MAY 2004 BROADSHEET- Technology Clusters
The Club is pleased to report that our Chairman, Roy Cuthbert, has been awarded the prestigious Bramah Medal by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers for his services to the engineering industry.
In April we had a large audience and four speakers for our “Technology Clusters” seminar, chaired by committee member, Simon Kite, Audit Director at Deloitte.
Dr Berenice Mann from APU opened the evening with an explanation of Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, initiated by APU and other academic institutions, who can help businesses with projects such as marketing, project development and process management. APU provides a graduate for 2 years and 25 days free consulting and the business receives a £24,000 annual grant from the DTI. Businesses are already enjoying significant benefit from the initiative. For a KTP brochure contact: b.mann@apu.ac.uk .
Dr Elizabeth Garnsey, Reader in Innovation Studies at the Department of Engineering and at the Judge Institute, University of Cambridge talked about how the Cambridge clusters of competing and co-operative companies had brought prosperity to the area through reducing entry barriers to newcomers, creating an information exchange and encouraging suppliers to set up business here. In the 1970s Pye, Marshalls and Cambridge Instruments supplied the market with experienced technicians which, coupled with academic excellence from the University and bank finance, sowed the seeds that have grown into “Silicon Fen” - the largest and most successful cluster in Europe, although we are a mere village compared to Silicon Valley in California. Cambridge has clusters of ink-jet, telecoms, biotech and silicon chip businesses that have generally proved resilient to recession because they are diverse and knowledge-based. VCs have invested over £750m here and we just need Government to appreciate that Cambridge is a jewel in the UK crown. Elizabeth also made some comparisons with other clusters around the world and particularly in Europe.
Peter Hewkin, CEO of Cambridge Network gave us his SWOT analysis of Cambridge, which he structured as Status, Edge, Constraints and Innovation. Started in the 1970s, boosted by the arrival of the likes of Microsoft and the Sanger Institute (which the CETC is visiting in June), and accredited with the success stories of ARM, Autonomy, Celltech, nCipher and others, Cambridge has attracted a strong service sector of professional and finance businesses. It has become the model on which other countries base their own cluster aspirations. The Cambridge brand is universally known and respected. However, the recent recession has resulted in some highly qualified unemployed and some empty head office buildings. We are well behind the USA and the Pacific Rim clusters and Peter posed the question “Has the game changed?” Issues retarding growth Peter saw as: distance from market; focus on proof of principle and not on adding value to a local manufacturing process; quick exit strategies by VCs; and lack of Government subsidy. Of course, there are ongoing innovation opportunities. However, to make things happen there needs to be better synergy between the universities and business, better collaboration between investors and company management and strategies to hang on to the added value created by cluster companies.
Dr Paul Johnson, CEO of Cyan Technology, talked about his recent roller-coaster experience at Cyan: funded with £1.5m in 2000, raised further £2m, market recession in semi-conductors, voluntary liquidation in 2002, bought assets off liquidator, worked for nothing, lived on hope, market now taking off. Cambridge is a haven for serial entrepreneurs. Unlike the Thames Valley cluster, which is large company/product development focused, Cambridge is knowledge and research orientated - a powerful engine to create wealth. He regretted the shortage of successful CEOs who could take companies to market and the cautious attitude of VCs, who spread their money too thinly, thereby ironically ensuring that few of their investments come good.
The Club is very fortunate in benefiting from the sponsorship of the following organisations:-
There are also other companies who give us generous help with specific meetings and services.
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