Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Productivity, entrepreneurship and innovation flourish in diverse environments, where different perspectives are shared, skills are exchanged, and conventions challenged. As an outward-facing community, we are eager to engage widely, harness innovation wherever we may find it, and reach broad audiences to add value to our research and activities.

Innovation and entrepreneurship are qualities of a mindset that we nurture at Reuben to encourage students to embrace a spirit of enquiry, make the most of opportunities, and approach new challenges with resilience. We back this up by offering a vibrant programme of learning opportunities, networking events, and practical experiences that will help students develop the skills, attitudes and insights to succeed whatever their careers.

While many in the College may be considered as “innovators” or “entrepreneurs” in their academic and professional lives, we have four Official Fellows whose College roles include specific responsibilities for leading cross-cutting initiatives and partnerships that contribute to the academic enrichment and cultural life of students at Reuben.

  • Jeroen Bergmann is an engineer and Director of the Oxford Healthtech Labs with a keen interest in Biomedical Entrepreneurship to translate engineering principles into tools and technologies that create positive social impacts in healthcare.
  • Peter Drobac is a medic, global public health specialist and social entrepreneur, who is Director of the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship.

Students at Reuben will find in Reuben College life a range of opportunities to explore industrial partnerships; hear from guest speakers outside academia; participate and learn in skills workshops and training programmes. The 1-KN training programme is run by Reuben college and offers training in need-led Innovation. The need-led innovation methodology is a well-proven framework that overcomes the issue that many start-ups don’t always have a suitable market fit. It aims to bring students together to identify unmet needs and build a business proposition around the ability to solve those needs.