“We’ve had some great feedback from members, so thank you everyone for making it such a successful year,” says the Network’s events manager, Louise Rushworth.
“Our Business Lectures in 2012 have covered diverse subjects, ranging from graphene to Google, McLaren to Santander, and Greene King to Hotel Chocolat – with some excellent speakers. Angus Thirlwall of Hotel Chocolat in particular won members over: ‘A fantastic start to the new lecture series’ was one member’s view, while another found his talk ‘inspirational’.
“We are indebted to our sponsors for supporting these events –please talk to us if you’re interested in raising your company profile with fellow members and like-minded people.
“Earlier this year we ran a member survey asking you what else you wanted us to do, and the resounding cry was for more networking sessions. As a result, in the Autumn, we introduced a new Breakfast Networking series aimed at businesses with fewer than 20 staff.
“These have gone extremely well, covering subjects including marketing and technology so far. Others on HR, finance and IT are in the pipeline for the new year, resuming on Thursday January 31st when the topic will be HR issues in smaller companies.”
Also coming up early in 2013 are a number of Business lectures including:
January 22nd: Prof Sir Richard Friend, University of Cambridge
February 21st: Ken Woodberry, Microsoft Research
March 12th: Neil Carson, Johnson Matthey
Cambridge Network is also running its regular sessions to help new and existing members to engage with the organisation, the broader community and with each other:
Making the Most of Membership: If you’re new to Cambridge Network or want to refresh your memory about the many ways the Network can support your business, sign up for an informal lunchtime introductory session. These take place quarterly, with the first one of 2013 on Friday February 8th.
Meet Cambridge Network: If you’re part of a larger company that wishes to find out more about the recruitment or learning aspects of membership, then this is for you. Sessions are held at the Network’s home at the Hauser Forum –or the team will come to you. These are also bi-monthly, with the next meetings planned for Thursday January 24th and Wednesday March 6th. Email andrea.mitchell@cambridgenetwork.co.uk if you’d like to attend or host.
Louise adds: “But it’s not all about us. We also run ‘Policy Fen’, which brings together policy makers and researchers to discuss issues of importance in the Cambridge region. The group meets regularly and in 2012 held two events, one of which has gone on to start its own discussion group. In January we’ll meet to discuss ‘boundaries to volunteering’. Email me (louise.rushworth@cambridgenetwork.co.uk ) if you want to take part.
“We’re also open to new ideas for events or other activities. As long as we are connecting people in areas where we think there is a need, then it fits our criteria, so please contact me if you want to discuss the possibilities. And keep an eye on the website event pages to see what else is coming up - the calendar features a wealth of events run by our members, as well as our own.”
Read about Cambridge Network events
If you’d like to be included on Cambridge Network’s events mailing list, please email dawn.nicholls@cambridgenetwork.co.uk
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