News / £1.2m boost for York’s high-tech...
£1.2m boost for York’s high-tech enterprises
Science City York has led a bid that has secured more than £1.2 million to develop two new facilities aimed at supporting technology ventures in York.
The project will result in the creation of a dedicated Bioscience Business Centre at the University of York and the expansion of facilities at York Science Park to create ‘Park Central’.
The Bioscience Business Centre will focus on helping 19 new businesses and realising seven academic collaborations, while ‘Park Central’ is expected to assist 240 businesses as well as creating five new businesses and 18 new jobs in its first five years.
Science City York has co-ordinated the development of the Bioscience Business Centre and Park Central and led the bid to secure funding under the ‘Northern Way’ Project, a collaboration between the North’s three Regional Development Agencies, including Yorkshire Forward.
Paul Taylor, Science City York Project Director, says “The high specification and well-tried services and facilities have been specifically designed to meet the needs of new and existing technology ventures. Shared space quickly becomes a focal point to stimulate knowledge and collaboration. We anticipate that these facilities will be an exemplar for nurturing collaborations between academics and businesses alike.”
A total of £721,000 will support the development of Park Central with management services and running costs valued at more than £400,000 being contributed by York Science Park (Innovation Centre) Ltd. A remaining £145,000 will be used to create the Bioscience Business Centre.
The Bioscience Business Centre will involve extensive refurbishment in the University’s Technology Facility, Department of Biology, to provide business development facilities. It will give bioscience entrepreneurs access to the latest equipment and expertise, helping them to transform pioneering research into commercial ventures.
Due for completion this Autumn, the Bioscience Business Centre will offer ‘hot-desk’ facilities for visiting researchers and businesses, additional office accommodation and meeting rooms. The refurbishment will also add to laboratory space in the Facility, enabling the High Throughput Protein Expression Laboratory to be more widely accessible to industrial users. This laboratory provides rapid production of recombinant proteins, an area of particular importance for the Biopharmaceuticals industry.
John Pillmoor, Director of the Technology Facility, says “This development will greatly assist our interactions with industry and knowledge transfer activities. Particularly exciting will be the dedicated space within the department for Business Development Managers from many different organisations to meet our academics and develop new collaborations. The hot desking area will also greatly increase the productivity for visiting researchers from industry by providing them with private working space and internet access to enable them to maintain contact with their organisations.”
Park Central, a 370 m˛ extension at York Science Park, involves the creation of a single-storey ‘expansion space’ between the existing Innovation Centre and Bio Centre, with a two-storey extension to the rear of the Innovation Centre. It is due to be ready by March 2008 and will provide vital office and meeting space for new and existing Science Park tenants. The development includes plans for a ‘Science City Hub’, where businesses will be able to access Science City York business mentoring, as well as exhibition and display areas with a café, designed to facilitate networking and business collaboration.
Susanne Gilbert, Managing Director from York Science Park (Innovation Centre) Ltd says “This is fantastic news for York Science Park and the wider science community within the City. Park Central will help prevent the loss of knowledge-based businesses due to a lack of suitable premises as they grow. It is exactly the kind of facility we have been working to secure on York Science Park for the last five years to develop further the centre’s networking opportunities for science and technology-based businesses. The support of Yorkshire Forward and Science City York has been invaluable in making this project possible.”
Both developments are key components of a ‘hub and spoke’ concept championed by Science City York for innovation support in York and North Yorkshire. The Science City York team will provide the business and sector development support together with other specialists in the University, with the Bioscience Business Centre and Park Central as vital ‘spokes’.
Paul Taylor continues “Increasing levels of innovation through developing new products, processes and services is critical to new business creation and growing existing ventures. Keeping ahead by innovating is especially important in a situation where the UK faces continuing pressure from economies such as China and India.”
