Breakthrough Issue 12

The United Kingdom Science Park Association magazine | Issue 12

SCIENCE

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I N N O VAT I O N

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RESEARCH

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TECHNOLOGY

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INTRODUCTION

Build back better UKSPA Chairman Dr Glenn Crocker MBE considers how the world and the future of science parks will be post-Covid…

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LEVELLING-UP

s I write this, the light at the end of the coronavirus tunnel appears to be getting brighter, with the vaccination programme rolling out across Europe. So, it seems timely to consider the post-Covid world. Will we simply revert to business-as-usual or are we entering a period of rapid change? If change is on the cards, what will it look like and how will science parks not only deal with it, but thrive and grow, to the benefit of the R&D community and society?

The UK economy has been devastated by successive lockdowns and some roles may have disappeared for good. But there is an opportunity to build back better with the science and engineering industries at the heart of a new, stronger and more productive economy.

Venture investors realise this and are ploughing more money than ever before into the technology sector. The Government realises it also. In March 2020 it announced plans to double R&D investment to £22B per annum, with a drive to reverse the decades long decline in R&D investment to achieve the 2.4% of GDP OECD average. Whilst being average doesn’t sound like much of a goal, the potential growth in investment could be transformative to the science and technology sector.

UKSPA

T: 01799 532050 E: info@ukspa.org.uk W: www.ukspa.org.uk l Executive Director Jim Duvall l Communications Manager Adrian Sell l Membership Administrator Louise Tilbrook

Aligned with that is the levelling-up agenda, at the heart of which should be a levelling up of investment in research and development. While there is no question that our international centres of excellence should continue to be built on, it is a criminal waste of opportunity not to fully invest in the wider research base across the UK. The discrepancy was eloquently highlighted in last year’s Nesta report, The Missing £4billion: Making R&D work for the whole of the UK, written by Richard Jones and Tom Forth.

So, the first thing we all need to do is hold the government’s feet to the fire on this commitment. We mustn’t allow double counting or announcing the same initiative over and again, pretending it’s new. Science Parks across the UK have a vital role to play in supporting R&D initiatives and making sure there are sensible homes for increased investment. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build the R&D base across the whole of the UK without detracting from already strong locations. There’s theoretically no need to rob Peter to pay Paul.

S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

The other major challenge that science parks, and R&D facilities in general, have yet to tackle in any meaningful

OPEN BOX MEDIA & COMMUNICATIONS l l l l l l

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way is sustainability. This is an issue that is rapidly moving to the top of the agenda and, as research facilities are notoriously carbon-intensive, it is particularly pertinent.

We need to work out how to make existing buildings more energy efficient, reduce the carbon footprint of people working in that space, and ensure that the next generation of buildings is carbon neutral. The University of Nottingham has demonstrated what can be done with its Carbon Neutral Chemistry building, an amazing facility that is shining a light on the art of the achievable.

And of course, the technologies that will drive the efficiency transformation of R&D buildings could, and should, be developed by innovative new businesses based at the science parks. Which brings us back full circle to investment in R&D. The development of the Covid-19 vaccine in less than a year has shown us what can happen when enough resources are well directed at a problem. Imagine what could happen in the UK if a surge in investment is well directed to addressing problems of climate change or healthcare.

Science industries will boom along with the need for homes for those businesses. We all have an interest in making sure this happens. ■

Breakthrough is published on behalf of UKSPA

by Open Box Media & Communications, Premier House, 13 St Paul’s Square, Birmingham B3 1RB. T: 0121 200 7820.

No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the consent of UKSPA.

Open Box Media & Communications are proud to be corporate sponsors of Heart Research UK (Midlands).

I S S U E 12 | U K S PA B R E A K T H R O U G H | 5

14 MAJOR REFURB ON COURSE The latest makeover of business space at Chesterford Research Park

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NOTEWORTHY PERFORMER Robin Chave talks about his intriguing pathway from school to science park

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Impact

Innovation

Advocacy

CONTENTS

HACKSPACE HERO Laura Barter reveals how innovation is being driven into British agriculture

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TACKLING THE OLD-SCHOOL ICT Yardi’s Paul Orrock confesses his complete devotion to all-things wireless

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28 LEADER OF THE PACK John French explains his ‘big picture’ approach to sustainable development 32 WHATSAPP ROUTE TO SOLUTION How Tim Dafforn and his researchers devised the world’s fastest Covid test

53 TOWARDS ZERO How technological innovation can accelerate the UK’s decarbonisation 54 SUSTAINABILITY IS AN OPORTUNITY Why the drive for inclusive workplaces must be led from the very top

CONTENTS

INNOVATION MASTERMIND Katrina Hayter shares her strategic vision for transforming food production

44 MEMBER PROFILES Including Birmingham Health Innovation Campus, BES Ltd and Buro Four

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Growth

42 LETTING TO START-UPS What landlords must realise when drafting leases for start-up ventures

27 TIME FOR A KICK-START The issues start-ups should consider when they address their IP strategies

CAMPUS HAS ALL THE RIGHT INGREDIENTS Liz Cashon offers insight into the upward trajectory of York Biotech Campus

CATALYST FOR CHANGE Patrick Bonnett explains why our society needs more ‘intelligent’ designs

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60 PASSION AND PURPOSE Martino Picardo and Briege Leahy make the case for more science education

Trends

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Support

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24 DOWN ON THE ROBOT FARM How autonomous tech is tackling labour challenges facing Britain’s growers

I S S U E 12 | U K S PA B R E A K T H R O U G H | 7

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UKSPA BOARD

Welcome Aboard

T

he United Kingdom Science Park Association, in common with all membership organisations, needs to reflect the makeup of its membership at every level.

UKSPA has a diverse membership across the United Kingdom with members in every regional area of England as well as in all the devolved nations of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. Our members are science parks, technology incubators, knowledge quarters and innovation centres who all share common interests, activities and ambition. The diverse governance and investment profiles of our members also need to be addressed in the makeup of the UKSPA board.

Business members of UKSPA are also represented on our board, which sets the association’s strategic ambitions to ensure we remain relevant, and deliver real benefits to those who support our work. Getting the gender and diversity balance right is crucial, as is ensuring that our board continues to attract those whose experience and skills can provide multiple perspectives, to guide the association through these challenging times.

INTRODUCING NEW DIRECTORS Board members are company directors of the association and, last year, the full members of UKSPA elected two new representatives. This election saw an

Dr Sally Basker, CEO, Exeter Science Park

Jim Duvall, UKSPA Executive Director, introduces the new faces on its board unprecedented total of nine excellent nominees with almost 70% of members casting their votes. The two new board directors elected were Dr Sally Basker, CEO of Exeter Science Park and Dr Rhian Hayward, CEO of AberInnovation who bring extensive skills, experience and enthusiasm to UKSPA. Sally is a qualified engineer with 15 years’ senior level research and innovation experience in the aerospace, defence, energy, and navigation sectors.

She has extensive business management experience, and has been responsible for crafting business cases, attracting funds and procuring multi-million-pound research facilities. As CEO she is responsible for developing Exeter Science Park as a hub for innovative STEMM enterprises across the region and beyond.

Dr Rhian Hayward, CEO, AberInnovation

Rhian Hayward joined AberInnovation as CEO in January 2017 and she has led the construction of the £40.5m campus and the development of initiatives that support early stage tenant businesses and entrepreneurs in food, bioprocessing, nutrition and agri-tech. In recent years, Rhian has held various public appointments including membership of the Welsh Industrial Development Board for Welsh Government. Rhian was awarded the MBE for services to Entrepreneurship in Wales in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List 2016.

A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE

At the same time the board created two new co-opted board member places to help UKSPA increase its value, diversify its delivery, and grow its membership by contributing different perspectives, experience, and background for 12 months.

Interviews were held with several outstanding candidates and, for the next 12 months, the UKSPA board will be joined by Alice Reeve, CEO of Hethel Innovation and Joe Caine, Smart Innovation Hub Manager at Keele University Science and Innovation Park.

At Hethel, Alice has led the development of new training programmes, funding bids and commercial contracts.

Having a background in environmental science, Alice is passionate about making sustainability mainstream for businesses and finding innovative ways to make this transition easier.

Joe is responsible for eight Innovation Centres at Keele University’s Science & Innovation Park.

His enthusiasm for creating this innovation ecosystems and enabling innovation-led companies to access university expertise will be of immense value to UKSPA. The creation of these two opportunities for participation in the board’s strategic decision making, and through mentoring with an existing UKSPA director, aims to bring mutual benefits for the association and those participating, and the level of interest shown will ensure that this initiative is repeated in future years. ■

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Advocacy Noteworthy Performer Dr Robin Chave, the CEO of Southampton University Science Park, talked to Ian Halstead about his pathway to the South Coast, his strategic vision and his lifetime love of music Louis Armstrong is famed for pioneering Dixieland jazz, raising the profile of black musicians and fighting prejudice and inequality, but he also had a nifty way with words. ‘Music is life itself’ he wrote to a soldier searching desperately for optimism amid the jungles of Vietnam.

Although Chave isn’t making quite such a claim, music was certainly the catalyst for both his hugely influential early education and a pivotal moment in his career.

“I went to Hampton School in Middlesex. It’s still famous for its rowers, but it also provided a fantastic education which set me up for life. I got a music scholarship there, and when I came to leave, it was a close-run thing between going to music college or studying engineering at university,” he recalls.

“I still enjoy music and love playing the cello. It was also my route into the science park as well, because my predecessor played the violin and we knew each other through the same orchestra.”

However, if the teenage Chave’s heart ached to learn more about music - the mind was more materialistic.

Dr Robin Chave CEO, SOUTHAMPTON UNIVERSITY SCIENCE PARK

Chief Executive Officer for the science park since October 2019 - having previously acted as its Operations Director for the previous nine years - Robin is an experienced leader responsible for the strategic development of its wide-ranging, award-winning facilities for leading technology companies and innovative start-ups

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The world according to UKSPA and its members

“I read a book at school called ‘The New Science of Strong Materials’ and found it absolutely fascinating. Its basic theme was that everything we use has to be made out of something.

“I just loved tinkering around with stuff, and although materials science wasn’t exactly a conversational topic, the subject really appealed to me.”

James Edward Gordon’s writings inspired many in the 70s and 80s, not least Bill Gates, and from that moment, music was no longer his driving force.

Undergraduate studies at the University of Birmingham led to research into titanium compounds used in jet engines at the same institution, but the newly-qualified Dr Chave wasn’t suited for an academic life.

“I realised I wasn’t going to be a brilliant academic coming up with amazing conceptual ideas. I was far more practical and interested in problem-solving, so I became a research scientist working for a large automotive group’s research department at Rugby.

“Then I saw an advert for a forensic engineering role at the government’s defence research and evaluation agency (DERA) which was later rebranded as QinetiQ. The work was ‘failure analysis’, which really appealed.

“Basically, you were getting bits of broken aircraft and vehicles and working out what happened, sometimes trying to discover why planes had crashed. I loved that job, but after two or three years, I realised I didn’t want to spend the whole of my life doing it.”

P R A G M AT I S M & PA S S I O N

If music is a recurring theme in his life, so is Chave’s compelling blend of pragmatism and passion. Having applied considered thought to his career trajectory, he moved into QinetiQ’s project management team.

“There were so many interesting programmes. One was the development of a hybrid electric drive (HED) six-wheeled combat support vehicle. It was mainly about ‘stealth’ technology because obviously a vehicle couldn’t travel quietly with a diesel engine.

“At the time, the HED project was way ahead of the motor industry. Another very interesting project was about security, but … perhaps I shouldn’t mention it.”

It’s a rare moment of silence from this effervescent individual, but even a decade after leaving that agency, Chave remains just too discreet to let a secret slip.

Enjoyable though QinetiQ was, as 2010 drew to a close he was eager for another challenging role and Southampton Science Park had a vacancy for an operations director.

Established in 1983, when the UK’s universities first looked to deliver tangible benefits from their research, its then-CEO was keen to continue that process by

“ W E A R E H O M E T O 10 0 C O MPA NIE S E MP L OY IN G 1, 3 0 0 P E O P L E , S O V E R Y MUCH A COMMUNIT Y OF E N T R E P R E N E U R S .”

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turning the location into a leading commercially-focused organisation within the region.

With a background in both public and private sector, and an understanding of how links should evolve between academics, industry and commerce, Chave found the opportunity irresistible, although he admits the move was certainly a culture shock.

“QinetiQ had around 10,000 employees, and the park had 10, so it was, and remains, very much an SME, and it was immediately refreshing to work within such a lean and agile structure.

“I could talk to the CEO about something on a Friday afternoon and then implement it on Monday, whereas in the corporate world, you’d have layers of proposal writing and getting everything signed off at each stage.”

The park had appealed instinctively and immediately as a location to combine management with his passion for science, and more than a decade on, now as CEO, Chave’s enthusiasm is still evident.

“At the strategic level, we see ourselves as a conduit in both directions, helping innovations to be spun-out of the university, but also creating the right pathways for technology companies to access the academic know-how and expertise which is here in abundance.

“We are home to about 100 companies employing around 1,300 people - from one-person start-ups to offices and laboratories for international companies so it is very much a community of entrepreneurs.

“I believe one of the key things differentiating us from traditional business parks is understanding what innovative science and technology businesses need, at all stages of their growth.”

I S S U E 12 | U K S PA B R E A K T H R O U G H | 11

ADVOCACY

Chave’s pragmatism then returns to underpin the passion, as he outlines how the park has evolved to face the challenges and restrictions of the pandemic.

“In March 2020, the impact was very different for different companies, so we went to our resident businesses to offer support. Some had to downsize, so we facilitated that. Some had cash-flow problems, so we helped them. Some had unforeseen opportunities to grow, so we worked with them quickly to capitalise on that.

C O - W O R K I N G S PA C E

“We then took the opportunity of having fewer people here to implement various projects with minimal disruption. For example, our co-working space, the incubation centre, has been significantly upgraded. It now has 24 desks, a couple of meeting rooms and break-out space.

“We’ve also changed our model.

Pre-Covid, you rented a desk, but now we’ve moved to a membership model. It’s far more flexible, people can use the space and the facilities just when they want, and it’s been received very well.

“We believe that as the economy starts to recover later in the year, the upgraded space will prove very attractive, particularly to start-up technology companies and larger organisations who want to equip employees to work remotely rather than forcing them to commute to London or elsewhere.

“It’s always important to offer the right mix of space. We have individuals starting along the pathway who only need a desk for maybe two days a week, up to national and international companies who have their own buildings, and everything in between, so enterprises of all sizes can grow here seamlessly.”

Interestingly, Chave and his colleagues have also considered what might seem the minutiae of working life within a science park environment - food and drink.

“We decided to invest in renovating our coffee shop, according to feedback from residents. We’d taken the opportunity during the early phases of lockdown to reach out to them and ask what they wanted to see here when they returned, and also what they’d like to see in the future.

“It was interesting, when we asked the question, to discover just how high on people’s agenda was the type and range of food we offered at the coffee

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shop, so we have improved the park’s catering provision.

“Now we’re also looking at upgrading our vending facilities to cover times when the cafe is closed. After all, we offer space 24/7, so it makes sense to consider new ways to make food and drink available around the clock.

“Regular channels of communication between our businesses and the university, and ensuring all the support systems and structures are in place, are absolutely vital. You can never allow yourself to sit back feeling satisfied, thinking everything is fine. You must always listen to your customers.

“During lockdown, one way by which we’ve kept our connections active has been through a series of commerciallyfocused monthly webinars which have been extremely well received.”

Just as making the university, the park and its occupiers into a tight-knit and productive community is a key element of Chave’s model, so is embracing the benefits of the wider science park movement.

“One of the greatest things about UKSPA is that when we get together from different locations, it’s a very open, supportive and comfortable environment because we aren’t generally competing with each other for occupiers,” he says, without even being asked.

G E N E R O U S S U P P O RT

“The whole UKSPA community is very generous with its support. We have lots of ideas we’ve implemented here which have come from other members. Equally I know some of our initiatives have been rolled out elsewhere.

“When we first started our business acceleration programme, it was inspired by one which had been implemented elsewhere. When we

upgraded our ICT infrastructure, our consultant was someone we’d met at a UKSPA conference.

