BUSINESS REPORT


INNOVATION HUB TO BE CREATED AT UNIVERSITY


Milton Keynes has been awarded more than £2.4m to create an innovation hub at the city’s proposed university MK:U. MK Council and Cranfield


University have been working together to establish the Smart City Living Lab (SCLL) as part of the wider MK:U proposals. The programme will deliver education and support services to new and


emerging businesses, with a focus on smart technologies including robotics, virtual reality and intelligent infrastructure. The funding for the project has


been awarded by the South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership (SEMLEP) to support MKC’s ambitions to deliver a greener and cleaner recovery from Covid-19. Earlier this month, the Council


announced a £3.4m recovery package to help restore business confidence, as well as a plan to protect and inspire around £2bn of identified investment into the city. Leader of MK Council Pete


Marland said: “We welcome this funding for the new innovation hub which supports our vision for MK:U to become a leader in future technologies. It builds on our long-


standing smart city programme. My thanks go out to colleagues and partners for their work in securing this investment which will benefit generations to come.” MK:U is a joint project between


MK Council and Cranfield University to create a model university for the city, focused on smart technologies and the employment needs of the future.


A CAD design of how the new development might look


JEREMY EVANS JOINS THE CURVE GROUP


The Curve Group, the UK’s largest privately-owned HR and Recruitment outsourcing provider, is delighted to announce that it has appointed Jeremy Evans as non-executive director. Having held ‘C’ suite and director positions for organisations such as


AMS, PwC and Liberata, Jeremy brings with him an impressive and proven track record of significant growth in multiple businesses across various sectors including HR outsourcing, management consultancy, RPO and financial services. Jeremy said: “I am personally


‘THE


delighted to be joining The Curve Group at such an exciting time and look forward to building on the strong foundations and supporting the next phase of growth. We have a clear focus to continue to scale our capabilities and capacity in order to be able to focus on enabling SMEs to resolve their HR and recruitment challenges.” The appointment marks the next phase of growth for The Curve


APPOINTMENT


MARKS THE NEXT PHASE OF


GROWTH FOR THE CURVE GROUP’


Group and follows the successful completion of a three-year transformation plan which has included the development of the next generation of leaders to run the business day to day and the investment in new products, systems and people to deliver sustainable growth. CEO of The Curve Group Jeanette Ramsden said: “I am so excited to


take the next step in our growth plans and look forward to working closely with Jeremy to realise our long-term strategy.”


Visit: www.thecurvegroup.co.uk 6 inbusinessOCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2020


COVENANT SIGNED BY CHAMBER PRESIDENT


On 6 August, President of Milton Keynes Chamber, Jacqui Wilkins, proudly signed the Armed Forces Covenant on behalf of the Chamber, cementing our support for the Armed Forces Community. In making this important, public display, the Chamber is demonstrating that we recognise the value Serving Personnel, both Regular and Reservists, Veterans, and military families contribute to our business and our country. Contained within the Covenant is


a commitment to uphold its principles, to provide respect, support, and fair treatment of those who have served in the Armed Forces, and their families. As a Chamber we agree that those who serve, or have served in the past, should face no disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public or commercial services, and recognising those who have performed military duty unites the country and honours the value of their service. Jacqui Wilkins said: “I am


extremely proud that my first act as the new President of Milton Keynes Chamber is to sign the


Armed Forces Covenant, and in doing so, publicly support the brave men and women of our Armed Forces, and their families. We look forward to working closely with the regional team to put into practice the commitments we’ve made.”


For more information and to see how your business can get involved, please visit: www.armedforcescovenant.gov.uk


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24