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| Hi-tech cluster keeps business booming in Cambridge | Hi-tech cluster keeps business booming in Cambridge |
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| Under the beams of a 13th-century barn conversion, senior consultant Jonathan Oakley stands back to allow his cutting-edge handicraft to be inspected. If it passes clinical testing, the unit will be able to artificially sustain a transplanted liver for up to 24 hours. It is a feat that even Oakley, who has been working in the laboratory for almost a quarter of a century, admits was "quite a challenge". | Under the beams of a 13th-century barn conversion, senior consultant Jonathan Oakley stands back to allow his cutting-edge handicraft to be inspected. If it passes clinical testing, the unit will be able to artificially sustain a transplanted liver for up to 24 hours. It is a feat that even Oakley, who has been working in the laboratory for almost a quarter of a century, admits was "quite a challenge". |
| For Team Consulting, a small design and development company in the Cambridgeshire countryside, the system is the ultimate proof of business as usual despite the downturn. In fact, Dan Flicos, the chief commercial officer, says 2011 was the best in the company's 26-year history. | For Team Consulting, a small design and development company in the Cambridgeshire countryside, the system is the ultimate proof of business as usual despite the downturn. In fact, Dan Flicos, the chief commercial officer, says 2011 was the best in the company's 26-year history. |
| Like the rest of the UK, Cambridge and the surrounding area has not emerged untouched by the recession. Large numbers of public sector jobs have been lost, unemployment has risen and some smaller firms have gone out of business. But, buoyed by a hi-tech cluster which in recent decades has transformed Cambridge from a sleepy university town into a booming hub of globally sought-after skills, the area has proved peculiarly robust. According to the thinktank Centre for Cities (CfC), Cambridge's private sector grew by 2.4% in 2009-10. "We're not immune," says Alex Plant, executive director of economy, transport and housing at Cambridgeshire county council. "But overall the economy has demonstrated remarkable resilience here." | Like the rest of the UK, Cambridge and the surrounding area has not emerged untouched by the recession. Large numbers of public sector jobs have been lost, unemployment has risen and some smaller firms have gone out of business. But, buoyed by a hi-tech cluster which in recent decades has transformed Cambridge from a sleepy university town into a booming hub of globally sought-after skills, the area has proved peculiarly robust. According to the thinktank Centre for Cities (CfC), Cambridge's private sector grew by 2.4% in 2009-10. "We're not immune," says Alex Plant, executive director of economy, transport and housing at Cambridgeshire county council. "But overall the economy has demonstrated remarkable resilience here." |
| Plant and others point to the fact that, far from being a monolithic structure, the so-called hi-tech cluster of about 1,400 companies and 40,000 jobs brings together myriad sectors. From biotech to ICT to a burgeoning cleantech sector, these clusters are economically powerful in themselves, the kind of niche market still attractive to global investment despite the recession. | Plant and others point to the fact that, far from being a monolithic structure, the so-called hi-tech cluster of about 1,400 companies and 40,000 jobs brings together myriad sectors. From biotech to ICT to a burgeoning cleantech sector, these clusters are economically powerful in themselves, the kind of niche market still attractive to global investment despite the recession. |
| "This multiplicity of clusters, all of them strong and all of them areas in which the UK still has comparative advantage and can play effectively on the international stage, is probably what lies behind the strength of the economy," says Plant. | "This multiplicity of clusters, all of them strong and all of them areas in which the UK still has comparative advantage and can play effectively on the international stage, is probably what lies behind the strength of the economy," says Plant. |
| So what are the keys to the so-called Cambridge phenomenon, and can other cities learn from its success? | So what are the keys to the so-called Cambridge phenomenon, and can other cities learn from its success? |
| Charles Cotton, entrepreneur, investor and one of the cluster's well-respected elder statesmen, came to Cambridge in 1983 to work for inventor Clive Sinclair and stayed. Since the early days, he says, the University of Cambridge – in many ways now at the heart of the cluster – has undergone a crucial shift in attitude. "Back in 1960 and so on, the university turned its back effectively on commerce and industry, and said, 'we don't want to end up like Oxford,'" he recalls with a glint. | Charles Cotton, entrepreneur, investor and one of the cluster's well-respected elder statesmen, came to Cambridge in 1983 to work for inventor Clive Sinclair and stayed. Since the early days, he says, the University of Cambridge – in many ways now at the heart of the cluster – has undergone a crucial shift in attitude. "Back in 1960 and so on, the university turned its back effectively on commerce and industry, and said, 'we don't want to end up like Oxford,'" he recalls with a glint. |
| That began to change in 1970 with the establishment by Trinity College of the Cambridge Science Park, now Europe's longest-serving and largest centre for commercial research and development. | That began to change in 1970 with the establishment by Trinity College of the Cambridge Science Park, now Europe's longest-serving and largest centre for commercial research and development. |
