On board the Venture Bus - a road trip for budding King's entrepreneurs

King’s College London’s Entrepreneurship Institute took to the road yesterday to introduce an ambitious group of 30 students to some of London’s key entrepreneurial sights. 

As part of its 12 hour ‘Venture Crawl’, a first for a UK university, a London Routemaster took students behind the scenes at some of the capital’s biggest and most innovative ventures, stopping to meet different companies and Startups from across the London tech and innovation scene along the way.

Venture Bus stops included multinational companies such as Facebook and Accenture’s Innovation Centre, and accelerators Wayra, Geovation and MassChallenge. Students had unique access to enterprise spaces and the opportunity to take part in activities and talks designed to get them to think creatively, be inspired by industry leaders and get feedback about their early-stage startup ideas.

Students trialled virtual reality, learned about the use of artificial intelligence in business, and had the chance to hear pitches from some inspiring startups during the tour, ask questions and learn from their experience.

Ventures on the King's20 accelerator also hopped on board throughout the journey to inspire the students, and the group was joined by King's alumni Mustafa Al-Basam- cybersecurity expert and former LulzSec hacker - and Razvan Creanga, Cofounder of HackaJob, along with leading businessman and philanthropist Prof Stefan Allesch-Taylor CBE. 

The tour ended at the Royal Academy of Engineering's new Enterprise hub, for well-earned refreshments and a chance to reflect on the day's learning. 

Following the tour, Learning Programme Manager at King’s, Jeremy Shorter, said: ‘The best way to learn about entrepreneurship and innovative thinking is to experience it first-hand; to meet the people who are creating new jobs and coming up with creative ways to meet society’s challenges. King’s is in the heart of London, with the world’s top innovators right on our doorstep so we want to take full advantage of that.

Our students are the business leaders and innovators of the future and travelling on the bus gives them the opportunity to interact with each other and exchange ideas as we take them on this unique entrepreneurial journey.’

Olga Kravchenko, a student in the department of Culture, Media and Creative Industries who took part in the Venture Crawl said: ‘Travelling around London yesterday gave me a unique chance to meet other enterprise-minded students of different nationalities, ages and backgrounds. Having the opportunity to interact with each other and discuss ideas in some really inspiring business settings has really sparked my entrepreneurial imagination.’

NOTES TO EDITORS

About the Entrepreneurship Institute

The Entrepreneurship Institute is King’s College London’s dedicated entrepreneurship hub. Focusing on the development of leadership, the Institute provides support and opportunities for King’s students, staff and alumni of up to seven years, throughout their careers and start-up journeys.

Contact Amy Lothian, Communications Manager, Entrepreneurship Institute, King’s College London, Bush House, 30 Aldwych, London WC2B 4PH T 07730551102 E amy.lothian@kcl.ac.uk W www.kcl.ac.uk/entrepreneurship-institute