On January 29 2020, the Hub for Innovation & Enterprise, part of Kent Innovation and Enterprise launched its first i-Teams session. i-Teams is supported by the business and innovation gateway team at the University of Kent and delivery partners the Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce .  A programme funded by the  Enabling Innovation, Research to Application project (EIRA).

 ‘i-Teams is a great opportunity to blend the line between academia and the corporate world’  James Valentino, Head of Innovation, Digital & Marketing at Lucas

 The challenge sponsors:

Lucas: A Kent based Construction Company originally specialising in spray painting.

TMLEP: Improving Patient Safety and Healthcare Standards: A Medical Logistics Enterprise Practice.

Southeastern: Southeastern have been running a rail service between London, Kent and parts of East Sussex since 2006.

 ‘We are really excited to be working with the University of Kent. We are looking forward to hearing about the inspiring ideas that could help improve the customer experience across our services.’ Graham Mollison, Southeastern

The Challenges:

Southeastern Rail:  ‘How can you enhance the passenger experience?’

TMLEP: ‘How can you generate profit from TMLEP’s portal?’

Lucas: ‘Investigate how we can exploit existing and emerging technologies to build upon existing relationships and communicate more effectively with customers to drive a better customer experience.’

 ‘Having been involved with the Employability Points Scheme for a number of years, when asked to join i-Teams as a challenge provider, we were more than happy to help.’  Alexander Acaster, UK Clinical Services Manager at TMLEP

Read the full article on the Hub for Innovation Blog:

If you want to know more about i-teams or even attend the grand finale, please contact the Hub team at: unikenthub@kent.ac.uk or on 01227 827376