Kingston Business School celebrates a successful trade fair

A trade fair recently took place at Kingston Business School, Kingston Hill Campus, where students on two entrepreneurship modules (Design Thinking for Start-ups and Start-up a Business) presented seventeen new products and services. These included an app for delivery of home-made food, a flushable and sustainable paper toilet seat cover, and a website that promotes vegetarianism and veganism.

During the event, judges from the academic and the business communities visited the stands and awarded prizes for best product, best sales team, best trade stand, and best company overall.  Importantly, the trade fair provided students with an opportunity to better understand their market, test their value propositions, and meet their first customers. This is part of an active approach to learning and teaching, where students experience first-hand a start-up company, developing and bringing products to market.

Students will engage in other trade fairs, with the next one on 22 March at the Penrhyn Road Campus at Kingston University. These events will enable students to meet a more diversified customer base, to gain confidence in their businesses, and to increase sales. It will also be an opportunity for members of the business community to see what our students are up to, and to make connections that could develop into fully-fledged businesses or partnerships.

Many students will continue their businesses after they have completed their studies, contributing to Kingston University being one of the most successful UK Higher Education institutions for graduate start-ups. This is made possible through a close cooperation between academia and industry, where students and professionals work and learn from each other, making a positive contribution to society. The University serves as a platform where students and professionals meet to exchange ideas, through entrepreneurship classes, public lectures, and networking events.

In these Twitter videos, registered during the trade fair at Kingston Business School, two undergraduate students showcase their products: a magnetic clip to do up your shoes without laces, and gloves that enable you to type on your smartphone.

Dr Alice Comi is a Lecturer in Business Design at Kingston Business School