What drives great innovation – design, luck or both?

Find out through this inspiring book discussion with Dr David Cleevely CBE at the London Institute for Healthcare Engineering (LIHE).

An entrepreneur and architect of the Cambridge Tech Cluster, Dr Cleevely will share key insights from his new book, Serendipity: It Doesn’t Happen by Accident.

Challenging the notion that innovation stems purely from luck or chance, Dr Cleevely argues that serendipity, the uncovering of unexpected yet valuable outcomes, can be deliberately engineered. He believes the most successful people and ecosystems are those that intentionally design for it.

Drawing on decades of experience founding and advising over 60 companies, Dr Cleevely explores how we can actively create networks and environments for unexpected breakthroughs in business, science, public policy, and beyond. With rich anecdotes and practical frameworks, Dr Cleevely will invite you to rethink how ideas emerge, why certain environments spark more breakthroughs than others, and what it means to design for the unexpected in a complex world.

This event is ideal for anyone interested in fostering innovation and pioneering transformative ideas, particularly within large organisations. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, researcher, policymaker, academic, or student, you will gain valuable tools for increasing your own ‘luck surface area’ and creating space for innovation to thrive.

Book signing

Don’t forget to bring your personal copy along and get it signed by Dr Cleevely himself!

Location

The London Institute for Healthcare Engineering (LIHE) is designed for translational impact across the UK. Embedded within King’s College London's medtech cluster, LIHE brings innovations to patients and to market by providing hands-on executive support for medical technologies from across the UK, giving medtech entrepreneurs the confidence to move at pace, from bench to bedside to boardroom.

Our single metric is the number of patients positively impacted by the innovations we support. Future patients deserve nothing less.

For a conversation with Dr Cleevely, entrepreneur and cluster-builder, LIHE offers the ideal vantage point to explore how the UK can turn world-class research into scalable, equitable health outcomes.

Schedule

• 16.00 – LIHE Lecture Theatre opens, guests arrive
• 16.15 – Talk and Q&A session
• 17.15 – 18.30 - Drinks reception and book signing (3rd Floor, LIHE)

About Dr David Cleevely

Dr David Cleevely CBE FREng FIET has spent decades proving that serendipity doesn’t happen by accident. As an entrepreneur, investor, and policy adviser, he has deliberately created the conditions for breakthrough moments – founding or supporting over 60 companies including, Analysys, Abcam, and the globally acclaimed Raspberry Pi Foundation.

Appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2013 for services to technology and innovation, he has consistently built environments where innovation can flourish.

His approach to cultivating serendipitous connections has helped transform Cambridge into one of the world’s leading technology clusters. He co-founded Cambridge Angels, Cambridge Ahead, Cambridge Wireless, and the Cambridge Network – all designed to bring the right people together at the right time. His founding of the Centre for Science and Policy at the University of Cambridge created a pioneering model for connecting academics with policymakers, now replicated internationally.