Today, we celebrated the half way mark in the Business Bootcamp programme at the launch of the Green Growth Bootcamp organized by Kingston University and Merton Chamber of Commerce.
Over a 100 people gathered at the Knights Park Campus exhibition space to learn about the green businesses and initiatives pioneered by Kingston, as well as the Business Bootcamp aimed at the sustainable sector. The Mayor of London was one of several guest speakers, who came to show their support for the programme.
Martha Mador, the head of Enterprise Education opened the event by stressing the importance of promoting enterprise among students and building a support ecosystem that extends beyond university. Thom Kenrick, Group Sustainability of RBS Group spoke about the support that RBS and Natwest provide for entrepreneurs, their new fund for green business and clean tech initiatives and the eagerness to see more startups in the sector. Julius Weinberg, the Vice-Chancellor of Kingston University, made a brilliant comment that university is about changing lives. Design is about changing ways of seeing, and thus being and doing. The green agenda is very high on their priority list and the exhibition of the projects coming out of the university is good testament to that. Kingston University is soon to unveil a new building, that will be one of the most sustainable in the UK.
Boris Johnson entertained the crowd with his take on the underwear made out of mould and stories about the lack of ‘Boris bike’ thefts during the riots. On a more serious note, he stressed the importance of going green, encouraging innovation and supporting businesses that are contributing to a cleaner and better tomorrow. After his speech he tried out the electric scooters, leaving a few people worried he had wizzed off back to London!
Capital Enterprise did not fall short, and we also had a go at the adorable but mighty Ecospin — a new vehicle which will be aimed at businesses that require a lot of distribution (such as the Royal Mail).
Overall we had a brilliant morning, inspired by fantastic ideas coming out of Kingston University and all the great people we got to meet at the event. We are looking forward to meeting the Green Growth Bootcamp attendees and welcoming them to our Alumni network. With so much talent, a sustainable future is not a far reach!
To see more photos from the event check out our Facebook album
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