“It might seem strange to outsiders, but I find there is little competition between science parks. The nearest ones are always far enough away so that company CEOs will probably decide between science park vs science park, or science park vs business park, well before they start to think about the finer details.”

In the immediate future, Chave’s strategic focus is on the park’s Catalyst acceleration programme, which generates a pipeline of start-up technology businesses. He’s equally keen to strengthen the SETsquared Partnership activity because Southampton is one of the UK’s five research-led universities operating within that collaboration.

The construction is also underway of a new £11.5m, 30,000 sq. ft. engineering centre to house the university’s Future Towns Innovation Hub (FTIH) which is helping to develop infrastructure and technologies for local urban communities.

The new space should open before the year-end, with the FTIH using around 50% and the rest being available to commercial companies.

Into the future, and Chave is determined to address the global sustainability agenda within a local context: “We’ve got our eyes on measuring our carbon footprint, so we will first accumulate data on where we are now, and then see how our science park can move towards being carbonneutral during the next 20 years – putting us ahead of the government’s national target of 2050,” he says. ■

More information on Southampton University Science Park can be found at: https://www.science-park.co.uk/

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ADVOCACY

Major refurb underway at Chesterford Research Park With the Newnham Building transformation completed, the focus turns to a second major refurbishment project

move to Chesterford. In addition, the chance to join a community of life science-focused scientists, entrepreneurs and investors all dedicated to excellence across their chosen fields also plays a significant part. The opportunity to collaborate, share experience, ideas and work alongside like-minded colleagues, all of whom are driven by the common goal of improving human health, are also important reasons why occupiers such as Arecor, AstraZeneca, Cellcentric, Domainex, Lonza and Microbiotica, amongst many others, have chosen to call Chesterford Research Park home.

P E R F E C T LY P O S I T I O N E D

H

aving completed the transformation of the Newnham Building into fullyfitted laboratory and office accommodation in early December last year, the team at Chesterford has swiftly moved on to its next project - the refurbishment of the Emmanuel Building.

Recognising the acute need for fullyfitted laboratory space within the cluster, the refurbishment of the Emmanuel Building – which on completion will provide up to four self-contained fully fitted laboratory and write-up area suites ranging from 9,100 sq ft (845 sq m) to 9,600 sq ft (892 sq m) – was an obvious next step in the Park’s programme of existing building re-development.

Once complete the building will total 37,400 sq ft (3,474 sq m) arranged over ground and first floors, with a second floor plant loft. Each individual suite will be served by an impressive central reception area.

COMING SOON ...

An exceptional design process has resulted in a carefully considered programme of works, which will deliver outstanding fully fitted laboratory and write-up space, of a size that is currently in high demand.

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The park’s location is also highly advantageous. Ideally located within touching distance of Cambridge, minutes from major road network links and within easy reach of both Stansted and central London, the park is highly accessible by road, rail and air. The proximity to Cambridge in particular is also extremely helpful when it comes to sourcing and retaining the very best talent.

The Emmanuel Building is ideal for organisations which, although not quite at the point of requiring their own building, have scaled up significantly enough to require that next stage of space beyond start-up.

The timeline for delivery is one to watch too – the Emmanuel Building will be ready for occupation in the summer of 2021.

L O W- D E N S I T Y

The park’s physical environment, lowdensity development set within 250 acres of stunning open parkland complete with arboretum and lakes, is in itself a draw to those considering a

SAFE AND SECURE

Safety and security are clearly also top priorities. On arrival visitors and deliveries are greeted at the manned gatehouse, and a perimeter security system, vehicle recognition system, CCTV and regular patrols of the grounds and building perimeters ensure the safety of both occupiers and visitors.

Deliberately unobtrusive, yet highly effective, the park provides a high level of security 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. ■

To find out more about the Emmanuel Building and Chesterford Research Park, visit: www.chesterfordresearchpark.com

A Winning Combination Having commissioned an independent economics report in 2020, Tim Riches, head of finance and marketing at the Surrey Research Park, demonstrates the extent an innovative community hosted by a university leads to mutual success for all. our regional community. The Scottish analytical firm BiGGAR Economics found in its 2020 study: Tim Riches HEAD OF FINANCE AND MARKETING, SURREY RESEARCH PARK

Tim is a senior manager and board representative for the award-winning Surrey Research Park and a member of the University of Surrey’s finance leadership team.

He is responsible for the financial management, marketing and communications and the continued commercial success of the Park

S

urrey Research Park is home to more than 170 science and technology companies, ranging from start-ups, micro-companies and SMEs owned and led by entrepreneurs, to large multinationals. They form the bedrock of the University of Surrey’s innovation ecosystem.

Within the UKSPA community, we have always known that companies based on our areas of innovation are often ahead of the competition.

Previous research has highlighted that the overall commercial performance of science park tenants is significantly better than companies not based on a science park, with higher growth rates, enhanced growth in employment and increased productivity with more products launched, and easier access to finance. In addition, a science park location adds to the company’s overall credibility and image, enabling them to better attract investment, new business and a greater proportion of qualified scientists and engineers.

The commercialisation of research and the creation of a ‘knowledge ecosystem’ between a university and an innovative business community is a winning combination. We were astounded to learn the heights this value proposition has reached for our tenants as well as the university and 1 | U K S PA B R E A K T H R O U G H | W I N T E R 2 0 18

• The GVA (gross value added) per job filled at the Surrey Research Park is £102,000 — almost double the local average of £53,800.

• The science park improves job prospects, by providing demand for graduate skills, helping to attract staff to the university and attract companies that can be collaborative research partners.

• There are more than 4,000 jobs on the park and over 7,000 jobs created in the region as a result.

• The park not only provides the university with diversified income, it significantly strengthens its economic importance to the region, spending over £1 billion every year and delivering £620 million gross value added (GVA) to the economy.

• Responding to challenges of the pandemic, the university was able to help companies based on the Surrey Research Park with access to £250,000 of funding in grants and equity investments. This support

for the struggling local SME community would not have been available to companies outside a university innovation ecosystem.

The BiGGAR report concludes: “Universities are key to the success of a science park, because they often form the core of the parks, acting as an anchor.” However, we can equally now appreciate how science parks are key to the success of a university. ■

To find out more, please visit: www.surrey-research-park.com

“ O V E R A L L C O M M E R C I A L P E R F O R M A N C E O F S C I E N C E P A R K T E N A N T S I S S I G N I F I C A N T LY B E T T E R T H A N C O M P A N I E S N O T B A S E D O N A S C I E N C E P A R K , W I T H H I G H E R G R O W T H R AT E S , E N H A N C E D G R O W T H I N E M P L O Y M E N T A N D I N C R E A S E D P R O D U C T I V I T Y W I T H M O R E P R O D U C T S L A U N C H E D , A N D E A S I E R A C C E S S T O F I N A N C E .”

MEMBER PROFILE

O

pening the doors to its incubator on the Mill SciTech park in April 2021, is o2h co-work labs. The o2h group, a Cambridge-based business with a vision to seed new ideas in life science, tech and social enterprise acquired the 2.76 acre heritage Hauxton Mill site in 2018. The plans are to develop it into the Mill SciTech Park and shape one of the region’s most exciting community of entrepreneurs.

AI TECHNOLOGY

The Mill Sci-Tech park A lively culture for creators in Cambridgeshire Prashant Shah EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN, o2h

“Our lifelong passion has been to create a buzzing community for lifescience, technology and entrepreneurship. The Mill SciTech Park redevelopment intimately blends innovation, English heritage and natural beauty after falling prey to multi-decade neglect, vandalism and arson.”

“The focus shall be where life science meets AI and therefore such a community would have the potential to dramatically reduce the cost of new drug treatments.

The first phase of the scheme will be ready in the Spring and the second phase of the development includes a restoration and renovation of a stunning old mill and the creation of a new building with state-of-the-art labs. We seek the support of all stakeholders to ensure this iconic site going back to the Domesday has a sustainable future in which it can contribute to the success of UK innovation on the world stage.”

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“We want to create a studio style workspace for life scientists and techies as we have a passion for collaboration.

The success of the park shall be dependent on the culture and community we hope to create and nurture. The team driving o2h co-work labs wishes to create an intimate and close community of entrepreneurs, big companies, academics, and venture capitalists.

We believe in the cross fertilisation of experiences and know-how across boundaries and want everyone in the community on the park to know each other and contribute to each other’s success in what we like to call experience sharing.”

“We have many ways in which the life science and tech community can contribute to the community at the Mill SciTech Park. As well as renting space in the incubator we have weekly on-site packages, and an associate membership to access hot desks, lab space and meeting rooms. We are also launching the UK’s first summer biotech bootcamp for experienced leaders from the field of life science.”

Humanity is entering an unprecedented era of life science innovation allied with advancements in new technology such as AI is leading to the rapid discovery of new drug therapeutics. o2h ventures has been capitalising on these changes, being the first HMRC EIS knowledge intensive fund dedicated to investing in early stage biotech and therapeutic opportunities in the UK. A specialist SEIS fund has also been launched in January 2021.

The Hauxton Mill Site is located close to the major life science and technology hubs of Cambridge, the city centre as well being on key arterial routes for rail and road such as the M11 easily connecting the park to London.

The site is a short distance from Addenbrookes, AstraZeneca, the Babraham campus, and the main rail station for Cambridge city centre.

CAMBRIDGE CLUSTER

The mill which dates back to the 16th century was operating commercially as recently as 1972. Co-founded by brothers Prashant and Sunil Shah, the o2h group looks forward to lovingly renovating and restoring the old mill and inviting entrepreneurs to develop their breakthrough ideas in these surroundings. By popular demand from local residents, a ground floor cafe in which they can mix with resident entrepreneurs whilst looking over to the water flowing around the wheels. The site has a wide range of rare wildlife, ancient woodlands and a system of rivers and connecting brooks. The ecological studies shows the site supports water voles and otters as well as the maternity roosts for various rare species of bats. ■

For more information, please visit: www.o2h.com/co-work-labs

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G E T Y O U R D I G I TA L C O P Y AT: W W W. B R E A K T H R O U G H D I G I TA L . C O . U K

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Innovation mastermind Katrina Hayter, Britain’s industrial strategy director for transforming food production, outlines her strategic vision, love of innovation, and hopes for a post-Brexit future

M

astermind has been Britain’s best-loved TV quiz show since a former PoW adapted his chilling experiences of Gestapo interrogation techniques to a studio setting, where questions were fired at a solitary soul seated amid inky blackness.

Over the decades, millions of viewers have been impressed, baffled and sometime dismayed by the arcane knowledge displayed by contestants.

However, it is impossible to believe anyone who has taken part knows more about any aspect of horticulture, agriculture or bioscience than Katrina Hayter.

From first moment to last, she is an avalanche of astute analysis, candid observations and seemingly random - but always relevant - facts, driven onward by boundless enthusiasm for her specialist subject.

Katrina Hayter UK RESEARCH AND INNOVATION (UKRI) DIRECTOR FOR THE TRANSFORMING FOOD PRODUCTION CHALLENGE

Katrina is UKRI Challenge Director for Transforming Food Production challenge, which is a £90 million programme supporting technology and data-driven transformation in UK agriculture

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The Transforming Food Production Fund rarely makes headlines, but its time is surely now as politicians and the business community seek innovative solutions in the post-Brexit age.

“Our programme operates within the government’s industrial strategy, which looks for ways to bring together the best businesses in every major sector with researchers and scientists to develop new products and processes,” says Hayter.

“We have a £90m funding pot over four years to invest in science and innovation through companies, and everything we do is about sustainability, zero carbon and climate change.

MISSION-DRIVEN

“We have adopted a mission-driven approach, but it’s more about having the right mindset than a particular model, so as long as people are willing to innovate and collaborate, we’ll talk to them.

“At the most basic, we have two strategic drivers. The first is helping the industry re-imagine food production, so there are wideranging discussions about such concepts as vertical farming, the use of underground areas where food could be grown, and the creation of new sources of novel protein.

“The second is addressing the issue of greenhouse gases globally, so we’re looking at how to make the UK’s food production systems much more productive, resilient and sustainable.

“Again, it’s about identifying innovative technological solutions, such as robotics, sensors and data, to allow farmers to make better decisions about input and management of their crops and lifestock.”

Once of a day, Britain’s public sector was so besotted by ‘blue-sky thinking’ that it backed many research projects which saw millions upon millions in funding disappear without trace, or without generating viable outcomes.

The huge DEFRA programme which Tony Blair believed would see Afghanistan’s notorious poppy harvests eradicated and replaced by cash crops was a spectacular and costly example of such failure.

It’s pleasing therefore to hear Hayter’s resolute commitment that no money from the public purse will go into such ill-considered concepts.

“As a funder, one aspect we absolutely insist on is that we won’t fund projects which don’t have a demonstrable end-user. We also only support programmes which operate as collaborations between science, academia and business, so their target sector is identified right from the start,” she says.

“There are myriad ways in all sectors to reach net-zero and deliver sustainable production, but they’ll always be quicker and more effective if the research team looking at the innovation is working with an end-user.

“Time and time again, you hear of inventions which simply disappeared because they weren’t usable and affordable and practical. If they’re not, they will just sit on the shelves which is no use to anyone.

“We are happy to rely on our wonderful SMEs and brilliant academics to bring ideas forward, but, as we saw when Covid first appeared, systems and processes have to be ready to go, so the focus is always about making sure they can be implemented at pace.”

G E T Y O U R D I G I TA L C O P Y AT: W W W. B R E A K T H R O U G H D I G I TA L . C O . U K

AGNOSTIC APPROACH

Hayter’s agnostic about the preferred technology and model of companies looking for the fund’s support, so whilst devotees of nanotech will be happily considered, so will those employing more old-school methodology and techniques.

“We do have projects which sound quite ‘left-field’ when you first hear of them. In Nottingham, for instance, we awarded £3m to React-First who are working with academics, Sainsbury’s and the energy producer Drax to create high-protein feed for pigs and other animals out of waste gases,” she says.

“Another really innovative start-up, Entocycle, is using soldier flies to convert food waste from farms and factories into sustainable insect-based animal feeds and bio-fertilisers. Their project, which we supported for around £10m, also involves the University of Durham and Fera Science.

“The aim for both those projects is to reduce the carbon footprint of feeds for animals and fish. Soy beans which is the primary protein for chickens, and anchovies, which provide fishmeal for farmed stocks such as salmon, both usually come from South America.

“The soy plantations in Argentina and Brazil are typically established after the clearing of virgin forest, and the beans, like the anchovies harvested off the coasts of Peru and Chile, are then shipped back here and to other locations around the world.

“I suspect very few people who eat chicken and farmed salmon realise they’ve been fed protein which has travelled halfway round the world, and along supply chains which are both very expensive and damaging in

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terms of climate change. Identifying future food sources is a core element of our funding strategy.

“Projects we like aren’t always using the latest tech though. Sometimes a solution using low-tech might be the most cost-effective and efficient, or based on a new and more productive way of using existing tech. The crucial element for every project we support is about how the idea or innovation might catch on.”

Low productivity has bedevilled almost every sector of the UK’s economy for decades, and although there’s been much chatter about the issue, the data consistently shows minimal improvement and Britain continues to lag behind its major trading competitors.

“Addressing the productivity challenges is crucial, especially for British farmers who have experienced significant labour shortages in recent years,” says Hayter, ”We’re always interested in anything which can make our sector more efficient and effective in its use of resources, whether that is physical, financial or both. Robots which can collect trays and punnets of fruit and vegetables would be amazing, and so we’ve got quite a few projects around robotics.”

R O B O T I C FA R M

Another SME backed by the fund is Saga Robotics, which received £2.5m. Its Robot Highways project involves working with an array of partners including two universities, BT, a manufacturing technology centre, a farm and a fruitgrower to develop the world’s first ‘robotic farm’.

The company is already using machine learning to harvest lettuces more swiftly and efficiently, and believes that by 2025, it will have harnessed AI’s full potential to have delivered a range of innovations.

Equally, Hayter and her team recognise that although the UK has a long track record of innovative research into both products and services, it is much less impressive at translating them into commercial enterprises.

“This is an industrial programme, so our focus has to be on business growth. We’ve always had great SMEs, but as a country, we’re very poor at

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“ I F G L O B A L B R I TA I N I S T O S U C C E E D , WE MUST LE ARN FROM OTHERS. T H I S I S N O T I M E T O B E I N S U L A R .” scaling them. The example I hope we can follow is Germany, where their Mittelstand approach turns SMEs into successful medium-sized businesses decade after decade.”

