A top Government adviser is the latest senior Whitehall official to tour the Bristol & Bath Science Park.
Professor John Perkins, chief scientific advisor at the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills, joined 30 guests from the advanced manufacturing sector for a broad-ranging discussion over lunch at the park with the theme of encouraging growth in the sector. Professor Perkins, who had earlier visited Airbus’s wing design and engineering facility at Filton, later toured the National Composites Centre on the science park.
Space in the Innovation Centre at the science park, which is between Bristol and Bath at Emersons Green, has been let twice as quickly as initially anticipated despite a challenging market, reflecting its success at an early stage in its development.
Science park chief executive Bonnie Dean said: “We were delighted to host Professor Perkins, his deputy and distinguished colleagues for lunch. Professor Perkins spoke about how business, academia and the government could work together to promote growth in the advanced manufacturing sector, but more importantly, how to ensure that technologies which have the potential to create new industrial sectors are developed in the UK.”
Professor Perkins added: “The talent and advanced manufacturing skills that are being used in the South West are really impressive. The Bristol & Bath Science Park is an ideal place for businesses and universities to collaborate and develop new ideas. Both sides can really learn in such a melting pot of knowledge, skills and technology – an important way for the UK to develop its science and research base for the future.”
His visit came after a recent high-profile delegation from Northern Ireland’s Science Park and Government. They too were interested in knowing how the park had factored in the goal of fostering open innovation in the design of its first buildings for early stage companies and industry and academic collaborations.
As well as serviced office space, high bandwidth, excellent communications and conference facilities, science park tenants have the use of The Forum, pictured, a striking glass-fronted communal area, available for networking and food and refreshments, which is also open to the public and other businesses.
Only seven months after opening, the park is already home to 18 businesses and recent tenant surveys show the opportunities for collaboration created at the park are one of the aspects they most value.
