NEWS27 August 2024
The first half of 2024 was an exciting period of innovation and growth at Surrey Research Park. As a hub for a vibrant and innovative business community, we’ve made significant strides in sustainability, supported cutting-edge clusters, and strengthened our ties with key stakeholders.
For this blog post, we’ve whittled the first half of the year into five key achievements. These include, reenergising our ESG commitments, which earned us a Green Impact Bronze Award, to welcoming pioneering companies that are driving innovation across sectors like health, animal health, gaming, and space, Surrey Research Park continues to be at the forefront of sustainable business practices.
Our collaborations with the University of Surrey have further accelerated progress in these clusters, positioning the Park as a leader in innovation.
Join us as we delve into these milestones and discover how Surrey Research Park is setting the stage for a future where innovation and sustainability go hand in hand.
5. Reenergising Sustainability and ESG
Surrey Research Park has reinforced its commitment to sustainability and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG).
In the first half of the year, we relaunched our ESG working group, which brings together representatives from businesses in the Park community to collaborate and share best practices to enhance air quality. We were thrilled to collaborate with:
- Angle Plc
- Naturemetrics
- Future Biogas
- IpTEST
- Minted Box
- SATRO
- Techdow
- Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust
- Eseye
- SSTL
- Medpharm
- Cordell Health
Looking ahead, we want to involve more teams from companies based at the Park.
Along with this the Park’s management team, who work for the University of Surrey, were delighted to be awarded a Green Impact
4. Forging Community Engagement with Students, Academics, and Early Career Professionals
We collaborated with our colleagues at the University of Surrey to deliver a series of impactful engagement initiatives and events.
The first half of the year saw organised student tours and insightful academic visits, resulting in a range of discussions covering topics as broad as cancer trials to electronic engineering jobs.
In June, we hosted a delegation of around 50 startups and SMEs from India. During their day at the Park, they had an opportunity to hear from several of the University’s leading experts in Artificial Intelligence, 5G & 6G Communications, Business Leadership and Gaming.
3. Driving innovation in Gaming, Space, Health and Life Sciences
Surrey Research Park has been instrumental in driving innovation across Gaming, Space, and Health and Life Sciences, solidifying our position as the leading hub for these industries in Surrey.
Under the leadership of Caroline Fleming, Director of the Surrey Innovation District, and in collaboration with Surrey County Council, we established Surrey’s first Games Innovation Zone on the University of Surrey campus.
This cutting-edge space is the result of the exciting GAIN initiative, which unites pro gamers, esports experts, industry professionals, and academics to shape the future of gaming in the UK.
At the same time, Surrey Research Park played a pivotal role in the Space South Central Cluster’s Cosmic Capital scheme, where around 20 space companies received investor readiness training from experts at the Park’s business incubator, SETsquared Surrey.
We also celebrated the remarkable achievements of longstanding Park members. ANGLE Plc, a liquid biopsy specialist, unveiled plans to raise £10.56 million to fund the next generation of products. Additionally, University of Surrey spin-out and SETsquared member, Signaspe, was awarded £2 million in seed funding to grow their AI-generated sign language business.
2. Spearheading Cluster and Programme Development
Our collaborations with the University of Surrey have been pivotal in driving cluster development across key sectors. Notable initiatives include the launch of the v-HIVE cluster in Animal Health, the Cosmic Capital initiative in partnership with Space South Central, and the creation of the GAIN gaming cluster.
Additionally, the Surrey Women’s Entrepreneurship Network (SWEN) continues to thrive, reflecting our ongoing commitment to fostering innovation, equity, and diversity.
Together, these programmes highlight our evolving role in redefining the future of science parks. By leveraging the expertise and world-class facilities available through our partnership with a globally high-ranking university, we are uniquely positioned to support industrial growth and innovation.
1. Welcoming new companies to the Park
It perhaps comes as no surprise, but our top highlight for the first part of 2024 was the continuing growth of the Park’s vibrant innovative business community.
We were thrilled to welcome several new companies joining our ranks:
Conidia Biosciences, Sporting Insights, Campden BRI, Myriota, Keith.ai, Ergomed, Morpheus Liquids and others bringing more than 70 new team members to the Surrey Research Park.
Each company brings fresh perspectives, expertise and cutting-edge technologies to the park, further enriching our vibrant ecosystem and driving forward our mission to be at the forefront of global innovation.
Looking ahead to the rest of 2024 and beyond
As you can see, it’s been an exciting time at Surrey Research Park – but this is just the beginning!
We’re eager to build our momentum as we look ahead to an even more impactful next six months.
If you’re a visionary business leader and would like to discover more about how being part of the Surrey Research Park future story could support your growth, we’d love to hear from you.
Connect with us here to arrange a visit or call today.