Thirteen universities collaborate to take students on an unforgettable entrepreneurial journey

Eight buses will transport 300 students around London and Manchester on routes designed to stimulate entrepreneurial skills, thinking and action.

The students taking part study subjects as diverse as fashion, computer science, medicine and law and will be transported to leading innovation hubs for talks, workshops and behind the scenes tours, ending with a celebratory event of competitions, keynote and networking.

Successfully piloted in 2017 by King’s College London and expanded in 2018 to nine London universities, the 2019 Venture Crawl is a unique partnership between – King’s College London, UCL, London South Bank University, Brunel University London, The University of Westminster, Loughborough University London, Birkbeck University of London, University of East London, London College of Fashion, The University of Greenwich, City, University of London, Regent’s University London and The University of Manchester.

The event is designed to give students the opportunity to connect to real-world businesses, be inspired by the UK’s vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem, and gain skills in self-confidence, creative-thinking and leadership.

VIP passengers will be hopping on board the buses to share their stories and stimulate conversations, peer-to-peer learning and idea sharing.

The best way to learn about entrepreneurship and innovative thinking is to experience it first-hand; to meet the people who are creating new jobs and coming up with creative ways to meet society’s challenges. We have the world’s top innovators right on our doorstep and we want students to take full advantage of that. Partnering allows us to build on our shared networks and have diverse conversations. The universities involved all have different specialisms but we share common goals about enterprise education. We’re putting students at the heart of the action.” The Venture Crawl team

Last year, 45 students from both the Loughborough and London campuses travelled the city making stops at the likes of Stour Space, the Google Campus, NatWest E-Spark, Huckletree and Allia East for behind the scenes visits.

Loughborough alumni Laurence Kemball-Cook, founder and CEO of Pavegen, and Christina Akintoye, founder of Honey’s Skincare, were both part of last year’s #VentureCrawl and joined the launch to explain why they got involved.

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. There are places for media on board the buses, photo & interview opportunities with high-profile speakers and great case studies from budding entrepreneurs already making waves in London and beyond.
2. The 2019 Venture Crawl was launched at a celebratory event on 30 January at London & Partners.
3. Contact Ben Cole or Amy Lothian for more information.
4. Website: https://www.venturecrawl.org. Twitter #VentureCrawl