St Mary’s University Business Clinic Event Series 2025
Following the exciting sessions led by senior business professionals at the university last semester, St Mary’s University Business Clinic is delighted to announce:
- 26th February 2025: A Talk by the CIM (Chartered Institute of Marketing) launching the Business School’s Marketing Club at 10.45am-11.50am in N44.
- 20th March 2025: A Hackathon in the Senior Common Room 2pm – 5pm for St Mary’s students and members from local businesses.
Join a team for an exciting afternoon of brainstorming in collaboration with St Mary’s Business School students to explore ideas and resolve a challenge. Our Business School academics will be on hand to help provide advice and ideas as well as overcome obstacles in achieving goals.
What is a hackathon?
A hackathon is a time-limited event that encourages each team of participants to come up with new ideas and solutions. Brainstorming sessions and ideation exercises take place at the beginning of the event. Team members are encouraged to share their ideas and collaborate to refine a challenge through open communication and teamwork.
Hackathons are known to be a great platform for innovation and problem-solving. However, one of the most significant benefits of hackathons is that they promote collaboration. Collaboration is a key aspect of hackathons, and it is what sets them apart from other events.
At the end of the hackathon, participants present their ideas to the judges. This creates an opportunity for participants to showcase their work and receive feedback. The presentation also encourages collaboration as participants work together to create a compelling and engaging pitch.
Joining this event helps lead to new connections and long-lasting relationships.
Participation is free but this event is limited to 49 places only (seven teams of seven members). So, no time to lose!
Refreshments will be served.
Book now
Past events
Our events
26th September – How to really understand your audiences: Mark Payton (Keynote Speaker)
- Is there an atypical consumer?
- More informed than ever.
- And more wary than ever - need transparency, have huge expectations.
- But susceptible to partisanship (Trust Project/Ipsos Report examples).
- Why audience analysis works.
- Questions to ask about your own business.
- Can you easily describe your top two or three audience personas?
- Are those personas based on research or supposition?
- Understanding audiences: the cheat’s guide to research.
- Examples of easy-to-use online tools to gain those audience insights.
24th October – The ultimate marketing strategy for your business: Robin J Birn
- understanding profitability in your sector
- planning a customer led strategy
- measuring the success of the strategy
- anticipating future change.
21st November – How to use AI to optimise your social media marketing: Celia Rizothanasi, Queen Bee of LinkedIn
In this practical and interactive workshop Celia Rizothanasi - the Queen Bee of LinkedIn and Marketing AI - is going to reveal her proprietary model, The iA Framework™, and show you how to:
- develop the right AI strategy
- identify smart AI tools
- create your AI playbook.
Our speakers
Mark Payton
Mark Payton is a content and communications consultant with a strong track record in creating successful media brands and improving existing brand communications. Mark was editorial director at Haymarket Media Group for a decade, and is now one of the team at The Trust Project (a global consortium of news organisations dedicated to improving transparency and audience trust in media) and a complaints committee member for the UK's press regulator, IPSO. Mark has also worked on a number of recent product launches in the sport, automotive and travel markets.
Robin J Birn
An experienced marketing, market research and training professional, and author of several books on market research, customer insight and market services. Specialist skills include training, facilitating, and coaching in business strategy, marketing planning campaign planning, and developing propositions using consumer insight.
Robin has worked in the marketing services sector since 1976 consulting and training major global brands and SMEs to develop new skills in marketing and communications and intercultural competence.
Robin is a member of the Marketing Committee of The Archive of Market and Social Research, a Fellow of the Market Research Society, Life Fellow and Member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations and Freeman of the City of London. Robin is a British/American dual national.
Celia Rizothanasi
Celia Rizothanasi - the Queen Bee of LinkedIn and marketing AI - is a marketing communications strategist and personal branding specialist. Celia's mission is to enable start up founders, small business owners, and fellow marketers to become AI-powered leaders and accelerate their marketing results.