Reassuringly, she’s equally determined to learn from the achievements and strategies of other countries and different economies, especially around generating new investment and identifying potential revenue streams.

“We have lots of angel investors putting money into start-ups, but when it comes to Series A firms (between £1m and £5m) then we do have a funding gap,” says Hayter.

“Last year, you could see investors and funds piling money into agri-tech ventures, but they were in North America, or Singapore, or Israel, or Ireland. Very few of them were here.

“We looked at the data, could see we weren’t attracting many Series A deals, so we’re working to de-risk these investments to persuade more VC money to look here.

“We also recognise that despite the strength of our domestic market, if companies are targeting significant growth, they must look overseas, particularly in North and South America.”

Bilateral funding frameworks have already been established with China and Canada, looking at ways of co-funding projects so British companies have the opportunity to understand those

markets, adapt their infrastructure to enter them, and then hopefully enjoy commercial success there.

For now, those arrangements are only a small element within the fund’s four-year programme, but it’s pleasing to see that its innovation mindset embraces how companies might export to new markets.

Hayter also looks to Ireland’s agri-tech achievements, the success of its Enterprise Ireland programme, and further afield.

“Israel is doing amazing things in this sector. Of course, they’re helped significantly by the VC money they’re getting from San Francisco and other US cities, but it’s also worth noting that although they export their technology and their innovations, they keep their R&D centres and their HQs in Israel.

“If there’s one message we all need to take on board, it’s that if Global Britain is to succeed in both new and existing markets across the globe, then we need to look at what others are doing, learn from their mistakes for sure, but also to recognise what they’re doing right. It is no time to be insular.” ■

For more on the Transforming Food Production Challenge, please visit: https://www.ukri.org/our-work/ourmain-funds/industrial-strategychallenge-fund/clean-growth/ transforming-food-production-challenge/

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Down on the robot farm Warwick Manufacturing Group’s Professor Rob Harrison discusses an intriguing project designed to help Britain’s growers become more productive and resolve their labour challenges

W

arwick Manufacturing Group was founded 40 years ago to bring creative academics and innovative engineers together, with partners from the public and private sectors, to deliver commercially viable products and services to business and industry.

The challenge is as demanding as it always was, but there’s no better example of its collaborative model at work than the current research spearheaded by Rob Harrison, his lead project engineer Emilio Monardez and their 25-strong team.

They’re developing autonomous vehicles to operate across the range of British horticulture; from lettuce propagators to fruit farms, and from nurseries raising bedding plants to providers of salad leaves.

It’s a new niche for WMG - better known for its expertise in the aerospace, automotive and healthcare sectors - and the research is funded by the Agriculture & Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), which is tasked with driving higher productivity and innovation into British farming and its supply chains.

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The board’s senior horticulture knowledge exchange manager, Gracie Emeny, puts the project into context with a passion and sense of purpose which clearly bode well for her career path.

“We cover the whole supply chain, so we work with farmers, growers, processors, agronomists, vets and abattoirs, to help bridge gaps in their knowledge and (like WMG) encourage collaboration to build a stronger future for everyone,” she says.

“We launched the SmartHort programme in 2018 and addressing labour challenges is one of its priority areas. There are issues around labour availability, skills and productivity, and over the last 15 years or so, growers have become increasingly concerned about all those aspects.

PRODUCTIVITY

“Improving productivity is crucial, so we do a lot of work getting lean ideas, lean management techniques and and lean practices into businesses, embedding a culture of continuous improvement and working with businesses, often over several years, to instill an ethos which embraces change.

“A second strategic issue is around automation and autonomous vehicles in the immediate future, and robotics for the longer-term, which will be

pivotal in reducing the future need for labour, not least by removing some of the most monotonous roles which employers are struggling to fill.”

Emeny’s role is to facilitate links between the horticultural industry, technology providers and funders to increase the pace of development, in particular via the SmartHort Automation Challenge which spawned the WMG research.

“We wanted to devise solutions to problems which were identified across multiple niches, so there was a bigger market for the technology, and which would also bring the cost down for the end-users,” she says.

“We decided to run the process like a competition, and asked people to pitch the areas of their business where automation would help relieve both operational and cash-flow pressures and increase productivity.

“After studying the feedback, we chose three companies from different niches. One was ornamental, one was a propagator and one was a leafy salads’ business.

“They were all happy with the end goal of the potential research and bought into the idea that the solution would be modular, so that different aspects could be identified and used by different growers.

“We then worked with Rob and his team to identify which platforms had the potential to cross over different niches, rather than something designed for purely one niche, and also the ones that were feasible given the skill-sets available at WMG. “We carried out initial surveys of several possible projects, and the idea of using autonomous technology for a variety of uses; moving plants between greenhouses and other locations, or taking vegetables to different growing areas, looked ideally suited to the requirements of the AHDB and its members,” recalls Harrison.

“We wanted to look at generic requirements for mobile platforms, for picking and transporting, either for regular day-to-day use or when there were peaks in demand.

“In the first phase, we put forward several proposals, then did simulation

New autonomous guided vehicles (AGV) have been developed by leading automation experts from the WMG, alongside three horticultural businesses, with funding from the ADHB

“ THE AIM OF WMG AND THE ADHB IS TO REMOVE SOME OF THE DRUDGERY F R O M H O R T I C U LT U R E .”

PROFESSOR ROB HARRISON, PROFESSOR OF A U T O M AT I O N S Y S T E M S , W M G work about possible platforms, and the growers studied them to see if they could meet their requirements.

AUTOMOTIVE TECH

“We then moved into a second phase. We got some internal funding at WMG (because we’re within the High-Value Manufacturing Catapult) to look at mechanical systems, and we identified technologies which had already been proven in the automotive industry.

“We built a basic test-bed for a mobile robot and now we’ve applied for funding to take us through another year of development, and for additional tooling, from the WMG Catapult.”

The project has presented particular challenges because it was essential for the autonomous platform to operate across both internal and external environments - and in all weathers.

Horticultural technology which might work just fine in the blazing heat of California or Texas really wouldn’t suit the British climate and all the year-round ground conditions.

G E T Y O U R D I G I TA L C O P Y AT: W W W. B R E A K T H R O U G H D I G I TA L . C O . U K

Gracie Emeny, AHDB senior horticulture knowledge exchange manager

Equally, although the new platform needed to be able to navigate itself and have a rigorous suspension for the demands it would face, it couldn’t be too expensive, so the target was set for something in the £30,000 to £50,000 range, depending on its precise configuration.

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“Until now, there have been platforms designed to work on smooth indoor surfaces, and those intended to operate in ploughed fields. We were aiming for the sweet spot of creating something which was sufficiently rugged to operate in both environments, but also remained cost-effective,” says Harrison.

“At the moment, we’re prototyping and tweaking, looking for that blend of capabilities, and we’ll probably start testing in March.

“The platform has to navigate both indoors and outdoors so we’ll need to install a range of sensors. Laser scanners will allow it to operate internally, but we’ll also need GPS systems so we can work outdoors.

“Another crucial element is looking for commercial partners who could ultimately help deliver the platform. It might be an existing vendor of mobile platforms, or perhaps a start-up which has adopted the warehousing technology used by the global e-commerce brands.

“We’re also looking at how we might integrate proven logistics technology into our prototypes. We’re not looking to create something as advanced as (say) the robots used inside Amazon’s giant warehouses, but we and the AHDB are keen to remove some of the drudgery currently involved within horticulture.”

Assuming the current funding application is accepted, Harrison expects significant progress to be achieved during 2021.

“In six months, we’d like to have a running prototype which wouldn’t have all the intended features, but could act as a proof of concept,” he says.

“By early 2022, we’d hope to be testing that prototype with one of the three end-users, carrying out trials and assessing the platform’s capabilities, which should then give us the ability to deliver a fully functional design.”

Looking further ahead, Harrison identifies several pathways along which the research team - and their autonomous vehicle - might proceed.

“We do have several spin-outs, so we might work with an existing company or perhaps establish a partnership with a provider of robotics technology to commercialise the solution. We’ve

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already had early-stage discussions with UK-based potential partners.

VA L L E Y O F D E AT H

“As a Catapult centre, we like to work inside what was once called the ‘valley of death’, bringing together the different elements of academic and practical research, manufacturing industry and finance to devise a practical and affordable solution and to then develop it into a viable product or process.

“It is a challenging and demanding area in which to work, but I think that’s where over the years WMG has demonstrated its greatest strengths, by being able to commercialise ideas and bring them to the market.

“Equally, because you never know if one particular funding application is going to be accepted, those of us in the senior management team are always trying to maintain a pipeline of funds.

“We also have to maintain a blend of work; some projects working with specific end-users, but also others looking at the evolution of early-stage technology.

“We try to be open-minded so we can bring ideas and technology from one area to another, and to avoid being trapped in silos. It is very stimulating working with a team of creative thinkers, but at the same time, the core purpose of all our research is to help people and companies.

“It’s been very interesting working with Gracie and her colleagues, as it’s a new area for our applications and bringing forward new and novel technologies is exactly why we exist, so hopefully we can bring new angles to their thinking and this project may lead to future collaborations.”

Hopefully too, the AHDB can continue its innovative work, to help address the productivity crisis which has bedevilled all sectors of the UK economy for decades, and the labour challenges which have impacted horticulture in particular.

However, the board’s horticultural research is funded by a statutory levy on 1,400 British growers, and a Yes/No ballot is presently underway to decide if that should be continued. The final decision will be taken at ministerial level, with the result expected towards the summer. ■

For more information about Warwick Manufacturing Group, please visit: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/wmg/ For more information about the Agriculture & Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) and the SmartHort Automation Challenge, please visit: https://ahdb.org.uk/smarthortautomation-challenge

Giving your business a kick start for 2021

T

he last year was one that none of us will forget. Amid the biggest health crisis for many decades, businesses of all shapes and sizes were forced to adapt quickly to a unique set of circumstances. With the first of the Covid-19 vaccines being rolled-out, the year ended on a somewhat brighter note - admittedly with expectations of further challenges to face on the road ahead.

As well as focusing on how to emerge stronger from the pandemic, businesses also face uncertainty over what Brexit will bring, and, at the time of writing this piece, the all-important trade deal has not been agreed.

Despite these challenges, innovation has continued to thrive, nowhere more so than on the science parks across the country. In response to Covid-19, we have seen the brightest and the best across the world collaborate successfully to find solutions to the crisis, but, away from the global spotlight, there are many thousands of smaller scale projects with the potential to have a significant impact in the future.

Arguably, there has never been a more important time to protect and nurture this innovation, and the key to achieving this lies in a company’s approach to intellectual property (IP), which includes rights such as patent, trade marks and designs.

I P S T R AT E G Y

Used strategically, IP can have a transformational impact on the growth potential of a fledgling business. But, too often, start-up companies think that securing a patent is the key to the crown jewels when, in fact, the true value of such rights is in their scope and application.

In successful businesses, IP strategy is intrinsically linked to the business plan, where IP assets are

dramatically reduce their valuation or see them walk away.

Richard Wells PATENT ATTORNEY, POTTER CLARKSON

As a member of Potter Clarkson’s biotechnology and pharmaceuticals group, Richard works with a wide range of clients on the drafting and prosecution of patent applications

pursued, mapped and leveraged to support commercial ambitions - such as securing funding, market exclusivity or boosting a company valuation.

Here we look at four key ways IP can support the growth of your business in 2021 and beyond.

1

SECURE FUNDING

Securing IP rights that help to deliver against your business plan will make your company more attractive from an investment perspective as investors will be looking for evidence of joined up thinking. Conversely, if investors sense that the IP strategy is poorly thought out it could

2

M A R K E T E X C LU S I V I T Y

3

I P R I G H T S H AV E VA LU E

4

SUCCESSFUL EXIT

A granted UK patent, for example, gives the owner a period of monopoly during which its innovation, or unique selling point, is protected.

This creates a huge advantage for ambitious businesses to capitalise on their innovation in a market free from the threat of direct competition. However, a patent will only deliver value if it supports the commercial ambitions of the business, reinforcing the importance of a well thought through strategy.

IP rights have value and can be bought, sold and licensed, like other physical assets, which provides potentially significant revenue streams.

Depending on your business plan thinking about the desired exit route might seem a little premature if you’ve only just started out as a company.

However, the early-stage decisions on IP can determine how smoothly and swiftly the business owner can achieve their desired exit – be it an IPO, trade sale or merger. ■

For further information, please visit: www.potterclarkson.com

“IN SUCCESSFUL BUSINESSES, IP S T R AT E G Y I S I N T R I N S I C A L LY L I N K E D T O THE BUSINESS PL AN, WHERE IP ASSE TS ARE PURSUED, MAPPED AND LE VER AGED T O S U P P O R T C O M M E R C I A L A M B I T I O N S .”

G E T Y O U R D I G I TA L C O P Y AT: W W W. B R E A K T H R O U G H D I G I TA L . C O . U K

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Innovation

Extending the frontiers of UK science and industry

University of East Anglia’s Enterprise Centre is the most tangible tribute to Professor French’s all-embracing approach to sustainable development

Leader of the pack Professor John French discusses sustainable development in all its forms, the challenges of zero-carbon transformation and much more with Ian Halstead

T

he digital era has delivered technological change at unprecedented pace, but the constant pressure for instant solutions also prizes rapid responses above reflection.

So it’s refreshing to encounter someone who believes sustainability targets must always be underpinned by science, and that tangible achievements are only achieved via commitment and strategy rather than passing whims and abstract aims.

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French certainly comes to the debates around climate change, zerocarbon transformation and the pressing need to design and deliver sustainable business space with an array of academic, development and leadership credentials.

Whilst CEO of the University of East Anglia’s (UEA) Adapt Low Carbon Group, he brought the Low Carbon Innovation Fund to scale to support innovative regional SMEs. It continues to thrive, has received a second ‘pot’ of

Professor John French SENIOR ADVISOR, UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE’S INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABILITY LEADERSHIP

A leader in sustainable development with a background in the biological sciences and institutional academic development, John is active in the field of low carbon innovation, the built environment and architecture.

He has significant experience in major university capital and grant funded projects and venture investment to support a transition to a zero carbon economy

VC funding and completed its seventh deal in January.

As senior advisor to the University of Cambridge’s Institute for Sustainability Leadership, he has championed both the region’s first deep retrofit to create the institute’s new headquarters and the university’s first sustainability accelerator.

French is also deputy chair of the influential Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges (EAUC) focusing not least on the creation of science-based targets for climate change which can be adopted by institutions such as universities, colleges, science parks and major providers of infrastructure.

“The EAUC’s core initiative is to create better and bigger arrangements about off-setting because it’s vital we embrace all aspects of the knowledgebased economy,” he says.

“In January, we released our Higher Education Estates Management report stressing the need for solid facts and reliable data to be used when major decisions are being taken around estates management and future investment strategies.”

French was appointed director of sustainability at Cambridge Innovation Parks Ltd (CIPL) in Q3 2019, but his role soon broadened to embrace its wider development strategy.

“It made sense to take on the various planning applications for all our sites, ensure the approach was harmonised, and help deliver the ambitions and aspirations of Cambridge and Peterborough’s mayoral authority around zero-carbon transformation,” he says.

DRIVING CHANGE

“My role is about driving change into businesses. We must always be flexible in devising and delivering our strategy and engaging effectively with our SME and corporate tenants. We’re very wellplaced as the park is medium sized and with an agile management team.

“We have positioned ourselves as a pioneer, if you like, of the sustainability agenda and are adopting the use of low-carbon building materials. We’re moving towards the use of timber-

“BUILDINGS NEED TO BE LOW-ENERGY IN THEIR CONSTRUCTION, BUT ALSO IN T H E I R O P E R AT I O N .” framed structures, and lightweight and low-intensity buildings - each with specific strategies to reduce emissions.

“We now have two parks under development. At the North site, our new planning proposals have gone in for two 40,000 sq ft ultra-low carbon buildings.

“At the West site, we are preparing a master-plan for a site which will make use of sustainable energy and infrastructure solutions, which may include autonomous off-grid facilities, if we can reconcile the investment case and the technology readiness.

“The Cambridge Cluster inevitably contains a large amount of very dated architecture with very average facilities, so I think we are leading the pack there in terms of the quality of the built environment.”

