Mission from the Beehive state of Utah toast the buzz of Cambridge

A trade mission from the US state of Utah visited Cambridge on the UK leg of a European visit which also took in France.

The mission, led by Governor of Utah Spencer J. Cox and First Lady Abby Cox, sought to understand how Cambridge and its region had become a globally recognised innovation economy and how it was working to sustain that success.

Speakers from Cambridge and the region gave them insight into what made the local economy unique, how innovation is commercialised, a briefing on the local AI sector, the investor and financial landscape, and how talent is attracted and developed.

The feedback from the Governor and his team about the region and their visit was glowing. Scott Cuthbertson, head of their Economic Development Office, called out the Combined Authority region as the best part of their trade mission which also included visits to other parts of the UK and France.

The visit to Cambridge was organised by Locate Cambridge, which is the inward investment arm of Growth Works, a consortium set up by the Combined Authority and Business Board to support economic growth and better skills in the region.

Like Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Utah has a thriving life sciences sector – the fastest growing in the US. Engineering and computer science generated over $19 billion in Utah – 15 per cent of the state’s economy. 

And like Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Utah was working to keep its innovation economy thriving, including through better physical infrastructure and providing support for new and growing businesses.

Locate Cambridge will continue dialogue with Utah to support transatlantic business opportunities and knowledge transfer that will benefit the complementary economies of both areas.

Kori Ann Edwards, Managing Director, Economic Development team for the state of Utah, said: “We had a fabulous trip to Cambridge. We have all discussed a strong desire to finding ways to partner with you. We see our trip there as a start to a beautiful relationship between Cambridge and the state of Utah!”

The Cambridge visit took place at the Bradfield Centre on Cambridge Science Park.

• Pictured above from left: First Lady Abby Cox (State of Utah), Governor Spencer Cox (State of Utah), Mayor Dr. Nik Johnson, Rebecca Bekkenutte, Managing Director for Inward Investment, Growth Works, Richard Cuda, Programme Director, Growth Works.