13.04.2006
beepurple is on its way to Eastbourne and it's bringing with it Gilly Smith, successful entrepreneur and author of the 'Juicy Guides' and 'Nigella Lawson: The Unauthorised Biography'. Gilly will be attending the first of the entrepreneurial-based workshops in Eastbourne and hopes to teach students, staff and alumni, entrepreneurial skills that cannot be learnt on any university course.
The opening workshop, which will be held on 3 May at Hillbrow in room
129, will run from 11am-2pm. It will include a master class, a
question and answer session, as well as talks about intellectual property
and the Eastbourne Enterprise Hub. The programme will also offer
would-be entrepreneurs the opportunity to gain key business skills and
develop entrepreneurial attitudes. The main benefit for everyone
attending is to learn directly from those who have turned innovative
ideas into successful businesses.
The beepurple events will be running once a term and Entrepreneurialship Manager, Jane L. North, said: 'beepurple offers skills that can't be learnt from a book. It's not all about graphs and matrixes but more about learning team skills and gaining an understanding of the workplace.'
Gilly will be talking at the lecture about her own experiences and work, for which she has received many plaudits, and about the skills needed for entrepreneurs. As a businesswoman herself she created the 'Juicy' city guides and successfully pitched the idea for funding from one of the UK's leading venture capitalists. The master class she is running will give students the opportunity to ask her questions and to try and learn from her success.
Two other guests that will be at the opening workshop are Peter Rock, talking about intellectual property, and Anjuu Trevedi from the Eastbourne Enterprise Hub.
Peter, who has a background in science, sales and marketing, runs his own successful private business consultancy and is also the Great Ideas in Science and Technology (GRIST scheme) project manager.
Anjuu, on the other hand, started her career working for her family business which included hotels, restaurants and a driving school but has now been involved with a range of businesses across different market sectors. She is currently running the Enterprise Hub, part of the South East England Development Agency's (SEEDA) network, which provides free support and mentoring services for early stage enterprises. She will be available after her lecture to talk to students individually.
The next beepurple event takes place on 10 May, and will be held in the Upper Sussex Suite in Eastbourne. The key note speaker will be Pete Tyler, Managing Director of Neilson Active Holidays. After winning the Leisure and Tourism Award at the Sussex Business Awards for 2005/2006 Mr Tyler will explain how Neilson has become what it is today. Places for this workshop are limited so please contact Julie Gibson at the School of Service Management, Eastbourne, on jg16@brighton.ac.uk for tickets.
Written by James Walker-Roberts
Contact: Marketing and Communications, University of Brighton, 01273 643022
