Cambridge joins Unilever and Cranfield in building new science cluster

Cambridge University is to establish a presence on Colworth Science Park in Bedfordshire, which is being developed by the consumer products giant Unilever as a science and enterprise hub that brings together academia, SMEs and other life science companies.

The regional development agency is supporting the EEDA project, putting up £4.4 million to enable Cambridge’s Institute for Manufacturing and Cranfield University to establish a presence at Colworth Science Park in a new amenities centre. At the same time, the research council the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) will support a research facility for IFR Extra Ltd, part of the Institute for Food Research, at an Innovation Centre on the site.

The amenities centre will be based alongside one of Unilever’s global research facilities and 16 SME companies.

The Innovation Centre will house laboratory and office suites designed to accommodate IFR Extra Ltd and other growing businesses and academics in a collaborative environment. Unilever has formed a 50:50 joint venture with the property company Goodman to develop the 1,200 acre site, and hopes the Innovation Centre will help address a shortage of scientific lab space in the area.

Sally Ann Forsyth, Goodman’s Director of Science Parks, said, “Our vision is to develop Colworth as an open innovation science park, which will draw academia, large corporates and SMEs together to engage in knowledge transfer and accelerate the commercialisation of R&D.”

Tim Minshall, Senior Lecturer in Technology Management at Cambridge University’s Institute for Manufacturing, said, “A key element of successful open innovation is the bringing together, and interaction of entrepreneurs, managers and investors. Colworth Science Park is an excellent example of how such a location can be designed to support such interactions.”