Delivering sustainable innovation within any sector requires, of course, an open mind and agile operational model, and the strength of the Cambridge market allows CIPL to explore all forms of tenant and developer relationships.

“We are flexible about the type of deals and the structure of our relationships with developers. Some details must always remain confidential, but we certainly wouldn’t rule out, for instance, setting up a close collaboration,” says French.

“However, we’re a relatively small business and don’t want to dilute any element of our strategy solely to attract interest. We’re an SME, have a clear sense of purpose and a very clear pathway by which to achieve our goals.

It’s all too easy to become a large ‘vanilla’ corporation and we don’t want to do that.

“There’s a rich mix of institutions universities, developers, local authorities, existing tenants and potential occupiers - and interests, so you need to take care to get every element right within your economic development strategy.

G E T Y O U R D I G I TA L C O P Y AT: W W W. B R E A K T H R O U G H D I G I TA L . C O . U K

“I want to see Cambridge’s knowledge economy - arguably one of the world’s best alongside Oxford - to deliver solutions to the climate crisis, and to see spin-outs delivering new technologies and pathways to the myriad challenges of sustainability.”

ALL-EMBRACING

The most tangible tribute to French’s allembracing approach to sustainable development is the UEA’s Enterprise Centre. A landmark gateway to Norwich Research Park and thriving regional business hub, it’s also a very goodlooking building - rarely the case for ‘green’ space where an intense focus on function can leave discussions about form lagging behind.

It was the UK’s first building to receive both BREEAM Outstanding accreditation for its commitment to sustainability at the master-planning, design and fit-out phases, and Passivhaus certification for its exemplary use of zero-carbon architecture.

Arguably the country’s greenest commercial building, an avalanche of awards and accolades has reflected its considerable merits, with those from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), the Royal Institution of Commercial Surveyors and the British Council for Offices particularly prized.

Having lavished praise upon the building, RIBA also judged it worthy of a national award for client-side leadership.

Unusually, French and his colleagues didn’t simply contract the design, delivery and fit-out programme to the UEA’s real estate team, but ran it collaboratively themselves (with 3PM, the architects Architype and BDP) an innovative and visibly successful approach to project delivery.

“It has been tremendously successful from all our strategic goals and perspectives, but as always infrastructure is a slow business,” recalls French.

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INNOVATION

“I joined UEA in 2008 and developing its enterprise hub was one of my primary projects. We were all determined to make it an exemplar of best practice in delivering low-carbon space, and committed to that aim, but even though the funding was in place by 2011, it was 2015 before it opened.

“When it comes to delivering new science parks, it could be 10 years between the first conversation and delivery, so we need a step-change in our approach if we are to address the challenges of climate change.”

The UEA building also sourced many materials from within a 30-mile radius, including Corsican pine and Thetford timber, the latter only previously having been used for low-grade uses, such as pallets, and that approach remains a core element of his development philosophy.

“We’ve launched a Timber Challenge at CIPL, asking innovative construction companies and contractors to tell us what they can do, as we look to how our new schemes can be delivered,” says French.

“I think as a nation that we’ve missed a trick by not using our huge forestry resources within our approach to sustainability, and the concept has also been surprisingly slow to take hold in our commercial sector, so we’re restricting entries to UK-based companies to challenge them.

“We want to use off-site construction as far as possible, and the sector needs to be innovative to get the per sq ft costs of building space down to match the costs of using steel, concrete and glass. It’s crucial to get low-impact buildings delivered at comparable costs to traditional structures.”

A dozen companies now form the long list of potential partners and will be rigorously interviewed so a shortlist can be prepared.

D E - R I S K I N N O VAT I O N

“The cost of construction is obviously crucial, as is the quality of the new space.

We need to de-risk innovative approaches to constructing offices and commercial buildings,” says French.

“I’m a big fan of setting ‘embodied carbon’ targets for construction projects.

If you start with detailed specifications and set science-based targets, I believe it encourages architects and designers to think differently. Everyone must be prepared to challenge the norms to

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Credit: Martine Hamilton-Knight

overcome the huge challenges.”

Understandably delighted by the success of the UEA project, French is equally bullish about the potential for CIPL’s major development schemes, but doesn’t feel the UK’s wider science park community is addressing the sustainability agenda and issues around climate change.

“It is a major challenge to drive sustainability-focused change into any institution, so it must be done through science and data which allow real targets to be set and real achievements to be made.

“However, I do not think the science park community has yet to take sustainability on board in a genuine and tangible sense, even though sustainability is a major strategic theme in the development and management of such parks.

“In most cases, the parks are led by the tenant structure and a business model has evolved to support those tenants. Hand on heart, I don’t see many parks addressing the zero-carbon agenda and the challenges of climate change.

“The basic dilemma is that at one end people are trying to get the most space from their limited budget and at the other, you have developers focusing on their yield, who will rarely dip into their reserves for environmental enhancements.

“Regrettably too, neither do I see many clusters or platforms tackling these issues head-on or being given the institutional support they require.”

However, French takes positives from the shift in mindset by many investors and corporates during the

French’s favourite ‘green building’ is GSK’s Carbon-Neutral Laboratory at Nottingham University. The architects are Manchester-based Fairhursts Design Group

pandemic, and their new willingness to embrace both the circular economy and the sustainability agenda.

“There’s clearly a trend for the funds and institutional investors to consider low-carbon assets more favourably, so the potential for greater returns needs to be factored into the initial calculations about space and cost.

“The ripples of change are starting to spread. Portfolio managers increasingly want to show shareholders they’re reducing the impact of their investments, and as they start to divest high-carbon assets that will change the mindset of others throughout the supply chain.

“Now, we need to apply pressure at both ends. To persuade investors they’ll receive acceptable returns for putting money into low-carbon and lower energy assets, and increase pressure on corporates and funds to significantly increase the quality and level of their environmental reporting.

“I believe that space in which companies locate should be inspirational environments, and also convey messages about their commitment to the zerocarbon and sustainability agendas.

“Equally, buildings need to be not just low-energy in their construction, but in their operation. We’ve seen numerous instances of such a low-carbon approach within universities. Now, the same mindset needs to be fully embraced within our science parks.” ■

For more on Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, please visit: www.cisl.cam.ac.uk

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G E T Y O U R D I G I TA L C O P Y AT: W W W. B R E A K T H R O U G H D I G I TA L . C O . U K

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INNOVATION

WhatsApp route to solution

F Professor Tim Dafforn (right) explains how University of Birmingham (UoB) researchers created the world’s fastest Covid test … with a little help from Jake (left) and his dad 3 2 | U K S PA B R E A K T H R O U G H | I S S U E 12

or centuries, modesty was deemed a desirable and becoming quality, but in an era where ‘celebrities’ are sponsored and egos dominate the airwaves, the only thing it’s now becoming is extinct.

So it’s a genuine pleasure to catch up with Tim Dafforn and Jake Carter; the catalysts for an academic collaboration which conceived and delivered the world’s fastest Covid test.

Even the two-step PCR accepted worldwide as the ‘gold standard’ takes more than an hour to process a single sample, giving patients an agonising wait for results, slowing the pace at which healthcare staff can work and delaying the collection of infection data.

However, it takes less than five minutes to complete the single-step UoB test, which combines the ease of

use of lateral flow tests with the sensitivity and accuracy of the PCR. “Over 20 years, I’d accumulated a deal of knowledge and experience relating to how clinical trials can be delivered, what makes a good trial and equally, what makes a bad one. One of my PhD students, Jake, was already working on such tests,” explains Dafforn.

“We had technology we thought could be very useful, but to be honest, when the pandemic surfaced we expected off-the-shelf tests to quickly come forward, and were surprised that the tests which became available weren’t particularly good.

“Professor James Tucker, who played a crucial role, and myself then sat down with the rest of the academic team, added two colleagues I’ve known for several years from Linear Diagnostics Ltd (LDL) and had a

brainstorming session on Zoom to consider ways forward.”

Intriguingly, given Covid’s social distancing requirements and the restrictions of lockdown, the subsequent months of research were conducted via WhatsApp, bar a short phase when access to the UoB’s bioscience lab was essential.

Unlikely as the niche may sound, one of Dafforn’s cousins had previously used the wildly-popular technology to set up a venture selling melon-slicers.

“He ran his business, which involved bringing supplies from China, entirely on the app. I thought if he can run an international company on WhatsApp, we should be able to develop a clinical trial using the same technology,” admits Dafforn.

The app might have been the conduit for their innovative research, but the UoB team’s approach was also underpinned by his realisation that simplicity was crucial, not merely at the concept and delivery stages, but for when the test (hopefully) reached surgeries and inoculation centres.

detectable levels, it was always going to take 30 minutes.”

However, what the media traditionally dubs a ‘Eureka’ moment was about to transform their approach, although Dafforn prefers to use rather more understated language.

“I’d read one throwaway line at the back of an academic paper which suggested a new single-step approach. I used a particular set of terms in one database, looked at what came up and there was the idea,” he says.

“I guess no-one else had previously used those words in a search, so it was complete luck. We tried it, it worked first time and by itself that cut the first step from 30 minutes to less than 30 seconds.

BREAKTHROUGH MOMENT

“So often you realise that when major breakthroughs are made, the crucial element came from someone else’s discarded work. We then combined the two steps and took the second to under four minutes.”

KEEP IT SIMPLE

“It’s always tempting to over-engineer something, but once it’s more complicated it’s more likely to fail and also be harder to operate, so I asked everyone to remember the KISS mantra,” says Dafforn.

“We wanted something highly sensitive, like the PCR test, but also extremely accurate to allay concerns which patients and the public might otherwise have when it was in use.

“We then looked at the existing tests, they all have two steps and so everyone has been trying to shorten both steps. We aimed to keep the time it took to carry out under 10 minutes, because after that patients lose interest and it’s also not usable in most contexts.

“The first step takes the genome of the virus (RNA) and changes it to DNA which we can work with. It’s effectively a ‘translation’. Then, you can turn the little piece of DNA you find in your sample into a large amount of DNA from which you can detect a signal.

“The limitation of all previous tests was that as only one DNA enzyme had been available to amplify a sample to

it takes less than five minutes to complete the single-step UoB Covid test, which combines the ease of use of lateral flow tests with the sensitivity and accuracy of the PCR

G E T Y O U R D I G I TA L C O P Y AT: W W W. B R E A K T H R O U G H D I G I TA L . C O . U K

I S S U E 12 | U K S PA B R E A K T H R O U G H | 3 3

INNOVATION

“ W E K NE W I T WA S A L O N G - S H O T A ND RE ALISED THE NE W APPROACH MIGHT N O T W O R K - B U T E Q U A L LY, I F I T D I D W O R K I T W O U L D B E A M A Z I N G .”

J A K E C A RT E R , P H D S T U D E N T, U O B Dafforn’s rationale is modesty itself, although he happily pays tribute to the impact of one of his doctoral students.

“The final thing which Jake did was rather wonderful. As I said, simplicity was key, but during the test you have two liquids which are moved around a lot.

You can’t do that outside the lab, so we wanted a ‘stick in the pot’ approach.

“Jake had the idea - which most of us said wouldn’t work - of combining both tests in the same tube. He needed to be inside our bio-science lab and so was given a special exemption. Not only did his idea for the reagent work, it was even faster than previous tests, so we got the time down under four minutes.

“Jake spent three months on this research and worked like an absolute trojan. Towards the end of the project, we needed data analysis and I asked if he’d any ideas as to who could help. He said that his dad wrote software and he’d ask him.”

It’s often been said of course that understatement is a particularly British characteristic, and just as Dafforn praises Jake as one of the best PhD students he’s ever had, Jake prefers to talk about the contributions of the collective (and his dad) rather than himself.

“Humans have DNA and it is turned into RNA which is effectively a blueprint for protein and other stuff within the body. The coronavirus is made up of RNA, so the first step of the previous test was to turn it back into DNA which takes a very long time,” says Jake.

“Tim and several of us had a ‘meeting’ to discuss if it was possible to remove that step. We had the idea of using a very short sequence of the virus which is just DNA. We knew if our amplification method worked as well as we hoped that the test time would be cut to five minutes or less.

“It was a really collaborative effort.

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There wasn’t one particular moment when we made the realisation. We knew it was a long-shot and realised the new approach might not work - but equally, if it did work it would be amazing. Then I went into the lab again and it did work.

It was a very nice moment.”

The involvement of his dad, Ian, who has run Liverpool-based C2JF Solutions LLP for more than a decade, came about after Jake realised making calculations on Excel was simply too time-consuming.

“I had a phone call with him, and he said he could write a program to make the analysis far quicker. He wrote it in less than a week. Then, instead of taking a couple of hours to do each set of calculations, I could input the data and have the results back in less than a minute,” he recalls.

For the final three months, the team refined and co-developed their test through the NHS in Birmingham.

“We’re testing 200 samples to make sure it worked as our research indicated, and it will then be rolled out across the NHS across the Midlands,” says Dafforn.

“This is a supercharger for testing, so we’ve also put an application for government support although it could be March before we get a decision.

However, that’s not a barrier. We can already deliver the test across the NHS, the government money would allow us to roll it out into the community.

“There shouldn’t be any issues around speed of supply, because all the reagents bar one are already in use in the PCR test, and the one which came from Jake’s idea is also readily available.”

Dafforn has since been looking for external partners to formulate the test so it can be rolled out internationally, and also for logistics’ providers and is clocking up the hours to identify suitable candidates.

P LU G A N D P L AY

“The test was purposely designed to be plug and play so it fits into existing NHS equipment. Normally, you might take two years trying to design a suitable ‘box’, so that issue is resolved. All we need from our partners will be the ability to formulate the test at scale, and then to resolve the logistics,” he says.

“Looking into the future, we’ve all realised that complex research can be done online - and that it’s just as effective as traditional methods.

“I am a great believer in the use of new technologies. Obviously, there’s nothing better than breaking bread or having a beer with someone, and working with colleagues face-to-face in a collaborative environment, but equally, working in traditional space does impose constraints of time and geography.

“For instance, it’s now a year since I went into the lab, and yet my work has been hugely more productive. Students too are much more comfortable working online and speaking over the internet rather than in classrooms and laboratories.

“I’ve accumulated stacks of detailed documents which were all done on WhatsApp, and the researchers are being so creative just sitting there in their bedrooms.

“Taking pictures of data and then sending it round the group via WhatsApp was even quicker than doing it face-to-face. Saying all that, the technology is just the platform, of course, we have a great group of people who are innovative and agile thinkers.

“Mostly they are academic researchers like Jake, but we also had two scientists from LDL who were able to pivot from their ‘day jobs’ and tackle something completely new. It was wonderful to be involved.”

Meanwhile, even with Dafforn’s accolade echoing in his ears, Jake is resolutely following his mentor’s modest mindset.

“I’m thinking about doing a post-doc and it’d be nice to do it with the same team, but if there’s an opportunity to work elsewhere, then that’s fine too.” ■

For further information, please visit: www.birmingham.ac.uk

Hackspace Hero Dr Laura Barter explains how Imperial College London’s Agri-Futures Lab is driving innovation into agriculture and also highlights the institution’s remarkable Advanced Hackspace

I

t’s a truism that partnership and collaboration should be at the heart of all research, but the Covid-19 pandemic has again highlighted the fault lines which can run through scientific endeavour.

“Whatever the area, there needs to be an all-embracing approach, but there’s an inevitable danger that some individuals think what they’re doing is the most exciting and the most relevant - and forget context,” says Barter.

However, there’s absolutely no danger of anyone sitting in cosy little silos within Imperial; whether in the Agri-Futures Lab (AFL) of which she’s co-director, or across the institution’s wider structures.

“The complex challenges of agri-science must be tackled in a multi-disciplinary way and we’re incredibly lucky to have such a range here, including life sciences, chemistry. physics, mathematics and engineering,” says Barter.

“Within all these subjects and others, people are developing tools and technologies. Some are looking directly at (say) general issues related to life sciences, others may be targeting challenges facing the pharmaceutical industry.

“Some of these technologies could be used within the agri-science sector, but only of course if those scientists were aware of their wider potential, so we decided to set up a new network.

“The aim was two-fold, to showcase the kind of work which goes on here, but also to facilitate the development of links with companies, policy-makers and others on the outside.

