Cambridge Enterprise, University of Cambridge

Made possible by a major £8m benefaction from the Hauser-Raspe Foundation, as well as a £2m grant from EEDA (East of England Development Agency), the Forum is the new home of Cambridge Enterprise – the University of Cambridge’s commercialisation office.

Work on the development, which consists of two landmark buildings, the Entrepreneurship Centre and the Broers Building, began in September 2008, on the University’s West Cambridge site.

The state-of-the-art enterprise hub has been designed to stimulate innovative collaboration between clusters of academics, start-up businesses and established industries.

Professor Lynn Gladden, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research, said: “The Hauser Forum will play a central role in setting the future agenda for innovation in the university, the region and for the UK economy.”

Teri Willey, Chief Executive of Cambridge Enterprise said: “The incredible leadership of donors such as Hermann Hauser and Pamela Raspe has made this space possible. We are very fortunate to have such a unique purpose-built environment for innovation in Cambridge.”

The Hauser Forum will also feature an ‘IdeaSpace’ to support emerging innovations and to link them with entrepreneurial activities within the University and around the East of England.

The IdeaSpace Director, Stew McTavish, said: “I’m truly excited and humbled to be a part of the Forum. The amazing mix of people and companies from Cambridge, the East of England and beyond that will be brought together here is going to make a big change to the entrepreneurial community in the region.”

Meanwhile, the Broers Building, named in honour of the former University of Cambridge Vice-Chancellor Lord Broers, is a pioneering centre in which small and medium enterprises and international companies can lease space to work in closer partnership with researchers and commercialisation activities at the University.

The first tenants to take up leases are Nokia Research Centre, which develops nanotechnologies for mobile communication and ambient intelligence, as well as Base4 Innovation, a spin-out company from the Cavendish Laboratory that develops detection platforms for healthcare and the life sciences.

Dr Hermann Hauser is a graduate of the University and founded Acorn Computers 30 years ago. He is widely regarded as one of the founding fathers of Silicon Fen and the Cambridge Phenomenon. Dr Raspe is also a former lecturer at the University.

About EEDA
The East of England Development Agency (EEDA) is the driving force behind sustainable economic regeneration in the East of England: Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. EEDA’s vision is for the East of England to be an ideas driven region that is internationally competitive, harnesses the talent of all and is at the forefront of the low-carbon economy.

For further information www.eeda.org.uk

Cambridge Enterprise Limited, University of Cambridge

Cambridge Enterprise Limited is responsible for the commercialisation of University of Cambridge intellectual property and is a wholly owned subsidiary of the University. Activities include management and licensing of intellectual property and patents, proof of concept funding and support for University staff and research groups wishing to provide expert advice or facilities to public and private sector organisations. Cambridge Enterprise provides access to angel and early stage capital through the Cambridge Enterprise Seed Funds and Cambridge Enterprise Venture Partners, and offers business planning, mentoring and other related programmes.

www.enterprise.cam.ac.uk

Reproduced courtesy University of Cambridge Office of Communications