Kingston Business School students and graduates invited to the House of Lords to discuss the future of entrepreneurship

Posted Tuesday 22 November 2022

Left to right: Muhammad Omar Hijazi, Dr Yuliana Topazly, Barbara Salvador, Dr Pauline Parker and Amanda Baker

Enterprising students and recent graduates from Kingston Business School, many of whom have their own businesses, were given the opportunity to network with MPs and business leaders at the House of Lords in Westminster.

They were invited to attend the launch of the Next Generation Report, published by The Entrepreneurs Network and Youth Business International, which examines the entrepreneurial aspirations of the next generation and what they need to succeed.

Students joined staff members from Kingston Business School to represent the University, which is the number one institution in the UK for graduate start-ups. One recent graduate who attended was Barbara Salvador, who completed her Masters in Business Administration (MBA) in January.

The 29-year-old, who came to the United Kingdom from Brazil in 2014 not speaking any English, spoke of her pride in being invited to the UK parliament. "It was an emotional experience for me going to such an important location," she said. "When I first came over from Brazil, I never imagined I'd be able to meet and network with such influential people. I really enjoyed listening to the speakers at the event, including Jo Gideon MP, who shared her thoughts on business and enterprise in the UK going forward."

Having previously worked in the commercial property sector, the pandemic brought about huge changes which made Barbara contemplate starting her own business. She set up cybersecurity consultancy firm, Salvador Cloud, with her partner after receiving advice from her lecturers at Kingston.

This enabled the budding entrepreneur to use her enterprise as a case study for her final projects on the MBA course. She said her consultancy firm benefitted from her learnings and she developed her skills through networking with her peers. "The course allowed me to meet some incredible people with a similar work ethic to myself," she said. "It allowed me to exchange ideas with people I never would have met otherwise."

Dr Pauline Parker, Director of the MBA course at Kingston Business School, said the students attending the prestigious event at the House of Lords represented the entrepreneurial talent among the Kingston Business School cohort. "Being invited to this event really recognises the reputation Kingston Business School has for producing young entrepreneurs," she said. "I know how much it meant for the graduates to attend and meet the important business leaders they got a chance to network with can really help them grow their enterprise."

Other recent alumni who attended the event included Shanav Shah and Muhammad Omar Hijazi, who graduated with an MBA and a Masters in International Business respectively.

Barbara is still involved with Kingston University and a number of current MBA students are doing projects with Salvador Cloud.