“We wanted to also include partners from industry and the farming community because there is no point developing a tool or a technology which won’t then be taken up by an end-user. Having considered several approaches, myself and Dr Rudiger Woscholski launched the AFL in mid-2018.

“We link with other networks and departments across all the college’s faculties, have close links with universities and are also always looking to engage with people with other perspectives.

G E T Y O U R D I G I TA L C O P Y AT: W W W. B R E A K T H R O U G H D I G I TA L . C O . U K

Dr Laura Barter SENIOR LECTURER, IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON

Dr Laura Barter is a Senior Lecturer in the Chemistry Department with a particular focus on Plant Chemical Biology - the underlying theme of research in the Barter group is to determine quantitative structure-function relationships in biological systems. Her current roles include Director of AGRI-net and Director of the Agri-Futures Lab

I S S U E 12 | U K S PA B R E A K T H R O U G H | 3 5

INNOVATION

I N T E G R AT I O N O F I D E A S

“Integration of ideas is key, as is recognising that people with different skill-sets and from different backgrounds will approach the problem differently and can collectively come up with effective solutions.”

One of the first partners was Sainsbury’s, which had been working with Imperial on zero-carbon projects since 2010 and realised the AFL could help their supply chain become aware of different tools and technologies to increase efficiency and inform their decision-making.

“The first programme was on soil science, the second was on data, looking at how they could collect their own data and also use data from other sources more effectively. It was great fun and also a two-way process,” recalls Barter.

“The scientists would put forward their ideas and potential solutions, the supplier (it could be a farmer, for instance) would explain their requirements, and you’d really see ideas and potential solutions developing in real time.

“We had one brainstorming session about technologies which might extend the shelf-life of broccoli, for instance.

We covered everything from the optimum times for harvesting and different ways in which it might be treated, covering the whole process from the farmer to the consumer, and came up several great solutions.”

Another project saw Barter and her team win an EU grant to study the agrochemical pipeline in partnership with the agricultural science and technology giant, Syngenta.

“A lot of interesting ideas came from the programme and it also guided us towards future collaborations. It was very exciting from the widest perspective and also for my own research interests,” she says.

FROM FIELD TO FORK

“We regularly have discussions about new ways of working, and one approach I like is where you go from ‘field to fork’. It might sound like a cliché, but still represents a useful mindset to adopt when you’re involved with research projects.”

Barter is looking at mechanisms to increase crop yield, and - in line with her belief in the merits of a multidisciplinary approach - is working

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Imperial College’s Advanced Hackspace concept brings together inventive minds and creative talents

“GE T IDE AS OU T OF YOUR HE AD… A N D I N T O T H E R E A L W O R L D .” closely with other innovative Imperial scientists from synthetic and computational chemistry, membrane biophysics and protein science.

“We’re developing molecules which can capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and then release it around an enzyme because plants show increased yields with enhanced levels of carbon dioxide.

“We have engineered molecules with the potential to stimulate growth, but our challenge now is to get these compounds into the plant.

“The Syngenta project brought together one team which had been developing novel technologies to study how drugs cross membranes, for the pharmaceutical industry.

“It surprised both sides that this could be readily applied to help unravel some of the rules controlling how agrochemicals cross plant membranes.

The AFL also works closely with the international network AGRI-Net, likewise created to provide a platform to enlighten policy-makers and others about trends and research within agri-science.

“There is considerable overlap between the two, but it’s been fun to lead these initiatives and very satisfying to see the networks grow,” says Barter.

“When we started and were assessing interest so we could make a grant application, we had 20 potential members. We never dreamed we’d be at the level we’re at now, with between 900 and 1,000.

“We no longer have grant funding, so we’re restricted in what we can do, but there’s a lot of willingness across the scientific community. We hold creative sessions with AGRI-net, we

host international conferences and sessions for post-graduates, and ran a very successful ‘hackathon’.

A D VA N C E D H A C K S PA C E

The latter was spawned by Imperial’s Advanced Hackspace concept, which brings together inventive minds and creative talents from across every academic discipline, regardless of subject, age, experience or any other artificial boundary - just as it should.

Conceived in 2014 as little more than a room with 3D printers, it later took physical form in the college’s Invention Rooms, and now offers everything from a wet lab and workshop for wood and metal, to a digital manufacturing studio and electronics lab, with co-working space and even a room where ideas can flourish.

As its slogan says: “Get ideas out of your head … and into the real world”.

“We’re very lucky to have Hackspace here. It’s the largest in the country, one of the largest in the world and it’s amazing because you can access every technology you might need,” says Barter, and her pride is evident.

“Industry across all sectors is very interested in what it generates. Creative labs are fine and they’re fun, but at the end you have only ideas rather than something tangible, whereas at the end of a hackathon, you have a prototype.”

It’s pleasing to note just how often Barter refers to her work as ‘fun’ and, allied to her sense of scientific purpose, it augurs well for the future of both herself and the AFL. ■

For further information, please visit: www.imperial.ac.uk/agri-futures-lab/

Growth

Sharing your success, best practice, and lessons learned

Campus has all the right ingredients

Liz Cashon, the innovation manager at York Biotech Campus, offers an insight into its past, present and hoped-for future as a major regional employment hub

F

or years, the sprawling 80-acre Sand Hutton site on York’s northern outskirts was something of a hidden secret, largely concealed behind mature woodland and home to a government agency which didn’t exactly advertise its presence.

Now though, York Biotech Campus (YBC) has become both a major driver of the area’s fast-growing biotech sector, and a significant force within the wider Yorkshire economy, with around 1,000 people employed by an array of tenants.

“It’s been a combination of organic growth by existing tenants and new ones taking space, but at the moment, our occupancy rate is running at 98%

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which is very pleasing,” says Cashon.

Abingdon Health’s recent decision to increase its manufacturing and research presence on the site, as demand soared for its rapid Covid-19 tests, was its third expansion within the last year.

Public Health England has a microbiology centre there, and the largest corporate tenant is Covance by Labcorp, a life sciences business providing research for multiple sectors, which employs some 26,000 people worldwide.

However, whilst Abingdon’s £5.5m investment programme underlines the location’s current success as a bio-tech hub, it has also retained its long-term strategic focus on innovative agri-science research.

“The site was designed 20 years ago

as a national science centre for food and agriculture, and the current anchor tenant (Fera Science) was originally an agency within DEFRA,” says Cashon.

“Over the years, the agency changed hands and the campus was acquired by Capita, but there’s still a great deal of national policy-making happening here.

“DEFRA’s chief plant health officers are on the campus, as are 200 staff, so it’s great to have the people who are shaping policy right across from the researchers, and they’re a tremendous asset.”

The location’s powerful lure for the agri-science industry was underlined during lockdown, when one of the UK’s most innovative and ambitious companies from the plant protein sector chose to base its global R&D centre there.

V E G A N M E AT

Plant & Bean is opening a giant ‘vegan meat’ factory on a 65-acre site in Lincolnshire, plans other production centres in the US, China, Thailand and South America, and has strategic partnerships with companies as far away as the Netherlands and Singapore.

However, it decided that YBC was the place for its product development team, which is researching the use of different binding processes, new ingredients and textures, nutritional profiles, multiple systems for flavour and colour, and also process technology.

“We were naturally extremely pleased that a major brand in such a fast-growing sector chose our campus. They’re a footloose business, and could have gone almost anywhere,” says Cashon.

“It’s a new niche for us, because although we have a lot of research here looking into diseases and pests, and also testing food for anything from dioxins to stray substances, we’ve never had a food manufacturer.

“They’re already creating new products in their lab, and it’s a nice thought that we can see new foods being developed here, and then later see them appearing on supermarket shelves.

“When the Plant & Bean team had settled in, we introduced them to other tenants, partly to enhance the sense of community, but also to make sure they realise just how much agri-science

Abingdon Health recently increased its manufacturing and research presence on the York Biotech site

expertise and knowledge is close by.”

Cashon’s role encompasses devising and delivering a growth strategy, attracting new occupiers and engaging with existing tenants looking to expand or restructure their space.

With a post-graduate degree in urban regeneration, almost a decade at Locate in Leeds and then three years leading inward investment strategy for the city region’s enterprise partnership, it’s easy to see why she was recruited.

As science parks have discovered over the decades, often to their cost, a campus manager must be just as comfortable talking to property agents and developers about pre-lets and lease lengths, as engaging effectively with corporate tenants and start-ups, and liaising with external partners and stakeholders.

Labskin - a leading skincare testing company - are another to expand their laboratories on the campus

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JUGGLING AGT

“It is something of a juggling act,” admits Cashon. “We have to balance demand from our core strategic sectors, satisfy the space requirements of both existing tenants and potential occupiers, and bring public and private sector occupiers together to develop new relationships.

“Attracting potential occupiers isn’t as hard as it might seem though. We do have a local property agent and get quite a few inquiries from our web-site. We’ve also been working with Aberfield, a communications agency, for the last four years because they’re very useful at raising our profile, regionally and nationally.

“However, the majority of inquiries which reach me each year come via either word-of-mouth or referrals from other tenants, and it is really great to know that companies here hold us in such regard that they recommend the campus to others.

“At the moment, our core focus is making sure we can free up space allowing tenants to expand. Some may look to tweak their office requirements postpandemic, but others (such as Abingdon and Labskin) have continued to expand.

“We’re now looking to create more co-working space which has been driven by demand, mostly from people who aren’t yet returning to their previous space, but would prefer to work in a more collaborative environment rather than work from home.

“We also have a very nice central hub that has an under-utilised corridor which we’d like to convert to co-working. I think we’ll get about 40 work-stations in there, which will be a significant asset for us now and also looking forward.”

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GROWTH

“OUR CORE FOCUS AT T H E M O M E N T IS FREEING UP S PA C E S O T E N A N T S C A N E X P A N D .”

Every park welcomes expansion by its anchor tenant, so it’s good to hear that Fera is considering setting up an accelerator hub focused on agri-science.

“They have a lot of international researchers and are looking to find space for their spin-out ventures, as well as start-ups coming out from the University of York,” says Cashon.

“Fera is also expanding, as you’d expect, because of Brexit. They’re testing products coming into the country, and the volume is rising dramatically, so they have been growing very rapidly in recent months and have just redesigned their lab space to cope with demand.”

Biotech was a buoyant sector well before the pandemic, but it’s now become even more attractive to new entrants, existing companies and investors.

Pleasingly - and unusually - the area’s three locations with a significant bio-science presence are all working together to try to satisfy the ever-rising level of interest.

Plant & Bean’s laboratory researches the use of different binding processes and new ingredients and textures among its many activities

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Plant & Bean’s product development team are housed at YBC

“York Science Park has quite a large cluster, and the Biorenewables Development Centre operated by the university at Dunnington is delivering start-up space, so we’re all referring inquiries to each other,” says Cashon.

“By any criteria, York is now recognised as a bioscience hub, and it’d be great to see the local authority and the LEP highlight the area’s

achievements rather more often.”

Looking into the medium-term, Cashon is upbeat about prospects for the YBC’s growth to continue, though she accepts that will require the provision of new space.

“We can satisfy some demand by repurposing and upgrading space, but Capita also recognises that a new phase of growth is required.

“We had a master-plan done for the whole site, and there’s room to add another three buildings. They’d have to be pre-lets, although we think demand could come from existing tenants as well from off-site.

“Inevitably, the economic uncertainty will persist for months, even as the vaccination programe continues to roll-out and the infection rate falls.

“The one certainty we do have is that biotech will continue to be a growing sector, and that the focus on sustainability, reducing our carbon footprint and identifying alternative food sources means that agri-science will be equally buoyant.” ■

For further information about the York Biotech Campus, please visit: https://yorkbiotechcampus.com/

The perfect pipetting partnership.

Passionate for science.

GROWTH

Letting premises to start-ups what landlords need to know

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n our recent series of blogs hosted on the UKSPA website we considered the five key priorities of start-up companies when taking new space and how landlords can adapt their leases to meet those needs. We also looked in more detail at the crucial requirement for cost certainty. In this article we consider the four remaining issues: flexibility, fit-out, connectivity and speed.

FLEXIBILIT Y

Start-ups, particularly in the scientific or IT field, often derive seed funding from annual grants. If the award is not renewed, they may need to scale down operations quickly. So a fixed five or 10 year lease leaves them potentially exposed. However, a contracted-out short fixed term means potentially distracting upheaval if they are forced to move out whilst business is thriving. Landlords can solve this dilemma by either offering a longer term with a regular break rights (e.g. five years with a rolling break right on three months’ notice after 18 months) or a shorter term with an embedded right to renew on like terms.

We see the former more frequently in the R&D market and of course this approach will reduce the landlord’s spend on legal and agency costs compared with more frequent renewals.

F I T- O U T

Start-ups often take premises that will need adaptation to suit their business.

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Laura Gorman SENIOR ASSOCIATE IN COMMERCIAL PROPERTY, PENNINGTONS MANCHES COOPER LLP

Technical and scientific companies may need to fit out a lab with specialist, expensive equipment with implications for the building’s common services or EPC (e.g. enhanced air conditioning involving plant on the roof and in risers; biosecurity entry systems; adapted lighting).

It is tempting (but generally a bad idea) for the parties to rush into completing the lease without also agreeing up front the terms on which the landlord will permit these works to proceed. The parties may believe the goodwill generated during lease negotiation means the licence for alterations will be agreed quickly postcompletion, once the tenant finally produces its fit-out plans and specification, but all too frequently we see this element drag on with start-ups failing to appreciate the level of detail required for the landlord to issue consent and frustrated by the delay in being able to start work. In some cases this can lead tenants to starting work before consent is formally in place, which can have serious implications for the landlord’s insurance. A landlord actively managing the consent process

from the outset and particularly the involvement of its external consultants and solicitors, can go a long way towards avoiding most of these problems.

Reinstatement of fit-out is another key issue. Landlords will of course wish to ensure that, at the end of the lease, the property is left in a state that will not put replacement tenants off (or the tenant pays compensation for dilapidations so that the landlord can fund the necessary re-fit). The landlord’s focus on this will be more pronounced if the start-up wants to do bespoke alterations (such as conversion to a lab).

However, landlords should not necessarily assume that a total strip-out will produce the most attractive proposition for a replacement tenant. A flexible reinstatement clause, giving the landlord the ability to specify within a certain period before the end of the lease which items the tenant should leave (with a default position of full reinstatement if the landlord fails to specify), is usually the most sensible option. Landlords should be careful to diarise any notification cut-off dates though, to avoid the tenant removing works which may have increased the reletting value of the property.

CONNECTIVITY

Understandably, all businesses need good broadband and telephony and tech companies all the more so. Landlords may find that start-ups in the science sector want to improve the existing offering at

the building by bringing in more kit or a new supplier. This can be a lot more complex than the tenant expects, particularly if they are not experienced in leasing premises.

Landlords may be subject to an exclusive service deal with the existing supplier or physical constraints on available space in risers, the roof or communal basement. Wayleave agreements with new suppliers or third parties whose land is crossed may also be required. Tying down an agreement with all the relevant parties to permit what the start-up wants can be a slow process and it is important for landlords and their agents to manage expectations about this from the outset.

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ounded in 1999, Acuity Law has looked to create not just another law firm but a law company for the 21st century, taking the best of traditional law firm values, matched to a dynamic structure bringing together three UK offices – a Cardiff HQ, Swansea and London – and the UAE, plus a growing team of partners representing the firm across the UK. Working together, Acuity are a team of instinctively commercial lawyers, passionate about delivering the best legal service with their people and their clients at the heart of everything they do – while others moved to remote working for the pandemic, Acuity Law were already working across the UK, wherever the team needed to be.

Others recognise that the formula is producing results, with awards bestowed most years – most recently with recognition in The Times Best Law Firms of the Year (2020) and being named Law Firm of the Year 2020 at the Wales Legal Awards and Law firm of the Year (Wales) at the Legal 500 Awards. More and more of the company’s 70-plus lawyers are also being recognised each year in the Legal 500 and Chambers Directories.

SPEED

Understandably, once they have found the ideal property, start-ups often just want to get in and get going. They are often working from unsuitable premises with quickly growing teams and can put a lot of pressure on landlords to move fast.

