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£1.85m grant to establish Bedfordshire innovation hub

Written by News Desk

Wednesday, 09 April 2008

The East of England Development Agency (EEDA) has awarded a £1.85m grant to two of the world's leading academic institutions, to establish an academic presence at Colworth Science Park in Bedfordshire. The science and innovation hub is being developed under a joint venture between Unilever and international property group Goodman. The proposed academic presence would be led by Cranfield School of Management and by Cambridge University's Institute for Manufacturing and Judge Business School Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning.  Based within a state-of-the-art knowledge hub, academic staff would be able to work with a range of companies in a commercial setting with the full support of modern, shared facilities, amenities and equipment. Mark Wathen, Lifesciences and Healthcare Programme Manager at EEDA, said: "Colworth Science Park could help businesses and academics in the region accelerate the commercialisation of research to create wealth for the local economy. It would be a much needed breeding ground for innovation and enterprise in our region, and provide vital access to facilities to support local businesses and encourage collaboration.  "Furthermore it would attract significant inward investment to Bedfordshire, drawing businesses to the region and creating greater opportunities for the people in this area. " Dr Sally Ann Forsyth, Director of Colworth Science Park, said:  "This is a very exciting time for Colworth Science Park, as we have the potential to create a leading science and innovation hub right in the heart of Bedfordshire.  We are delighted that funding has been granted that will allow two of the world's greatest academic names to have a presence here." Colworth Science Park is already home to 17 businesses in a collaborative science community comprising major companies such as Unilever, as well as a number of local start-up businesses. Set as favorite Bookmark Email This Hits: 732 Trackback(0) TrackBack URI for this entry Comments (0) Subscribe to this comment's feed Write comment This content has been locked. You can no longer post any comment.

 

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