UWL hosts Ealing Festival of Business 2024
Intro
The University of West London was proud to host the Ealing Festival of Business 2024, organised by the West London Chambers of Commerce. Including a business exhibition with over 45 stands, workshops and networking opportunities throughout the day, the festival offered Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) the opportunity to promote themselves and individuals the chance to learn from and connect with like-minded entrepreneurs.
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The day began with a stakeholder breakfast in Pillars, UWL’s in-house restaurant, where keynote speakers discussed local partnerships, business and development in west London.
Following the event, Sally Smith, Chief Operating Officer for West London Chambers of Commerce, said:
We were really pleased that Professor Peter John, CBE, Vice-Chancellor and President, could be with us for the stakeholders' breakfast, alongside the Leader of Ealing Council, Cllr Peter Mason and our two local MPs, Rupa Huq (Acton Central) and Deidre Costigan (Southall).
We are proud to be working with such a high calibre university, which is on our doorstep, for the benefit of our local businesses. Through collaboration, we grow!”
The business exhibition saw a footfall of about 400 people and was a great opportunity for SMEs to promote themselves to both the general public and other businesses.
Liv, from Green Business Action London, told us about their free services for SMEs to help them become more sustainable and reduce their environmental impact. She stressed the importance of in-person networking events, saying:
I think there’s a lot of online connection, but I think it’s really important to have face-to-face connection – for building brand awareness, but also showing there are real people behind these companies [...] especially for free government-funded programs as it’s all in the nature of just helping people.”
Chiswick Cinema also had a stand at the exhibition, highlighting not only their five screens and two bars, but also their opportunities and events for locals, from film festivals to memberships and discounts.
Front-of-house staff member Alex said:
We are all about trying to reach out to the local community.”
Throughout the day, attendees were invited to a number of workshops in Westmont Enterprise Hub, UWL’s centre for start-ups and business expertise. The University was open to members of the public to view our excellent facilities.
One attendee, Cora, tried our 737 Flight Simulator. She said:
It was extremely exciting to be there – I thought, I would actually like to learn this! Your instructor is very knowledgeable which I think would inspire a lot of confidence in your students and that’s a wonderful thing.”
The event was a great success, bringing together SMEs in Ealing with the borough's local community and providing a space to share knowledge and opportunities.
Geraldine from West London Chambers of Commerce commented:
We’re here to support all the SMEs and networking with likeminded people.”
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