Science park
A science park is a managed estate of offices and laboratories where research companies settle close to the University and to each other. Cambridge Science Park describes itself as the UK's longest-established: Trinity College decided in 1970 to develop its own land for science-based industry, and the first tenants arrived in 1973.
In practice
The decision followed the Mott Report at the end of the 1960s, and the project was led by Trinity's then Senior Bursar, John Bradfield. Today the Cambridge Science Park hosts around 170 companies and 7,000 innovators, from start-ups and spin-outs to subsidiaries of multinationals. St John's College followed Trinity's lead with its own Innovation Centre, opened in 1987.
Why it matters to newcomers
Many Cambridge technology and life-science employers are based on parks and campuses outside the historic centre, so check the address and the transport links before an interview. Parks are workplaces first, with limited public access, so do not plan visits as sightseeing. For founders, the parks are also the address book: accelerators, shared labs and investor evenings cluster where the companies are.
Related
- Silicon Fen - the cluster the parks house
- Knowledge-intensive sectors - who works on the parks
- Silicon Fen: Cambridge tech cluster guide
Sources: The Science Park, Trinity College; Our story, Cambridge Science Park; History, St John's Innovation Centre.