbrick CBE who took attendees on a journey of how seeds of innovation are sewed in the most difficult circumstances.<\/p>\n

His presentation, peppered with humour, offered up the analogy of the \u2018bluebird\u2019 a surprise unforeseeable event that can bring joy amid economic gloom.<\/p>\n

\u2018Whatever you have gained through the course of this business conference, what is your bluebird? Taking a bold step in the midst of a gloom environment.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"Scribe<\/a>
Scribe Yak\u2019s final sketch notes of the event<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Using the historical account of how the bicycle was created on the backdrop of volcanic eruption that caused ecological disaster, his words left listeners feeling enlightened and hopeful.<\/p>\n

\u2018Out of a strange, tragic, unfortunate event came an invention so significant that we see it in all corners of the world\u2026. We have to ask ourselves, does the gloomy environment, the complexity of the environment around us, restrict our ability to drive change?\u2019<\/p>\n

As delegates flowed through to the atrium for lunch, networking, a \u2018Quiz the Experts\u2019 area and pitching sessions, many reflected on what they had heard throughout the day.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
Delegates enjoyed opportunities to network<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jaideep Deshmukh runs iConnect Digital Solutions, a software development company. He said: \u2018I came here to make new connections and to learn what is happening in Kent. It was really interesting to learn what\u2019s going on. Kitty Ussher\u2019s speech was incredibly hopeful, which I liked.\u2019<\/p>\n

Marketing Strategist Susie White said: \u2018I first learned about the Summit when I took an MBA here, through coming here as an MBA student. It helped to keep me in the know as to what\u2019s going on in my local area.<\/p>\n

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\u2018My favourite talk so far was Richard Hicks, from Medway Council. I was drawn to his energy. I live in Northern Kent and there is a lot of historic negativity about Medway towns. I actually thought \u2018how can I go work for this guy?\u2019 he is just so impressive. My main take away was feeling good vibes about investment into Kent. It makes me feel like I am part of something.\u2019<\/p>\n

Olch Miroshnychenko works for a project run by the United States International Development Agency in Ukraine. The project is assisting with companies in Ukraine to develop consulting, grant assisting and networking.<\/p>\n

\u2018I came here hoping to establish connections and I\u2019ve had really interesting conversations with the staff at Kent Business School about the opportunities to engage business school students. I really enjoyed the keynote speech from Lord Hastings \u2013 I loved the depth of his knowledge and the lightness of his humour \u2013 when he speaks he has the whole room in awe.\u2019<\/p>\n

All event partners would like to thank sponsors British Business Bank, KAYO Digital, Lower Thames Crossing and Social Enterprise Kent without whose financial support the Summit would not have been possible, as well as from supporting sponsors Betteridge & Milson, Holiday Extras and Spark<\/strong><\/p>\n

Productions. Thanks also go to our official media partner\u00a0KM Media Group.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Friday 12 January 2024, 09:00 \u2013 14:30<\/strong><\/p>\n

University of Kent, Canterbury Campus, CT2 7NZ<\/strong><\/p>\n

Super early bird 50% off until Monday 22 January 2023. Sign up now for next year\u2019s event!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n