Major conference in Midlands to celebrate role of science parks

A major conference is taking place this week, which will hear from a myriad of speakers on the role science parks play in bridging the gap between cutting-edge ideas and commercial success.

The 40th anniversary UK Science Park Association (UKSPA) conference and gala awards dinner is on at the University of Warwick’s Slate Conference Centre from October 16 to 18.

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UKSPA has nearly 150 members representing science park and innovation locations across the breadth of the UK.

These locations provide office and lab space to more than 6,000 science and technology businesses and organisations employing an estimated 140,000 staff.

"There’s a great synergy in the Science Park and UKSPA both celebrating their 40th anniversaries at the same time, and we’re delighted the conference has chosen to come to the University of Warwick – which itself is marking its 60th anniversary next year," said Mark Tock, chief operations officer at the University of Warwick Science Park.

"We’re really excited to be able to show visitors the improvements we’ve made here, as we embark on an ambitious growth strategy to enable the Science Park to attract the very best talent in a range of sectors.

"The conference has also attracted an incredible breadth of speakers and panellists, and it its sure to be a fascinating three days."

Tock noted that the West Midlands was home to a quarter of the country’s science parks, underlining the region's crucial role in creating and establishing revolutionary new technologies.

"We truly are the bridge between academia and business and this is a fantastic opportunity to recognise that and also to look to the future."

John Leake, Chair at UKSPA, added: "The 40th Anniversary Conference is an excellent opportunity to celebrate the founding of UKSPA and its critical impact on the development of the high-tech in supporting the commercialisation of innovation in the UK over the past four decades.

"It is also an important time for us to look to the future and discuss how the sector and our clients takes advantage of the evolution of AI across areas of business, play our part in meeting the Net Zero challenge and ensure that UKSPA members and the businesses at our sites utilise the full diversity of the talent available in the UK.

"I'm sure it will be an inspiring and fascinating conference but also one that will set out some of the challenges that we will need to tackle."

Tickets are available HERE.