Priya Lakhani
Entrepreneur and Founder of CENTURY TechÂ
Priya Lakhani is an entrepreneur who has founded a food business, a social enterprise, and now leads a company developing the latest artificial intelligence and big data technology to understand how the brain learns.
Having trained as a barrister, Priya left the security of the legal profession to pursue her passion for business. She founded the Masala Masala food brand and built it from a kitchen table idea to a line of products stocked in major supermarkets. After this initial success she went on to establish a charity based on the model that for every unit of a product sold, a life-changing item was donated (for example, a meal, a vaccination) to those in need.
Priya’s next business, CENTURY Tech, is a company bringing together AI, neuroscience and education. CENTURY’s aim is to measure and simulate brain responses to tuition, analyse what works for whom and how, and ultimately produce personalised learning. By understanding how the brain learns and responds, educators can receive real-time insights, tailoring the learning experience and improving student performance.
In presentations, Priya looks at the cutting-edge work her company is carrying out, and the lessons for training and education, as well as companies seeking to innovate and emulate the startup ethos. She speaks about her entrepreneurial experiences, especially as a non-technical person running a tech business, and looks at what innovation is and how to embed it into a culture. She also tackles leadership, diversity, and culture within organisations, looking at how companies need to be adaptable in times of crisis and always keep their values central to everything they do.
As well as starting businesses Priya has worked with government as a member of the Department of Business, Education and Skills’ Entrepreneur Forum. She is a regular contributor to BBC News’ and BBC World News’ review of global headlines. She has also advised a number of education and skills organisations, was named as an Entrepreneur of the Year and in Management Today’s ’35 Women Under 35’ list, and is the author of Inadequate: The System Failing our Teachers and Your Children.
Synopsis
The Business of Projects
Drawing on her broad experience, Priya will describe how understanding the context of the current and future landscape in the business of projects is now more crucial than ever. She will provide a more holistic perspective of the big issues facing the project profession and why they are important to the future of society and the economy, and show delegates that they are empowered to drive positive change towards a world with more successful projects.Â