Start! welcome notes

Welcome notes Welcome to the sixth issue of Start! magazine. At King’s, we believe that entrepreneurship is for everyone, and that it can support all types of careers and futures. Entrepreneurship is not about Dragons’ Den or The Apprentice. Nor is it just about founding your own start-up. It’s about being entrepreneurial, and as the following pages demonstrate, anyone can be entrepreneurial.

Our vision here at the Entrepreneurship Institute, is to help everyone at King’s develop the entrepreneurial mindset and skills needed to make the world a better place. We’re here to assist you in gaining the entrepreneurial and career-enhancing skills that will support your future.

The theme of this magazine is ‘disruptors’. If we want to change the world, we need to disrupt – to challenge the status quo, to question existing methods and approaches, to think of new ways to solve problems, and to fearlessly do things differently. Within whatever subjects you are studying, you will find problems to solve; and you can apply entrepreneurial skills to solve them.

Julie Devonshire OBE

Director, Entrepreneurship Institute

This magazine has been created to inspire and guide you in developing useful, innovative and important entrepreneurial skills. Whether your ambitions are to become a doctor, lawyer, educator, corporate employee, leader, innovator, disruptor, change-maker, or have a job that doesn’t even exist yet, you can create an entrepreneurial version of yourself which will give you an advantage to thrive.

This year, add ‘entrepreneurial’ to your CV.

I hope you enjoy reading this magazine, and do join our community to find out more about the support, events, workshops and resources we have available – all for free!

See you soon.

Julie Devonshire OBE Director, Entrepreneurship Institute @juliedevonshire

King’s College London is a hub for innovation, where our students, staff and alumni come together to solve some of the world’s most pressing problems.

Entrepreneurship is a core to how we work, and entrepreneurship in the service of society is our ethos. In 2018, we were recognised for this, winning the Times Higher Education Award for Outstanding Entrepreneurial University, and it’s a legacy that I see continue.

Start! highlights some truly remarkable and innovative students, staff and alumni and their inspiring career journeys, alongside top tips and advice from thought leaders and disruptors. I hope you enjoy reading these stories and learning from their experiences, and are inspired to get involved!

Professor Edward Byrne AC President and Principal, King’s College London @KingsCollegeLon

An entrepreneurial mindset is something that an employer is keen to see in new graduate employees, even in highly structured global businesses.

Employers increasingly seek recruits who want to make a difference from day one. So communication skills, like the ability to compel and disrupt, will often be needed – because it’s difficult to deliver change without being able to influence and communicate why it is required.

Throughout the pages of this magazine, you will find content to inspire and support you to become more entrepreneurial. I hope you’ll be inspired to get involved, regardless of your field of study or career goals.

Kate Daubney Head of King’s Careers & Employability @careerampersand

Entrepreneurship is a way of living. In a global and impact-oriented institution such as King’s College London, everything you do and learn is to serve a greater purpose in life. From building global networks to running societies and leading campaigns alongside coping with an academically rigorous journey, your experience at King’s will shape an entrepreneurial version of you.

From skills workshops to idea feedback sessions, competitions and funding, to a community of like-minded enthusiasts, the Entrepreneurship Institute is where you ought to begin if you are in search of the entrepreneur within yourself.

Shaswat Jain President, KCLSU @kclsu