BUSINESS Minister Matthew Hancock has praised the Said Business School’s new Oxford Launchpad for leading the way in fostering an entrepreneurial culture.

He said that such an attitude is “vital” for the British economy.

Five months after it opened last February, the Launchpad, a meeting place designed to foster interaction among Oxford-based entrepreneurs, is attracting up to 100 people a week.

“Increasingly Britain will pay her way in the world by turning great ideas into great companies,” said Mr Hancock, the Minister of State for Business, Energy and Enterprise, while visiting the Launchpad on Tuesday.

The Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship, which supports the Launchpad together with the Entrepreneurship Centre, was at “the leading edge” of helping people “turning brilliant ideas, whether from within the university or within the wider Oxford area, ... into businesses and ultimately into jobs and financial success,” said the Minister.

“In a world where many, many countries are trying to catch up with us, this is a vital step for us keeping ahead.”

James Murray, below, the Launchpad’s curator, said the meeting space at the front of the Said Business School, part of the University of Oxford and located near the railway station, was attracting between 20 and 100 people a week, who on average stayed about five hours at a time.

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The make-up was a cross-section of internal students, typically studying MBAs, science, physics, and external entrepreneurs, he added. The ratio was about 60 per cent internal to 40 per cent external.

The Launchpad also offers a regular schedule of events as well as links to courses and contacts within the business school.

Mr Hancock also visited visisted Airbus Helicopters’ aerospace design and maintenance operations at Oxford Airport, near Kidlington, on Tuesday.

Airbus Helicopters has a new five-year, £35 million contract, starting on October 1, to maintain and support the National Police Air Service’s helicopter fleet in England and Wales.

 

 

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