A new month-long public exhibition showcasing over 25 of QMU’s ‘Inspiring Entrepreneurs’ will be launched on campus today – Thursday 15th June.

QMU is committed to enterprise and innovation. The University’s ‘Inspiring Entrepreneurs’ exhibition celebrates the pivotal role entrepreneurship plays in enhancing the QMU student experience and delivering research impact.

The University is playing a leading role in challenging the contours of entrepreneurship and the evolution of inspiring entrepreneurs from business, creative, social and service innovation perspectives.

Within QMU, entrepreneurship prepares students and graduates for a variety of career and life experiences. Being an entrepreneur may mean starting a business or working as an intrapreneur in an existing business, incorporating management styles that integrate risk taking and innovative business solutions.

QMU’s academic programmes are designed to support students to identify and analyse new opportunities, to think creatively, and to be action oriented in order to seize opportunities that add real value to their employability. These skills are important in all types of organisations, from small start-ups to large corporate settings to large public sector organisations like the NHS.

Professor Petra Wend, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of QMU, said: “This new exhibition helps to showcase just some of the entrepreneurial talent already in action around the University, as well as inspire others both within QMU and beyond. Everyone who’s participated in the exhibition has creatively demonstrated that entrepreneurial spirit is a mindset of how we can all approach problems and proposes solutions.

“A major driver within QMU is the development and sustainability of a changing culture that supports the capacity of the University’s staff and students to be entrepreneurial in a variety of contexts, including business, creative, social and service innovation perspectives.”

East Lothian Council Business Gateway is a key partner in QMU’s own entrepreneurial journey. This innovative partnership exemplifies QMU’s commitment to supporting the development of SMEs and to assisting entrepreneurial students and graduates considering setting up their own businesses. Five years since the launch of the service, QMU is incredibly proud to still be the only Scottish University with an on-campus Business Gateway. The University is also very proud that in the past two years alone we have created 16 QMU graduate start ups.

QMU worked with photographer and QMU third year BA (Hons) Media student, Taja Strle, in the curation of this exhibition. At QMU, both the undergraduate and postgraduate curriculum combines theory and practice, providing students with the opportunity to think up great ideas, turn them into business plans, and deliver on new technologies, products, and services. The photographs used in the exhibition formed part of Taja’s Photography Practice Module project.

For more information about business support and entrepreneurship opportunities at QMU, email Vivian Rutherford, Research and Knowledge Exchange Officer at QMU, E: VRutherford@qmu.ac.uk

Business Gateway – For more information on the Business Gateway at QMU, visit: www.qmu.ac.uk/business-gateway

Business Innovation Zone – For more information on the Business Innovation Zone at QMU, visit: www.qmu.ac.uk/business_industry/businessInnovationZone.htm

‘Step Up with QMU’ – personal development & work experience opportunities: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ko_GRNdHosM

A flagship event for the Scottish public sector will see Capital Document Solutions offer expert advice on a wide range of office equipment and print solutions.

Procurex Scotland Live 2014 is a major, annual exhibition for buyers and suppliers in the public sector. The established event will be held at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC) in Glasgow on Tuesday, October 21.

Capital, which has operations across the length and breadth of Scotland, is exhibiting at stand G49. In 2013, Capital was re-appointed as a successful supplier on the Scottish Government’s National Framework Agreement for Office Equipment for the second successive term.

The company will offer visitors expert advice on the latest office technology as well as guidance on how organisations can make substantial cost savings, improve document processes, increase security and minimise their impact on the environment.

Procurex is expected to attract more than a thousand key decision-makers from across the private and public sectors. For more information visit www.procurexlive.co.uk/scotland

The event will also host the Scottish Government’s National Public Procurement Conference before culminating in the prestigious Government Opportunities (GO) Awards Scotland, which recognises the best suppliers in the public sector.

In October 2012, Capital Document Solutions won the Best Service honour at the GO Awards Scotland for the high level and quality of its services to end users in the Scottish public sector.

Tom Flockhart, founder and managing director at Capital, said: “We’re delighted to be returning to Procurex as it brings together many of the leading public sector bodies in Scotland. As an exhibitor, it represents a great opportunity to demonstrate our wide range of capabilities to a mixture of existing and potential partners in the public sector.

“I’m very much looking forward to the opportunity to share our expert knowledge with existing and potential clients on how their businesses and organisations can enhance cost control, efficiency and security as well as reduce their environmental impact.”

Established in 1979, Capital is Scotland’s largest independent supplier of office equipment and document solutions. It provides copiers, printers, scanners and software with comprehensive national maintenance and training support to businesses and organisations in the private and public sectors.

The company employs 200 people at operations in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, Aberdeen, Inverness and Shetland.

For further information visit www.capital-solutions.co.uk