UKSPA February Members' Meeting

The Exchange, Colworth Science Park 07/02/2012 - 08/02/2012

The February 2012 UKSPA event is hosted by Unilever and Goodman and will take place at The Exchange, Colworth Science Park, which is situated between Oxford and Cambridge, close to Bedford. Colworth Science Park has a world-class reputation for the commercialisation of science and developing innovative products. It is a leading enterprise hub and an established location for scientific excellence in food, health and wellness, which is being developed by Unilever and global property group Goodman.

The science park comprises 500,000 square feet of laboratory, office and ancillary space, which is now complemented by a 54,000 square foot state-of-the-art innovation and central amenities centre known as The Exchange. The Exchange is named to reflect the open innovation ethos that drives the exchange of knowledge and ideas at Colworth. The Exchange features modern laboratory and office suites, a café-restaurant, and state-of-the-art meeting and conferencing facilities.

The UKSPA event will include:
  • Study tours of the Campus / The Exchange and Pilot Plants
    (Please note: the Pilot Plant tour is now fully booked)
  • Conference plenary sessions
  • Choices from four parallel sessions
  • Network reception and buffet dinner
The theme of the conference is 'Collaborate to Compete', and plenary sessions will cover open innovation and collaborating for shared success with speakers including:
  • Jonathan Hague, Head of Open Innovation and Jonathan Reeves, Director of New Business Unit and Global Technology, Unilever
  • Professor Quintin McKellar, Vice-Chancellor, University of Hertfordshire
  • Tim Minshall, Institute for Manufacturing
  • David Hall, CEO, The Ideas Centre
  • Glen Crocker, BioCity/Mobius Life Sciences Fund
  • Richard Fuller MP
  • David Coates, Technology Strategy Board
There will also be a selection of Parallel Sessions to ensure that a diverse range of topics are covered at the event:
  1. Government, funding, and the new innovation landscape
  2. Social networking and physical networking, events and support
  3. Maximising income through added-value services
  4. Energy conservation in existing buildings
Hotel
All 50 rooms allocated to UKSPA at The Bedford Swan at the discounted rate have now been booked.

The Park Inn Hotel at Bedford, which is a few minutes' walk from the Bedford Swan, currently has availability at £89.00 per night bed and breakfast. This will be convenient for those who are intending to use the Coach that is booked for Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning between Colworth Science Park and The Bedford Swan.

The Park Inn Hotel can be contacted on 01234 799988 or email on info.bedford@rezidorparkinn.com. Details at www.parkinn.co.uk/hotel-bedford.