Solent prepare to showcase tech talent at Venturefest South

This week, students and staff from Solent University will be participating in the first Venturefest South – the inaugural regional event which showcases top creative and innovative talent.

For one day only, innovators, creatives, entrepreneurs and investors come together to showcase talent from the industry, share thinking and explore ideas.

As one of the founding partners, Solent University has been heavily involved in developing the event and programme. Catherine Lee, Director of Research and Innovation at Southampton Solent University said: “Venturefest South is a great opportunity for Solent to join with local partners and the business community to showcase Solent’s projects, spark new projects and help entrepreneurs find funding.

“The event is an important catalyst for our staff and students to engage in the regional innovation ecosystem, display innovations, share thinking and explore new ideas and partnerships.”

Venturefest South is an interactive one-day event packed with inspirational speakers, hands-on workshops and valuable investor pitching sessions, as well as demonstrations of the latest technology and innovations. 

The event will bring together top talent from the region to demonstrate technologies and innovations, allow start-ups to pitch for investment, and match entrepreneurs with the right organisations to take their businesses to the next level. Venturefest South can play a big part in helping entrepreneurs take their ventures forward by meeting the right advisers, investors and funders.

Kevin Baughan, Chief Development Officer at Innovate UK and a keynote speaker at Venturefest South said: “Venturefests are all about engagement, collaboration and inspiration - a great opportunity for regional innovation and investment communities to come together.

Kevin, who has a son that also studied at Solent University, continued: “At the first ever Venturefest South, I’ll be speaking about boldness in business, the sources of innovation and the opportunities created by the new Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund."

Public Engagement Champion, Anthony Gallagher and Katie Hornby, Knowledge Exchange and Business  Development Manager from Solent University have facilitated and coordinated the University's involvement within Venturefest South. Solent staff will lead on a number of presentations, as well as hosting stands at the event, including:

Pecha Kucha presentations:

• Dr Cedric Mesnage, Lecturer in Computing - Data Science: Big data: analytics – how valuable is it?
• Bryn Parry, Senior Lecturer in Strategy: Virtual and augmented reality: The truth but not as you know it

Innovation Zone:

• Dr Mohammed Al-Husban, Senior Lecturer Computing: operating the usability lab

These presentations will be followed by speed networking sessions which will allow people to ask questions, network and find out more. A number of students will also be helping with event management on the day.

Find out more about Venturefest South and get a full running order on day, on the website.