Kent has renewed its position as a Patron of the Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce (KICC) this month, marking eight years of commitment to supporting local business to innovate and grow in partnership with KICC.

The Patron scheme, which the University has been a part of since the scheme’s inauguration, gives 12 leading businesses the chance to represent their sector in supporting KICC members and the local area. Over the years, the scheme has enabled Kent to work more closely with the Chamber and its members to listen to industry needs and drive knowledge exchange between the academic community and local industry. Examples include:

Long-term partnerships with fellow patrons, such as former patron HR GO, who have sponsored the Kent HR Network, recruited students via the Employability Points scheme, and are now collaborating with academics from the School of Computing to adopt AI technology through a Knowledge Transfer Partnership
Providing opportunities for students to engage with business through placements and work experience, as well as inclusion of wider employability opportunities in the curriculum, through engagement with Careers and Employability Services
Innovation i-Teams, a student knowledge exchange programme through which Kent students are challenged to provide businesses with solutions to their challenges with mentorship from CEO of KICC, Tudor Price
The Net Zero Pathway to Change project, delivered in partnership with the Chamber with funding from the Government’s Community Renewal Fund, which saw Kent academics collaborate with local business to tackled net zero challenges in the workplace, yacht-building and the engineering industries.

The start of the new patron year was celebrated at the KICC Business Leaders Dinner which took place in the University’s Darwin Conference Suite on Thursday 18 April. The event saw Kent representatives join other Patrons and regional business leaders to exchange ideas and opinions and sample local Kent produce. They also heard from keynote speaker and Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce, Shevaun Haviland.

Professor Shane Weller, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Research and Innovation at Kent, said: ‘Being a patron of the Chamber empowers our staff and our students to join forces with local businesses to drive innovation, foster economic growth and enrich the fabric of our local community. We are therefore delighted to renew our patronage of the Chamber and look forward to continuing to support the region and its businesses through meaningful partnerships and mutual support for the prosperity of Kent and Medway.’

Tudor Price, Chief Executive, Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce, said: ‘ I am delighted that the University of Kent has renewed its commitment to our Patron Scheme for another year. We look forward to working closely with them and continuing to build on our strategic and mutually beneficial partnership.’

Kent’s Patronage of KICC is made possible by the Higher Education Innovation Fund allocated to Kent by the UK Government to support knowledge exchange between higher education providers and the wider world that benefits society and the economy.

Images courtesy of Nick Johnson.

The 12 Patrons were presented with their certificates by CEO of the Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce, Tudor Price, at the annual Business Leaders Dinner this year held in Darwin Conference Suite.

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