| Today, dreaming up commercial uses of academic research is not only accepted but encouraged, says Cotton, a director of Cambridge Enterprise, the university body responsible for spin-outs, licensing and consulting. "There is no doubt that it is becoming a much more attractive pursuit for graduates once they leave the university." | Today, dreaming up commercial uses of academic research is not only accepted but encouraged, says Cotton, a director of Cambridge Enterprise, the university body responsible for spin-outs, licensing and consulting. "There is no doubt that it is becoming a much more attractive pursuit for graduates once they leave the university." |
| Billy Boyle, 33-year-old co-founder of Owlstone Nanotech, put his PhD research on hold in 2004 to pursue a business idea with two other graduates. Eight years later, the three men are at the helm of a growing company which designs miniature chemical sensors on a microchip and has raised $15m (£9.5m) in investment. | Billy Boyle, 33-year-old co-founder of Owlstone Nanotech, put his PhD research on hold in 2004 to pursue a business idea with two other graduates. Eight years later, the three men are at the helm of a growing company which designs miniature chemical sensors on a microchip and has raised $15m (£9.5m) in investment. |
| "We all individually came to Cambridge because not only were we geeky engineer types but also because we wanted to start a business off the back of research," says Boyle in his HQ at Science Park. "And Cambridge was a place that already had a reputation for doing that." | "We all individually came to Cambridge because not only were we geeky engineer types but also because we wanted to start a business off the back of research," says Boyle in his HQ at Science Park. "And Cambridge was a place that already had a reputation for doing that." |
| Boyle also speaks of Silicon Fen's supportive, tightly networked culture, in which "serendipitous meetings" regularly occur. "We had mentors, people who had been on the scene, had done it before, had been very successful, and they were giving up loads of their time to us total newbies who were asking the stupidest questions." "There's very much a willingness to help others. The 'pay it back' mentality is alive and strong." | Boyle also speaks of Silicon Fen's supportive, tightly networked culture, in which "serendipitous meetings" regularly occur. "We had mentors, people who had been on the scene, had done it before, had been very successful, and they were giving up loads of their time to us total newbies who were asking the stupidest questions." "There's very much a willingness to help others. The 'pay it back' mentality is alive and strong." |
| Claire Ruskin, chief executive of the Cambridge Network, says of entrepreneurs such as Cotton, David Cleevely and Hermann Hauser: "Instead of making their millions and going off and playing golf or living in Monaco, they stay here. They stay in the intellectual powerhouses and they come and give of their time with coaching, mentoring and giving talks." | Claire Ruskin, chief executive of the Cambridge Network, says of entrepreneurs such as Cotton, David Cleevely and Hermann Hauser: "Instead of making their millions and going off and playing golf or living in Monaco, they stay here. They stay in the intellectual powerhouses and they come and give of their time with coaching, mentoring and giving talks." |
| Julian Huppert, Cambridge's tech-savvy Liberal Democrat MP – and unofficial "minister for Twitter" to his fans – agrees the cluster's human scale is vital. "One of the things that makes Cambridge work is that it's a smallish place. There are lots of pubs where you're very likely to find other people who work in the knowledge economy. Lots of the really interesting ideas … happen through that sort of informal interaction: people bumping into each other in the pub, on the streets, in the shop." | Julian Huppert, Cambridge's tech-savvy Liberal Democrat MP – and unofficial "minister for Twitter" to his fans – agrees the cluster's human scale is vital. "One of the things that makes Cambridge work is that it's a smallish place. There are lots of pubs where you're very likely to find other people who work in the knowledge economy. Lots of the really interesting ideas … happen through that sort of informal interaction: people bumping into each other in the pub, on the streets, in the shop." |
| For the 45 staff members at Team Consulting, the fabled Cambridge quality of life is a big part of their choosing to stay: in fact, they can't imagine the company basing itself anywhere else. "I just don't think it would work," says Flicos, citing the "vast talent pool" the business can draw on. | For the 45 staff members at Team Consulting, the fabled Cambridge quality of life is a big part of their choosing to stay: in fact, they can't imagine the company basing itself anywhere else. "I just don't think it would work," says Flicos, citing the "vast talent pool" the business can draw on. |
| On top of that, says his colleague Neil Cooper, is the brand. "When you're talking to a client and say 'we're a Cambridge-based design and development company', they understand what to expect," he says. "I don't think that works if you say 'we're Birmingham-based or 'we're Essex-based'. On the world stage, Cambridge has a brand of its own and we can piggyback off it." | On top of that, says his colleague Neil Cooper, is the brand. "When you're talking to a client and say 'we're a Cambridge-based design and development company', they understand what to expect," he says. "I don't think that works if you say 'we're Birmingham-based or 'we're Essex-based'. On the world stage, Cambridge has a brand of its own and we can piggyback off it." |
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