The best way to do this is for both parties to be completely clear with each other at the start of negotiations. Do not wait until the deal has gone to the lawyers to draw your red lines. Clear channels of communication will also help, so that where there are unavoidable delays tenants don’t feel they have been kept in the dark. And as always, a reliable team of professionals who can give the deal their full attention will make a big difference.

Acuity Law already advise a number of leading universities and high-tech businesses across Wales and the West Country and further afield and, now joined by partner Barry Sankey, are developing their work with the science, technology and research park sector. Though the UK, and indeed the world, is facing huge challenges from the pandemic, Acuity believe that the future of the UK economy will be found in the innovative businesses bridging technology, research and innovation that science parks are fostering around the UK. The Acuity team already bring together expertise across all both the world of physical real estate including: • Site acquisition and disposal, funding and development • Property management from letting to enforcement • Virtual tenancies, hot desks and related compliance • Planning and environmental advice, including site reclamation

To conclude, letting space to start-ups can pose some challenges to landlords but for those who are able to adopt a flexible approach to make their leases as well as their physical premises, more attractive to new businesses, there are plenty of opportunities. The increasing number of incubator spaces opening up on UK science parks in recent years is testament to the investor community embracing this philosophy and many are now finding that it pays dividends in producing happy tenants who grow into ever-larger units on their park or estate. ■

For further information, please visit: www.penningtonslaw.com

to grants and other public funding including “state aid” – subsidies and grants in free trade parlance – and related issues, to corporate structures, from SPACs and SPVs to collaboration and joint venture agreements.

A.L. are also developing a range of “products” for their clients such as “Dataguard” – helping business assess GDPR and privacy issues – to a bespoke service within Acuity Law to offer UK clients the ability to maintain EU trade mark and design registrations as part of our wider IP advice. Also under development are online portals to assist SMEs and micro-business access reliable guidance on legal issues and to provide online management of leases, licences and virtual tenancies.

Acuity’s work for science, technology and research parks and their tenants is co-ordinated by Midlands-based partner Barry Sankey, whose work in the sector is widely recognised.

Get in touch with them today to help you and your tenants create a new future for business and the wider community in 2021. ■

• Infrastructure, from utilities and services to road, rail and public transport

Please contact Barry Sankey (Partner) on 07859 10 6000, or email: barry.sankey@acuitylaw.com

Acuity are also able to advise on all other aspects of funding, from banks

For further information, please visit: www.acuitylaw.com

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MEMBER PROFILES

Birmingham Health Innovation Campus

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irmingham Health Innovation Campus is part of Bruntwood SciTech’s network of thriving innovation districts. A joint venture with the University of Birmingham, when complete it will be a world-leading healthcare technologies campus, offering high quality innovation facilities for businesses in medtech, precision medicine, diagnostics and digital healthcare.

Located in Selly Oak, in the heart of the city’s clinical and academic quarter, the campus is close to University of Birmingham, one of the largest teaching hospitals in England, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham and five other leading hospitals. At the

heart of a critical cluster of health excellence, the campus will play an important role in the region’s life sciences ecosystem, offering national and international leadership in key areas of healthcare innovation including biopharma, precision medicine and genomics.

The first phase of Birmingham Health Innovation Campus is due for completion in 2023. Housing the University of Birmingham’s Precision Health Technologies Accelerator and Birmingham Precision Medicine Centre, it will also offer companies co-located there unrivalled access to a fully

• Physical concept planning and placemaking for innovation • Procurement, delivery and management advice for delivery

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iBC (Education Innovation Business Consultants) are specialists working at the interface between universities, colleges, governments, knowledge-based businesses, developers, operators and funders.

Science, technology and innovation are vital to enhance competitiveness and wealth creation. EiBC also understand the relevance of education and skills for the development of local and national economies, and the linkages between knowledge based businesses and education in producing positive outcomes for the economy.

EiBC partners have practical experience in providing advisory services that can link the innovation assets, demand, business planning, policy and innovation processes with skills and real estate solutions, for example: • Demand studies, feasibility, business cases and funding advice for local innovation strategies, science parks, innovation centres and innovation operating platforms • Skills initiatives for science, technology, digital and creative skills for innovation

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Demand, feasibility, business and funding cases and JV partnerships have been untaken for major ventures in Newcastle, Sandwich, London, Edinburgh, Ebbsfleet, Bangor, Cardiff, Essex, Southend, Bristol, Lancaster, Hull, Glasgow, Loughborough, Somerset, Tokyo and Hong Kong.

Experience has enabled working in many domains, for example - in life sciences, health, advanced engineering, aerospace, quantum technology, nuclear, renewables, clean tech, digital and the arts - as well as in reviewing and advising on knowledge exchange and innovation operating services for enterprise and development companies, local government and research councils.

D E L I V E RY M O D E S

Education is experiencing unprecedented change, for example, around delivery modes, recruitment, the student experience, fees, funding, caps, mergers, regulation, the REF, apprenticeships, business engagement, competition and internationalisation.

EiBC understand this landscape, and recognise the impact such changes can have on your business and on the estate.

connected clinical trials ecosystem.

The campus has been designated as both a Life Science Opportunity Zone and a High Potential Opportunity zone, providing opportunities for businesses based there to engage with the Department for International Trade and the Department for Business, Energy and the Industrial Strategy. ■

For further information, please visit: https://bruntwood.co.uk/our-locations/ birmingham/birmingham-healthinnovation-campus/

The company have over 60 years combined experience of working at the interface between education teaching, education research and commercialisation and business and investment strategy issues, operations, estates and placemaking.

EiBC can help with: • FE, HE, research and talent market and economic analysis, benchmarking and advice • Feasibility, business cases, economic appraisals and funding cases for new education, health and innovation ventures • Estate strategies for universities and colleges, including student residential accommodation strategies • Feasibility assessments for international strategies and education ventures • Merger and collaboration reviews and due diligence advice • Joint ventures for universities, the public sector and the private sector in education, science, health, technology and innovation ventures including procurement advice. ■

For further information, please visit: www.eibconsultants.com

Fermenters & Bioreactors for wide-ranging research and manufacturing applications Autoclavable bioreactor and mixing systems from 50ml to 20L Stir-tank, Single-use Air-lift, LED-Photo, Fixed / Fluidised-bed bioreactors Borosilicate, PEEK or glass-lined bioreactors & fittings for special applications Individual control modules for pH, dO, foam, temperature control Customised control modules Off-gas analysis CO2, O2 and CH4 Low-flow peristaltic pumps Optical density, pH, dissolved oxygen, redox, conductivity measurement

www.electrolabtech.co.uk

info@electrolabtech.co.uk 01684 291007

PATENT TAX SAVINGS? The UK Patent Box regime is a generous tax incentive that is often overlooked.

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO KNOW? >

> >

HOW CAN WE HELP YOU?

Reduces the corporate tax rate to 10% on profits derived from certain patents For companies only (not partnerships or sole traders) Applies to sale of products incorporating patented technologies, as well as to royalties and other patent income

IN THE YEAR TO 30 APRIL 2020

Patent Box is a very specialist area of tax which requires expert knowledge. If your company has patents but you have not discussed Patent Box before, please speak to us. Hazlewoods Innovation and Technology team has substantial experience in both R&D tax credits and Patent Box, providing an ‘end to end’ comprehensive service.

We assisted our clients in generating £2.7 million of tax savings through Patent Box claims and structuring.

Speak to our specialist team.

Tel. 01242 680000 www.hazlewoods.co.uk / @HazlewoodsInnov We strongly recommend you take professional advice before making decisions on matters discussed here. No responsibility for any loss to any person acting as a result of the material can be accepted by us. Hazlewoods LLP is a Limited Liability Partnership registered in England and Wales with number OC311817. Registered office: Staverton Court, Staverton, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL51 0UX. A list of LLP partners is available for inspection at each office. Hazlewoods LLP is registered to carry on audit work in the UK and regulated for a range of investment business activities by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales.

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MEMBER PROFILES

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ambridge Innovation Parks Ltd is owned and managed by Paragon Land & Estates, a local organisation with three business park sites around Cambridge. Cambridge Innovation Park North campus sits on what was old MoD land on the northern side of Cambridge at Waterbeach, and currently has two buildings: Stirling House, with its fine central atrium and corner ‘turrets’ opened in 2012, plus the newer purposebuilt Blenheim House which opened its doors in 2018. The two buildings are currently home to around 75 established businesses and an incubation hub for start-ups.

Endeavouring to create a work environment which is conducive to a healthy working lifestyle and provides maximum opportunity for collaboration and networking for SMEs, spin-outs and start-ups, mainly in the technology sector, innovative young companies can rub shoulders and interact with larger successful businesses. These young entrepreneurs will be actively nurtured and supported to achieve success. All within a fully sustainable carbon neutral built environment.

Cambridge Innovation Parks The site offers a range of office spaces, from hot-desks and co-working areas up to large company headquarters. These are modern, light and airy, all with ultra-fast fibre connectivity and many with raised floors, maximum natural light and LED lighting – all powered by renewable energy sources. Rents always include service charge, so tenants are not saddled with extra bills. Meeting rooms are available for hire and there are large communal breakout areas available indoors and out. All these offices are set within 10 acres of landscaped grounds.

There is a superb range of leisure facilities on site, including a gym, café-bistro, beauty salon and exercise classes – all designed to give further opportunities for staff from different companies to meet, chat, work or relax together. There is also a concierge service, CCTV, covered bike racks, showers, electric car-charging points and free parking.

Interest in the built environment and commitment to sustainability for all the buildings lies at the heart of decision making, with this ethos of paramount importance in the operation of the existing Innovation Park in Waterbeach, and will be key to the design and build of forthcoming full sustainable zero carbon new builds at Cambridge West and Cambridge South.

An in-house sustainability team concentrate on finding the best clean technologies, and hope that the new business parks will become significant test beds for new and emerging technologies.

This in turn will encourage start-ups in the renewables, sustainability and smart technology sectors on the campuses. ■

For further information, please visit: www.cambridgeinnovationparks.co.uk

Grassroots Oxford

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rassroots is a purpose-built hub owned by Oxford Sciences Innovation and is based at their head office, at the HB Allen Centre within Keble College. Launched in November 2019, Grassroots is a collaborative space for talented entrepreneurs who are starting out, with opportunities to mix and join forces with postgraduates, professors and investors.

The centre is full of innovative entrepreneurs who are pushing change, and our supportive team offer advice, expertise and hands-on support to ensure your business blooms.

Joining Grassroots ensures you are part of something much bigger.

Interlinked with Oxford Sciences Innovation and the wider Oxford Innovation network, customers can benefit from connecting with hundreds of entrepreneurs from a range of

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specialisms, especially within the science and technology industries.

This gives you plenty of opportunities to collaborate and network with likeminded individuals who can support you on your business journey.

Located in the centre of Oxford with bicycle parking, good public

transport links and easy access to the A40 and A34, the centre is the perfect place to put down roots and grow your business. ■

For further information, please visit: www.grassrootsworkspace.com

Manufacturing facility for Porton Biopharma located at Porton Down: BES recently completed the RIBA Stages 1 to 4 to reconfigure, and increase the footprint of a cGMP drug product manufacturing area.

BES Ltd

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Creating cutting-edge cleanrooms, laboratories and sophisticated environments

ES ltd is a multidisciplinary design, engineering and construction specialist serving the pharmaceutical, life sciences and advanced technology industries.

As design led construction experts, their in-house resource spans across all disciplines including architectural, mechanical, electrical and process engineering. They provide fully integrated solutions to the highest standards of quality and stringent regulatory compliance. Projects range from laboratories and cleanrooms of all classifications to the most complex pioneering pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities.

Headquartered in Rochdale, with a southern regional office in Milton Keynes, BES has experienced team of 150 talented professionals. Their specialist services comprise front end consultancy and site/facility planning, and all aspects of design; also offering a comprehensive range of construction services from new build, refurbishments, conversions to fit outs, project management, commissioning and validation support.

In 2017, BES acquired Norwood, who are a leading partition manufacturer located in Stockport.

With an impressive portfolio of cleanroom systems, their services complement BES’s offering perfectly.

Having control over a key part of their supply chain ensures their installations are delivered to the highest quality while providing best value for money to their clients.

In the 18 years since BES was established, they have built an enviable reputation for the successful delivery of technically challenging

projects, safely and professionally.

Working with clients in the public and private sectors, over 100 cleanroom and laboratory projects have been completed throughout the UK.

R E L E VA N T P R O J E C T S

Viral Vector Suites for Cobra Biologics located at the Keele University Science Campus: The complex refurbishment project involved design and delivery of three grade C viral vector suites, compliant to ACDP Hazard Group and US BioSafety Level 2, along with FDA, EMA and MHRA standards.

Vaccines Manufacturing Innovation Centre (VMIC) located on the Harwell Science Campus: Project in development. BES have been appointed to complete the design and the fit out of the new state-of-the-art vaccine facility, fast-tracked for early completion in 2021 due to COVID-19.

Laboratories for AstraZeneca located at Granta Park in Cambridge: BES reconfigured the existing space to accommodate new Protein Science laboratories. Currently, their team is continuing works on site to refurbish several R&D lab areas.

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Innovation Centre for CSA Catapult located in the world’s first compound semiconductor cluster in Newport, South Wales: Utilising Norwood’s partition system, BES completed the design and fit out on the new high-tech facility, comprising 1,000m 2 of cleanroom accommodation, research laboratories and 1500m2 of open plan offices and collaborative spaces.

The foundations of the company have been built around great technical knowledge and a huge amount of experience which guarantees a proactive and positive approach throughout. ■

For further information, please visit: www.besltd.org

Looking for a professional company that relocates scientific equipment?

Large or small, our proven process will ensure a safe and successful move Call Benchmark Services today

on 01480 423810 or visit www.benchmark-services.co.uk

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MEMBER PROFILE

Buro Four Focused, intelligent project management solutions to transform vision into reality and make a positive impact

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uro Four are an independent company of project managers who have a way of doing things that sets them apart. Their single mission is to transform vision to reality in the very best way and for the benefit of their clients, projects, people, business, and the world.

From being one of the first practitioners of project management when they set up in 1985, they have grown to become an internationally recognised specialist in their field. Their independence means that they can act in the best interest of their clients, unbiased by any other discipline.

Buro Four place great importance on creating strong and honest relationships with clients, teams and contractors to collaborate, solve and drive progress.

SCIENCE EXPERTISE

Buro Four is fortunate to have an incredibly strong track record in delivering laboratory, research and innovation facilities in some of the UK’s most prominent science locations.

Recent projects include groundbreaking new research and innovation facilities including: • Abcam at Cambridge Biomedical Campus for Cambridge MediPark Ltd – a c.100,000 sq ft laboratory and office for the global provider of reagents for life sciences.

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• Sensor City Liverpool at Liverpool Knowledge Quarter for Liverpool John Moores University and University of Liverpool – a c.100,000 sq ft global innovation hub for the development of sensor and IoT technologies.

• Sycamore House at Stevenage Bioscience Campus for Mission Street and Kadans Science Partner – a c.100,000 sq ft laboratory and office for start-ups, scale-ups and mature companies.

• Manchester Engineering Campus Development for The University of Manchester – a £400m specialist engineering campus which will provide the single largest home for engineering in any UK university.

PROJECT LIFE CYCLE

• Institute of Immunology and Transplantation at the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust Campus – a specialist facility including three floors of laboratory space up to CL3 for University College London.

Core Services include Project Management, Employer’s Agent / Contract Administrator, Client Representative, Design Management and Planning and Programming.

To enhance project success, a suite of specialist services are available which can complement the core services or to act as stand-alone elements of strategic support at various touchpoints throughout a project. These include due diligence, feasibilities, strategic leadership, procurement advice, development management, development monitoring, workplace consultancy and project health checks. ■

• Boldrewood Campus for University of Southampton including a 150m towing tank, wave machine and a new technology HQ for Lloyds Register.

For further information, please visit: https://burofour.com/

• Citylabs 2 & 3 at Manchester Oxford Road Corridor for Bruntwood SciTech – a c.100,000 sq ft flexible office and laboratory within a world-class hub for health innovation and precision medicine.

Innovative Solutions For Effective Quality Control METTLER TOLEDO’s precision instruments are the foundation of research and quality-control laboratories all over the world.

