Entrepreneur and Innovation Hybrid Seminar

The Department of Economics, in liaison with Warwick Enterprise, organised a hybrid seminar on the theme ‘Entrepreneurship and Innovation’ which is part of the Innovation 2022 Campaign.

The speakers were Alec Gehlot, founder of Levels Strategy and Solutions Engineer at Optimove, Anshika Kushwaha, independent Social Impact Consultant and Stephen Pope, Associate Trainer at Alpha Development and Professor of Economics at Maryland Global Campus. Joining the panellists, was Alex McLeod, Graduate Enterprise Officer, who offered illuminating insights on business development and encouraged students to pro-actively engage with the opportunities offered by Warwick Enterprise to map a successful business plan and seek required mentorship.

The panellists shared the experiences of their individual journeys and spoke about the importance of guidance and mentorship, internship and employment and debates between degrees and practical work. The session ended with a Q&A round where the students could ask questions and clarify their doubts.

360 Guest Lecture with Mark Esho MBE

With a focused emphasis on mindset development, Mark Esho’s talk on his entrepreneurial journey emerged to be a big success among Warwick students. Organised by the Department of Economics and supported by Warwick Enterprise, the lecture was a part of the 360 Guest Lecture session for 2021/2022. After the lecture, the students had an opportunity to interact with the Graduate Enterprise Officer, Alexander McLeod, who also attended the event and extended his support to students who wanted to develop entrepreneurial skills.

Mark divided his talk into three broad categories – his personal experience, the importance of GRIT (Guts, Resilience, Initiative and Tenacity) and highlights of several businesses that he has been associated with. His positive can-do mindset has meant that not only did he finish his studies and graduate from De Montfort, but he went on to become the founder of Easy Internet Services, a digital marketing agency, Easy Internet Solutions, a web hosting company, Dreme, a property investment company and in 2019 Access Rating, a Community Interest Company (CIC). The talk ended with a Q&A round and was followed by drinks reception where the students got an opportunity to interact with him.