Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Bristol
The Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Bristol is the first of its kind in the UK. Having started in 2016, I would be one of the first students to graduate having started my course in 2017.
The Innovation Centre brings together arts, science, engineering, humanities and enterprise to deliver innovative products, services and ways of living. The faculty hosts 14+ subjects ranging from Anthropology and Film to Engineering and Computer Science. As an Anthropology with Innovation student, I have learnt the skills and qualities to work across specialisms and cultures to create social impact. I have had experience working with clients on a diverse range of projects, including widening democratic participation in Bristol North West, making travel more sustainable and locating the role of lipstick in women’s empowerment through time.
What I enjoyed the most about the degree was working in interdisciplinary groups with determined and passionate individuals, who inspired me on a daily basis - already bringing new ideas and solutions to all corners of the globe. I am incredibly proud and grateful to be a part of this cohort of change-makers, with a special mention to Vive Meditation, Kaedim and Peequal, entrepreneurs from the centre who are already making incredible headway in the start-up world.
The unique but natural pairing of Anthropology with Innovation has not just given me a degree but has fostered a curious, creative and open mindset. Studying at the centre has taught me to see failure as an opportunity, to question established norms, to try new ideas, to embrace ambiguity, and most significantly, to collaborate. The ability to reinvent oneself and adapt is the most significant lesson I could have received at this time of unprecedented economic, political, and environmental upheaval.
Photograph taken by Sebastião Salgado for his exhibition Amazonia.
Anthropology.
According to Tim Ingold in his book Why The World Needs Anthropologists ‘anthropology is philosophy with the people in’. It is the study of what makes us human. I came to see Anthropology as a meditation, a way of learning more about myself, others and the world.
Throughout my 4 year degree, I studied a variety of different topics covering biological, cultural, linguistic and economic anthropology. These included learning about evolution, kinship, people, culture & language, gender, sexuality and the body, social theories and anthropological methods.
My favourite modules were World in Crisis, Human Challenges, Visual Anthropology and Contemporary Capitalism. Inspired by my yoga teacher training course before university, I wrote my dissertation on the globalisation and bureaucratisation of yoga.
Innovation.
According to Steve Jeffes “Innovation is the unrelenting drive to break the status quo and develop anew where few have dared to go.”
During my degree I studied Design & Systems Thinking, Agile, Creativity, Enterprise, New Venture Creation, Past Present and Future Studies and Being Human.
My favourite modules included In The Wild as it included reading up on future studies, and it is also where they encouraged me to create this website as a portfolio.
In my final year, I worked on a project researching the harmful impact of social media. As a result, we designed a more ethical platform that challenged the current model of social media which profits off keeping us glued to our screens, we did this by encouraging and rewarding users to actually participate in the experience economy as well as by making it easier for them to organise plans based on theirs and their friend’s availability and interests.