Update  for  Michaelmas  2016  

Here’s   a   brief   rundown   of   the   exciting   things   happening   in   Michaelmas   Term   at   the  Entrepreneurship   Centre.   As   you   know,   we   are   keen   to   encourage   engagement   in   our  programmes  from  students  and  faculty  across  the  University,  and  offer  many  opportunities  for  interdisciplinary  collaboration  and  learning  through  our  events,  workshops  and  lectures.    Please  do  get   in   touch  with  me   if   you’d   like   to  explore  ways   in  which  we  can   further   support  entrepreneurial   students   from   MPLS,   and   help   us   keep   your   departments,  faculty  and  students  informed  about  these  opportunities.    Maria  Nikolou,  Entrepreneurship  Divisional  Champion  for  MPLS  E:  maria.nikolou@sbs.ox.ac.uk    |    T:  01865  288961    

A  look  back  at…  Oxford  Saïd  Entrepreneurship  Forum  (OSEF)    The  launch  of  OSEF,  our  new  flagship  conference,  took  place  in  Oxford  on  June  18th,  and  it  was  a  great  success.    OSEF  was  created  as  an  intensive,  immersive  one-­‐day  event  for  anyone  interested  in  pursuing  startup  ideas  or  in  taking  an  entrepreneurial  approach  to  building  their  future  careers.  

 Our  keynote  speakers  were  Biz  Stone  (co  -­‐founder  of  Twitter)  and  Phil  Libin,  (co-­‐founder  of  Evernote),  and  the  programme  included  expert-­‐led  workshops  on  themes  such  as  making  bold  business  decisions,  building  your  network  and  raising  capital  to  fund  a  new  business.    The  event  included  a  student  pitching  contest,  which  featured  some  of  the  teams  that  had  been  through  our  VIEW  workshops  in  Hilary  and  Trinity  terms,  as  well  as  other  selected  startup  teams  from  across  the  University.  Students  from  all  divisions  came  together  to  pitch  and  participate,  and  special  guest  Biz  Stone  offered  each  team  some  words  of  advice  and  encouragement  after  their  pitch.    You  can  see  more  about  OSEF  2016  –  including  a  short  film  with  highlights  from  the  day  –  at  www.sbs.oxford.edu/osef.        

   

Coming  up  in  Michaelmas  2016  

Our  popular  Building  a  Business  lecture  series  has  just  got  started  –  open  to  all  Oxford  students,  staff,  alumni  and  anyone  else  who  wants  to  pick  up  some  business  basics.  Attendees  come  from  across  the  University  and  beyond  to  learn  and  network  on  Tuesday  evenings  during  this  six  week  series  in  Michaelmas.    See  www.sbs.oxford.edu/buildingabusiness.        Our   Confessions   of   an   Entrepreneur   series   of   informal   talks  from  seasoned  business  founders  will  kick  off  again  this  term  on  October  26th  with  invited  speaker  Greg  Marsh,  former  CEO  of  Onefinestay.   Further   speakers   to  be  confirmed  –   look  out  for  details  in  our  weekly  newsletter  on  Mondays!    

   

This  term  we  are  introducing  our  new  Skills  Workshops,  each  of  which  will  be  led  by  experienced  business  founders  from  our  network  of  experts,  and  designed  to  deepen  participants’  understanding  of  specific  elements  of  how  to  start  and  run  a  venture.  Sessions  on  decision  making,  marketing  and  sales,  negotiation  and  leadership  skills  for  innovators  are  planned  for  the  coming  year.    

Oxford  Launchpad  Activities  With  its  open-­‐doors  policy  and  light  and  welcoming  atmosphere,  the  Oxford  Launchpad  continues  to  host  students  from  across  the  University  who  are  working  on  or  engaged  with  entrepreneurial  projects.  This  term’s  scheduled  Launchpad  events  include:    

• Mix@6,  our  regular  informal  networking  events  open  to  all  students  interested  in  innovation  

• Beginners’  coding  workshops,  hosted  by  the  Oxford  Entrepreneurs  society  • Decision  making  for  entrepreneurs  –  part  of  our  Skills  Workshops  series  • Code  First  Girls  workshops  for  women  learning  to  code