Southampton Business School Future Leaders Dinner

On Tuesday 18 March, the University of Southampton Business School (SBS) hosted the annual SBS Future Leaders Dinner. This prestigious event brought together students, seasoned business professionals, and SBS colleagues to provide SBS students with a unique opportunity to connect with colleagues, alumni, and external stakeholders. Guests engaged in meaningful discussions about career ambitions, industry challenges, and opportunities in today’s business landscape.

The event was designed to ignite inspiration among students, fostering their ambitions and aspirations. The gathering was characterised by a vibrant and engaging atmosphere that not only motivated students but also solidified connections with key stakeholders and strengthened our community-building efforts.

As the SBS Dean, Professor Laura Costanzo highlighted, employability is of paramount importance for university students in today's volatile landscape. At SBS, we are dedicated to setting our students up for success through a variety of initiatives that provide them with opportunities to connect with leaders from diverse industries and equip them with a robust skillset that makes them highly desirable to employers. With the Triple Helix at the core of our operations - Research, Education, Knowledge Exchange and Enterprise (KEE) - we foster a harmonious symbiosis that enables us to equip our students with all the traits necessary to be competitive in their journey towards securing their dream job.

Additionally, we were honoured to have one of our distinguished SBS alumni, Victoria Sedgley, who delivered an inspiring keynote speech, providing valuable insights to our students. Victoria's key message to our future leaders was to focus on people in order to build successful communities.

As Professor Jeni Giambona, SBS Associate Dean of KEE, emphasised in her closing comments, initiatives such as the Future Leaders Dinner seek to cultivate and strengthen the bonds between SBS and its external partners with a view to giving our students tangible opportunities to engage with industry and develop their employability skills.

We are excited about the future and the endless possibilities that lie ahead for our students and strategic partners. Together, we will continue to build a thriving community where innovation, collaboration and success are at the forefront.