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Impact

Taking care of your people, places and public perception

Tackling the old-school ICT Paul Orrock, Yardi Systems’ UK regional manager, considers the evolution of wireless technology, the fast-rising demand for co-working space and the impact of Covid as a catalyst for change in the science park sector

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he concept of a shared environment for dynamic entrepreneurs, fledgling startups and tech-savvy individuals merely requiring the occasional use of a desk and ICT access is nothing new, but the pace at which Covid has driven demand for flexible space certainly has been.

Many sites across London, and in major regional centres such as Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Manchester, Nottingham and Newcastle, initially struggled to satisfy the upsurge, and new smaller-scale hubs appeared rapidly in sub-regional centres and small towns.

Inevitably, the intense clamour for space generated an equally powerful (and long-overdue) focus on the quality and service levels of ICT provision and for wireless solutions which genuinely were ‘always on’.

“Co-working is now everywhere, and it’s been interesting to see just how many new locations are developing and how many existing ones are expanding,” says Orrock “Not just in the major cities, but in smaller towns and right across the country. I live a few miles outside Newark, and I’m seeing new space here.

The sector is growing exponentially, and investors and the institutional funds are also taking note of its dramatic expansion.

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“The original Yardi customer base was pretty much inside the M25, but now organisations everywhere are looking to decentralise and set up ‘hub and spoke’ operations which employees can easily reach, so they will still benefit from the collaborative experience, but without returning to their previous environment.

“No employer wants to be paying significant amounts of rent for space in dense metropolitan areas where their staff don’t feel 100% safe or will face difficulties in reaching that location.

“It also makes sense for landlords and real estate managers to have multiple small tenants in their business space rather than relying on just one or two very large tenants, particularly during a period of widespread economic volatility.”

WIRELESS DEVOTEE

Orrock is a self-confessed devotee of allthings wireless. It fills his working week, intrudes on his down-time and quite likely features regularly in his dreams, judged by the passion with which he outlines his role. ”We’ve put a lot of our standards around wireless development into coworking locations around the UK, and our offering is now very robust, very resilient and focused on a very high performance model, so there are fewer products using the switchboard,” he says.

“I’m now starting to think around fewer elements using the cabinet, and really ramping up the possibilities for co-working so that even voice handsets (which are obviously decreasing in

“A L L I S S U E S AROUND CONNECTIVIT Y H AV E M O V E D S H A R P LY U P T H E S T R AT E G I C A G E N D A .”

The village was established more than 1,000 years ago, and whilst it has a magnificent 11th C church and a glorious Elizabethan manor house, it’s attracted barely 800 souls over the centuries.

However, Orrock stood successfully as a local councillor, and is now officially tasked with improving the quality of broadband services to Stragglethorpe and the adjacent settlement of Brant Broughton.

Back in his day job though, he’s clocking up the miles and the time spent in virtual sessions, as companies and organisations in all sectors realise the time is now to ensure their infrastructure is capable of meeting all their requirements.

LO C K D O W N C ATA LY S T

“A lot of people decided early on that lockdown presented a great opportunity to tackle work which had needed doing, but had previously been placed in their ‘too hard’ basket for various reasons,” recalls Orrock.

“Many projects were technical upgrades of buildings and inevitably to get the best possible outcome, you have to shut that space down at some stage of the process.

“During the summer, and into the final quarter, we saw both existing and new clients deciding to refresh their infrastructure. Some were just configuring their comms rooms, other projects were more complex, often popularity because of mobile phones, Zoom and other platforms) can operate via wireless which then reduces costs and energy use.”

Orrock came to Yardi as a project manager in the summer of 2018, but having spent some 40 years in his native Australia, followed by several years living in Hong Kong, the Scottish climate was something very different. He pays lip service to the ‘four seasons’ of British weather in typically genial tone, but it’s clear that he’s much happier discussing any other conceivable topic.

Orrock’s love of advanced communications is even evident in his adopted home of Stragglethorpe, where he lives with his wife and family amid the wind-swept wilds of rural Lincolnshire.

laying new cables and installing new fibre-links between buildings, or between floors in those buildings.

“On occasions, we’d do a wireless plan, carefully install the equipment and it worked perfectly - but then it stopped working. We’d go back, and discover that someone has moved a filing cabinet in front of one of the access points. Those problems are always going to happen.

“We also regularly encounter issues with regard to building materials.

Sometimes walls are so thick that we can’t penetrate them with wireless signals and have to go round the wall and start again.

“Sometimes, you remove the plasterboard and discover chunks of blue rock held together by chicken-wire which have been there for decades - even a century.”

However, just as Covid was the catalyst for a dramatic upsurge in demand for co-working space, it has also seen many developers and landlords belatedly place a high priority on effective communications’ technology within their space.

“We’ve been involved with the design and planning for buildings of all sizes for a long time, and if you went back 10 years, or even just five, the ICT consultant would probably be the last one to be brought in,” admits Orrock.

Yardi’s new Kube suite of products, which overlays the company’s existing Medusa offering

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IMPACT

Scion House, home of Stirling University Innovation Park the first place Tony Freeth’s Medusa system was installed

“Now though, you’re in the first couple of meetings because all issues around connectivity have moved sharply up the strategic agenda. People want to understand in detail how they can have the best system for their budget, for themselves and their employees, but also to future-proof their building.

“They also now realise they need to understand what is required very early in the process, and not to leave the ICT element until the later stages and then risk being caught out.

“Often you’d go into a building, and you’d soon realise their system had BandAids upon Band-Aids upon Band-Aids. In the past, many people would see an old room or cabinet, and just sling their comms in.

“Now, most realise that ICT is a crucial element of any commercial building, that everything has to be done properly and no short-cuts should be taken, but inevitably there’s a legacy of ‘old-school’ systems which still need to be modernised.

“It’s also great to engage with architects and designers at the very earliest stage, so they understand why you need to have ceiling furniture in a particular location, or an access point in an exact place.

“They might not like it in purely aesthetic terms, but it’s there for a purpose and not ornamentation, and it’s no different from a fire alarm or sprinkler system. Although it’s taken time for that message to be understood, it is now.

Covid is driving change in many industries and sectors - and ICT is certainly one.”

Yardi operates across an array of sectors; from residential to retail, and investment management to industrial, but has worked with the UK’s science park movement from its earliest days, as Orrock explains.

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“It’s an interesting story. The person who wrote the Medusa product was called Tony Freeth, a pioneer of the coworking movement and his company, Phoenix Broadband, was acquired by Yardi in 2018. He is hugely influential in the co-working space and hugely passionate about science.

“Tony recognised that science parks and business parks, with their expansive environments stretched across multiple buildings, are essentially just an office block turned onto its side.

“His first focus was to get his Medusa system into such locations. He lived in Scotland and the first place he installed his system was Stirling University Innovation Park. We probably now work for a couple of dozen parks in the UK, and they’re still an anchor of our customer base.”

CUSTOMER FEEDBACK

Another significant driver of change within Yardi is customer feedback and it’s a connection which Orrock clearly enjoys.

“It’s really refreshing, when you’re sitting in on a technical call with regard to what messages we’ve received from customers about their requirements, to later see a potential solution on the roadmap and then to see it become reality.

We’re a very feedback-orientated organisation, and you can see that it’s appreciated.

“There’s always lots of chatter about ways in which to increase productivity at the organisational and individual level, and these simple solutions really do make a tangible difference.

“One element we’re seeing a great deal of interest in is the provision of door control systems via the estate management solution which would operate via wi-fi through a token which would sit on your mobile.

“As you approached the room you’ve booked, the door would open. It will only operate the doors to locations for which you have access, so it enhances security as well as operational efficiency, rather than giving someone a master-key, which might just hang on the wall of a caretaker’s office.”

Orrock’s passion for wireless technology again comes to the fore as he enthuses about Yardi’s new Kube suite of products, which acts as an overlay to its existing Medusa offering.

“It will integrate an array of enhancements into a building’s infrastructure for the benefit of tenants, such as a system for booking rooms, with regard to contract management, billings and invoices, so it’s going to be a complete commercial solution right down to payments and accounts.

“Almost all customers had over the years implemented multiple systems and solutions, which were all servicing different aspects of their operations. We decided to create one comprehensive system which operated from a single knowledge silo, removing, for instance, issues around either creating duplicate invoices - or not creating invoices.

“With this system, you’re no longer wasting time and money by duplicating any aspect of the building’s operations, and it increases an organisation’s productivity which is always important, and even more so during the current economic uncertainty.

“Two implementations are underway, in Reading and Somerset, and we’re already using other feedback to design and implement further enhancements.” ■

For further information, please visit: www.yardi.co.uk

‘Towards Zero’ The role of the UK’s Innovation, Research and Technology sector

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s the UK prepares to host the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in November of this year, the role of technological innovation in helping to accelerate the UK towards decarbonisation for the UK economy, ‘building back better’ and ‘greener’, will come under close scrutiny.

AIRTO, in collaboration with the UK’s network of Catapult Centres, has recently been exploring the role of the UK’s Innovation, Research & Technology (IRT) sector in helping us advance towards Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions.

Deploying more resources for R&D towards finding solutions has the potential to unlock market opportunities for the UK, both at home and globally. As well as consulting our membership across a broad range of sectors about the measures which they consider to be necessary to achieve Net Zero, AIRTO is now looking to consult extensively on this topic with stakeholders in government, industry and other allied organisations. Our recently released position statement ‘TOWARDS ZERO’, aims to ‘start the conversation’ about the role of the IRT sector in helping the UK to achieve Net Zero.

The UK’s ambitions to increase productivity and prosperity, and the recent legislation which sets into law the requirement to become a Net Zero carbon emitter by 2050, give impetus to the need to ‘ramp up’ innovation to create alternative technologies and to eradicate societal and economic reliance on fossil fuels across the full range of industrial sectors.

This includes energy supply, transport, heating, food chains, telecommunications, healthcare and consumer goods. Public opinion is shifting, with a growing recognition of the need for the ‘climate

emergency’ to be tackled as an urgent priority alongside changing public attitudes to consumption; this, combined with the government’s stated intention to ‘build back better’ and ‘build back greener’ in the wake of the Covid 19 pandemic, drives increasing urgency in the many calls for greater innovation.

AIRTO has identified four key levers and discusses critical interventions which we consider must be applied to advance the target of Net Zero and position IRT sector organisations to play an even more significant role in decarbonisation. We conclude that the government’s approaches to stimulus and support for additional investment in R&D capabilities for achieving Net Zero must be based on:

• Building a better energy infrastructure

• Technology and Industrial Strategy

If you work in innovation and would like to join the debate with us in the months ahead, then we like to hear from you.

Please email: enquiries@airto.co.uk

• Driving Expansion in R&D capacity and capabilities

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• Supporting innovation and entrepreneurship for ‘building back greener’ post-pandemic It is apparent that there is a strong appetite to work together to help the UK achieve Net Zero across the IRT sector.

Shaping effective and co-ordinated technology and industry strategies for developing and adopting new solutions, involving all the relevant stakeholder groups including the R&D community, is critical for success. The UK’s IRT sector stands ready to help identify investment priorities for Net Zero and to work with government more strategically. ■

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IMPACT

Sustainability is an opportunity Ruth Blanco, communications director at WISE - the campaign for greater gender balance in STEM - discusses the role that diversity, equality and inclusion must play in developing our sustainable future

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ccording to the United Nations, by 2050 there will be more plastic in the oceans than fish, we need to cut global emissions by 50% by 2030 to create real change and what we do in the next eight to 10 years will determine the quality of life for the next 100 years. No small challenge.

In late 2020, Boris Johnson promised an investment of £12 billion towards achieving carbon neutrality in the UK by 2050. The government’s 10 point plan includes the creation of 250,000 jobs and

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green investments in what is described as a “green industrial revolution”. The investment and plan is a welcome small step towards the UK’s sustainability.

However, delivering inclusive growth and transformative action that will help the UK achieve the necessary results means we also need everyone working together in STEM roles and sectors central to the change.

At WISE, we believe that inclusion delivers innovation, innovation delivers sustainability and inclusive STEM attracts and keeps the best talent.

As we saw in 2020, innovation and creativity are vital in helping us find solutions to seemingly insurmountable societal challenges. Research shows that greater diversity in workplaces leads to greater innovation, productivity, profitability and business stability.

Indeed, gender equality, diversity and inclusion feature throughout the 17 sustainable development global goals set by the United Nations General Assembly designed to be a “blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all” by 2030.

Opportunities

In early 2020 we, together with 20 organisations, called for businesses, governments, schools and colleges to keep gender diversity firmly on the agenda during the pandemic to ensure we do not lose the progress we have made to date. At the end of 2019, we announced that there were 1 million women (24%) working in core STEM roles. This is a milestone that should prompt us to go further and achieve 30% of women in these roles. This figure represents a recognised tipping point; once any minority is a third or more of a group, they no longer feel like they are the odd ones out.

We must embrace the opportunity provided by the ‘green industrial revolution’ to leverage a route to attract more women into ‘green’ roles within STEM sectors. By creating green jobs that are open to all, we can create more productive lives for everyone, especially future generations.

There are many steps to achieving this but at its heart we need to build inclusive workplaces and this must be led from the very top. An inclusive culture makes everyone feel welcomed, supported, recognised and provides opportunity to progress equally; this in turn allows employees to do their best work.

“WE MUST EMBR ACE THE OPPORTUNIT Y PROVIDED BY THE ‘GREEN INDUSTRIAL RE VOLUTION’ TO LE VER AGE A ROUTE TO AT T R A C T M O R E W O M E N I N T O ‘ G R E E N ’ R O L E S W I T H I N S T E M S E C T O R S .”

We also need to get better at attracting more women into these roles. There is a tendency to focus on school and university leavers when we think of the pipeline for talent, however, by thinking more widely, we can introduce talented people from a wide variety of backgrounds to help stimulate creativity.

We need to ensure that there are a variety of alternative career pathways into these innovative roles, including returner programmes, retraining, and opportunities to get involved with new projects. There will also be people who want to transfer from more traditional roles into new roles in renewables as new jobs are created. All of which will help us to fulfil our skills gap much more quickly.

Returner and retraining opportunities have proven to be extremely popular.

Research shows that 45% of women on career breaks would be interested in returner programmes, 45% of women would be willing to retrain to acquire new technical skills, and 97% say technical skills are fundamental to the future of the UK economy.

Employers who offer such programmes are usually overwhelmed with applicants from women who have much to contribute including technology, communications, and people skills, as well as problem solving, and business experience.

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Our 2019 research; ‘Making a Difference, why women in STEM become innovators’, showed that many women’s first experiences of being an innovator was through participation in a special project or assignment that was not part of their day job. By providing such opportunities and building organisation wide transparency around such projects, employers may well discover they already have the skills they need in their existing workforce.

The focus on creating sustainability is also an opportunity to invigorate outreach to schools, universities and the wider community. We would like to see more role models going into schools, especially role models doing these new types of work which students and indeed teachers may not have heard of. Young people, especially, are passionate about the need to tackle climate change and play their part and there is a real opportunity for employers, colleges and universities to embrace their passion and inspire students by hosting open days, offering work experience on projects that bring ‘green’ STEM projects to life.

Many businesses now realise that future investors are going to want to invest in businesses with good sustainable plans. To succeed, organisations need to have inclusivity as well as sustainability as core values.

As the UN General Assembly says: “equality releases the potential of everyone to improve their own lives and improve the lives of everyone.” ■

Inclusive, Transformative, Driving Sustainability is the theme for WISE’s 2021 online conference series on 2nd and 9th March 2021: https://www.wisecampaign.org.uk/ what-we-do/wise-events/conference/

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Trends

Quantitative and qualitative analysis of the innovation ecosystem

Catalyst for change Prof. Patrick Bonnett, chief development director of the UK National Innovation Centre for Ageing (NICA) reveals his passion for change to Ian Halstead

T

he concept of health anxiety is all too well-known. Wealth anxiety likewise. However, the previously undiagnosed condition of innovation anxiety quickly surfaces in Patrick Bonnett’s gregarious company.

If anything catches his gaze - from public bench to kitchen, or from stairway to meeting space - he wants to make it more ‘intelligent’ and better to use. Ideally too, the design should also be a thing of beauty.

Bonnett’s character traits of boundless energy and enthusiasm are propelled by a strong sense of purpose and pride - underpinned by a realisation that practicality is always crucial.

It’s an engaging mix, which dovetails perfectly into both his NICA role and his work as advisor to the government’s industrial strategy as it relates to an ageing population.

His centre is based in The Catalyst, at the Helix site, a 24-acre urban innovation quarter which has physically and visually transformed the heart of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

“The Helix is a £350m scheme funded by the university, the city council and Legal & General, and our building, which is considered the flagship element, is funded by the university and government, so it’s very much a partnership project,” says Bonnett.

“At its simplest, The Catalyst combines Grade A offices with commercial space for businesses working in, or seeking to enter, the ‘longevity economy’.

“We also have a prototyping centre, an area for public exhibitions, an

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Insights Suite, a rather nice cafe and what I believe is the best boardroom in the city, if not in the North-East.“ Bonnett’s strategy is to bring together applied researchers, innovation professionals and companies to grow the region’s longevity economy. “If we do our work right, we all enjoy better lives,” he says. “We often refer to our model as ‘Ageing Intelligence’.

AGEING INTELLIGENCE

“We de-risk the market for companies wishing to enter the sector and strengthen the region’s reputation as the go-to place for maximising the economic opportunities and societal benefits an ageing population offers.

“Not every bright idea leads to a commercial solution, but the products and designs which are successfully developed will be in demand, not just here, or in the UK, but internationally.”

February brought the latest award for The Catalyst - which has received multiple trophies and accolades for its design, fit-out and striking appearance when it was chosen as the national winner in Constructing Excellence’s sustainability category.

With a £50m budget and 100,000 sq ft of space across five storeys, it was intended as a statement building and certainly lives up to its billing.

Remarkably - for any new-build construction scheme, let alone one of complexity and scale - it was delivered six weeks ahead of schedule and £7m under budget, a remarkable tribute to the project managers, architects, fit-out teams, construction partners and their legions of sub-contractors.

“It’s the only BREEAM Outstanding commercial space in the North-East, and given NAIC’s remit, we were all determined to make it as age-inclusive as possible, so the crucial element of our pre-design phase was embracing the views of local people,” says Bonnett.

“One element of our activities is ‘The Voice’, an international network of around 10,000 people, aged from 20 to 80, who bring their insights and lived experiences to our work.

“We pulled together 40 members to access their views on ageing and also their professional expertise, so we had people who’d worked in architecture, building design, construction and other related sectors.

“We held regular meetings to discuss every element of the design and fit-out, from how the reception area might look and work to the type of furniture to be used in the cafe.

“If, for instance, we had installed soft and squishy sofas, as some High Street coffee shops do, customers with reduced upper body strength might not be able to lever themselves up.

“Likewise with signage. We recognised that the university’s current signs could be improved in terms of colour and font size, put their signs to our group, discussed possible alternatives and came up with a new approach which we all feel has wider applicability.

“Seating was another major issue. We have a 170-seat theatre, and whilst flip seats are the usual default ‘seat up’ design, if you’re older, you might not have the strength to push them down.”

Professor Patrick Bonnett CHIEF DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INNOVATION CENTRE FOR AGEING

Patrick has worked widely across the applied research and innovation arenas for over 30 years in organisations ranging from small technology start-ups to internationally recognised translational research laboratories. He is is Vice Chairman of UKSPA and also acts as an Advisor to Government on the Ageing Grand Challenge

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TRENDS

Bonnett and his team also consulted widely, learning from such organisations as the RNIB, the Thomas Pocklington Trust, (which helps blind and partially-sighted individuals) and the Alzheimer’s Society.

“We wanted to design a truly accessible and inclusive building which was welcoming and would encourage the widest possible cross-section of people to use it.

“Effective engagement and interaction is central to the successful co-design, innovation and development of new products which can be lifechanging.”

The same philosophy extended to the public space across the Helix site, which now features several ‘Vitality Benches’ designed for all ages.

“Many public benches are intended as hard security features, or to deter rough sleepers, but ours have many innovative features, not least ‘cupholders’ which allow walking sticks to be rested there.”

Bonnett readily admits he adopted a magpie strategy to innovation appropriately given his geographical location - hoovering up ideas from other science parks, the corporate community and even other countries.

As he set out to cherry-pick great designs, his search for inspiration took him to such diverse locations as Primark’s HQ in Dublin, the Stockholm offices of technology giant Ericsson, and Australia’s national science research agency (CSIRO).

“I wanted to see how different companies and organisations were developing space for both collaborative use by their staff and public use,” recalls Bonnett. “Hopefully now our building is fully operational, people from other innovation centres and sectors will visit us and get ideas.

“They might walk around every storey and across every square metre and get only one good idea for their project, but that could ultimately make a significant difference to the people who work in, and pass through, their building.

“We also think elements of The Catalyst could be applied across the

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The iconic Catalyst building at Newcastle Helix - designed by GSS Architecture - hosts the National Innovation Centre for Ageing

“ I T ’ S N O T A B O U T D E S IGNIN G S PA C E F O R ‘ O L D E R P E O P L E ’. I T I S A B O U T E V E R Y O N E I N V O LV E D I N T H E D E S I G N A N D F I T- O U T O F B U I L D I N G S B E I N G A W A R E T H AT T H E I R S P A C E S H O U L D BE INCLUSIVE AND SHOULD WORK F O R E V E R Y O N E .” science park movement, although they are equally applicable to the designers of a public library or a local council’s offices.

“The intention was to demonstrate what could be done by an organisation genuinely committed to change.

As NICA, we have to be innovative by definition and we also wanted to stimulate subsequent debates and discussions around design.”

Engaging with a client who had taken such a detailed and all-embracing approach to a building’s design, delivery,

fit-out and usability could have been challenging for some architects, but not GSS. “We all worked together, NICA, the university, our colleagues in our sister Centre for Data, and the design and build team. Our construction partners are so proud of what they helped us achieve that they bring their clients here.

“To be honest, it’s been very pleasing to see that everyone involved shared their feelings. The project

Credit: Elliot Nichol Photography

C O N S U L AT I O N C R I T I C A L

manager said it was the building he was most proud of in his career, and we heard similar comments not just from the lead architect, but also many of the specialist sub-contractors.”

Bonnett’s vision takes the design values and people-focused strategy so visible at The Catalyst and applies them to our wider society.

“Ageing is a huge challenge for everyone. We all have friends and relatives who sadly haven’t aged as well as they would have wished.

Unfortunately, although there are huge opportunities to develop products and services for the ageing, many of them aren’t being addressed.

A S P I R AT I O N N OT D E S P E R AT I O N

age groups in that household, manage risk, and also try to make designs beautiful rather than merely functional.

“Our 4Gen Kitchen is a great example of an innovative design which meets the physical and visual needs of all ages, functions equally well for them all and looks great. It’s something which you’d pick out in a showroom, rather than something you might ‘need’ as you age.”

Bonnett also believes the landlords of office and business space on science parks need to be more ambitious and inclusive.

“If we are developing new buildings from scratch, or upgrading existing sites, we need to remember that we’re in an era when workforces are in general getting older, and a significant number are choosing to work after the traditional age of retirement.

Credit: Elliot Nichol Photography

“You look at the advertisements for showers on TV, for instance, they’re just very functional and utilitarian, and are also ‘one-size fits all’ designs. I’d love more businesses to use the latest human and market insights. As we often say, the aim should be to create products and services of aspiration - not desperation.”

The same mindset is seen amongst the building’s tenants. Skin Life Analytics and Hexis Lab, for example, create innovative skincare regimes to protect against the damage caused by ageing.

NICA also teamed with one of the world’s most innovative kitchen designers, Johnny Grey, to create a model which could work across the generations and for all ages.

“If we are to address challenges around ageing, we need to focus much more on all rooms of the house and think about building designs which work for everyone,” says Bonnett.

“Multi-generational households are increasingly commonplace, often because younger members can’t afford their own homes, so Hexis Lab - founded by Dr Olusola (Sola) Idowu (left) we need to encourage are amongst the tenants of The Catalyst building independence across all the

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“So, what are we doing to make workplace environments welcoming, safe, comfortable and appropriate for older people? It doesn’t matter if the location is a private company or council offices, the same challenges are there.

“The physical infrastructure of science parks, and other areas of innovation, need to reflect and accommodate the society we serve.

You often hear comments about our ageing population, but I don’t think many realise the UK has almost 14m people aged between 50 and 64.

“Of course, there are exceptions, but if we are to maximise the contribution such locations make to business creation, economic growth and the concept of ‘building back better’, we must ensure the physical spaces we offer and the services we provide work for everyone.

“The over-50s have a wealth of entrepreneurial experience, but if we make it difficult for people with, for example, poorer vision or mobility issues to access these parks and work there, will they go elsewhere, or will they be lost in terms of employment?

“It’s not about designing space for ‘older people’. It is about everyone involved in the design and fit-out of buildings being aware that their space should be inclusive and should work for everyone.”

Unarguably, it’s a bold and persuasive philosophy which deserves to be heard and heeded. ■

For more information, please visit: www.uknica.co.uk

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TRENDS

Passion and purpose

England’s most successful woman footballer, Kelly Smith, inspired her audience at the ‘Women in Leadership’ event in February 2020

Discovery Park chairman Dr Martino Picardo and Herts Chamber of Commerce CEO Briege Leahy explain the strategic importance of the skills agenda and the need for more science education

O

ft-quoted on the subject of the importance of childhood influences is ‘Give me a child until he is seven and I will show you the man’.

It matters not if the words were first spoken by Aristotle or the legendary Catholic missionary Francis Xavier, but they most definitely apply to Discovery Park’s effervescent chairman, Dr Martino Picardo.

The child of Italian immigrants living in Manchester, his parents wondered aloud if he might become a doctor or lawyer … until they turned on the TV one memorable evening in July 1968.

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It was the first moon landing, the young Martino was mesmerised and to this day his enthusiasm still burns just as bright.

“How could you not be excited when you saw astronauts landing on the moon?” he asks. “Even today, it is a remarkable and almost unbelievable achievement. I won a book on science in a competition at primary school, and with every page I just became more and more interested in the subject.

“Later, we also went on a trip to the Jodrell Bank space observatory in Cheshire, which was the home of British astronomy and equally inspiring.”

It’s a telling anecdote; highlighting the need for parents to be flexible when mulling over possible career pathways for their youngsters, the potential for science to inspire, and the critical importance of influencing the next generation whilst they are young and still open-minded about their future.

It also helps explain why Picardo has used his platform at the very successful Kent-based park to become such a vocal and passionate advocate for the need to drive more and betterquality science education into the nation’s schools.

“It’s been a passion of mine for a

long time, because I’ve been working at the interface of business and academia for the last 30 years,” he recalls.

“It started with an incubator project at the University of Manchester all the way through to Stevenage Business Park, where I worked with one of the giants of the pharma world, GSK, and then here at the Discovery Park.

ENTHUSE AND EXCITE

Find out more at www.alphalabs.co.uk/customdesign

“Everywhere I go, I tell people that our science education needs to improve in both its quality and its scope, that teachers and careers advisers need to increase their focus on such subjects, and that we need to enthuse and excite the next generation of talent about the huge opportunities which science can offer.

“I’ve never met anyone who didn’t think getting more young people into science was a good idea, which is why it’s so baffling that our government, our education sector and the business community aren’t doing more to promote the study of science throughout our schools and colleges.

“It’s not just about increasing the

number of youngsters, particularly females, choosing to make careers in engineering, although that is certainly one important element.

“We need to be teaching pupils at primary schools about such subjects as chemistry, physics and biology, about data and about digital technology, and at the other end of the scale, we also need to make all science parks realise that adopting the skills agenda is crucial for their future.

“Fortunately, some locations do understand what is required, for themselves, for the next generation of talent and for the wider economy, so we need to tap into their achievements, highlight their examples of best practice and then promote them to wider audiences.”

Making the case for a ‘schools to science parks’ mindset has been a challenging, and sometime frustrating journey, but Picardo is convinced its time is now.

“More than ever in our lifetimes, the pandemic has focused everyone’s attention on science - even those who’d

never previously given it much of a thought,” he says.

“Now we need a co-ordinated and pro-active campaign right across the science parks, driving change from the ground up. We also need to get the government and the education establishment onside, so change can also be driven from the top down.”

An equally passionate campaigner on such issues as the skills agenda, the need for more science education and the pressing need for more females to take up engineering and other science subjects is Briege Leahy, chief executive of the Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce.

At the start of 2021, her organisation was hailed as the fastest-growing of all the country’s chambers, so it’s clear that her enthusiasm and her decades of experience as a successful entrepreneur have combined to great effect.

“It is still hugely challenging and problematic trying to increase the number of females in science and engineering, but we have to make people realise at an early age that maths and physics can be enjoyable subjects in themselves which

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G E T Y O U R D I G I TA L C O P Y AT: W W W. B R E A K T H R O U G H D I G I TA L . C O . U K

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TRENDS

then lead to long and satisfying careers,” says Leahy.

“Fortunately, we have major international employers on our patch who operate across the science and engineering landscapes, including GSK and Airbus, and they’ve worked closely with us to get those messages across.

“It’s also very important pupils see the tangible and innovative forms of modern engineering, rather than simply hearing the theory which for some can be rather dry, and the way in which Martino was influenced by watching the first moon landing on TV is a perfect example.

“We also like to engage with youngsters on various platforms, so they can realise how the technology which drives their social lives also relates to the world of employment. Unfortunately, at the moment this argument is too often being lost by default.

“It’s crucial for us all to make youngsters realise that there’s so much more to science and industry, in all its forms, than they might immediately realise.”

ROLE MODELS

Leahy believes that abstract theories should be given tangible form, and also that youngsters should have their eyes opened to future career opportunities by presenting them with role models.

“It’s about always making the debate real. For instance, right before lockdown we held a Women in Leadership conference and had many young women there including members’ daughters.

“We covered construction, engineering and an array of science subjects, and focused on sustainability and the environment because those issues are hugely appealing to most young people,” she says.

“We looked at how company CEOs, directors and senior executives had begun their careers by studying apprenticeships to inspire the young people who were present and those who showed interest after the event.

“Personal accounts about success can be really uplifting, and even stories about a business which got things awfully wrong has useful lessons. Anything else is by definition simply mediocre.

“We attracted some 200 people to listen to a very diverse panel of keynote speakers, which was an excellent turnout, set up breakout rooms to discuss subjects in greater depth, and it

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“ I T ’ S I M P O R TA N T P U P I L S S E E T H E TA N G I B L E A N D I N N O VAT I V E F O R M S O F M O D E R N E N G I N E E R I N G .”

B R I E G E L E A H Y, C E O, H E RT S C H A M B E R O F C O M M E R C E was a tremendous success. We’ll definitely be repeating the event later in 2021, because it worked so well and was so well received.”

Leahy joined Herts Chamber in early 2019 after selling her technology business and has since introduced multiple strategic changes.

“Another element which is proving very popular is our mentoring programme for females under 30. We need to make people realise that there are no barriers, and whether that comes from seeing inspiring role models or via one-to-one mentoring isn’t relevant.

“At the wider level, we also need to refresh how youngsters (and their parents) think about potential careers.

“If the discussion turns to logistics, and a pupil thinks you mean being a lorry driver, the teacher should explain that it’s an international industry, driven by the latest technologies, should mention Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and other great role models, and explain that it’s finance, it’s IT, it’s marketing and so much more.”

Leahy shares Picardo’s perception that because technology has driven so much change into our society and at such a pace, the education system has yet to adapt to explain the career opportunities which are being created.

“We’re only at the start of the digital era, so we also need to give them the basics of how to work in a digital universe. The messages aren’t new, but

they need to be received and acted upon,” she says.

“Many companies have been very slow to react to the changes. I hear people every week bemoaning the fact that their workforce is ageing, or that youngsters ‘don’t get’ what it takes to work in their sector. Unfortunately, I was hearing exactly the same words a decade ago and even longer.

“We need a different way of teaching and greater collaboration between schools, business and academia. Yes, there are instances where such engagement is happening, but it needs to be much wider and much deeper, and the science park community could be a powerful voice for change.

“Now is the time to plan, to take stock of what needs to change right across our educational systems, to ask companies what skills they think their future workforces will require and then to dovetail everything together.

“Of course, when anyone looks ahead they won’t predict everything that might happen, but there need to be succession plans for employees, not simply for management.” ■

To find out more about Discovery Park, please visit: https://discovery-park.co.uk/ For further information on Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce, please visit: www.hertschamber.com

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