Birmingham Science Park Aston, formerly known as Aston Science Park, is a

science park A science park (also called a "university research park", "technology park”, "technopark", “technopole", or a "science and technology park" (STP)) is defined as being a property-based development that accommodates and fosters the growt ...

located in

Birmingham City Centre Birmingham City Centre, also known as Central Birmingham and often known locally as town, is the central business district of Birmingham, England. Following the removal of the Inner Ring Road, the city centre is now defined as being the area wi ...

, United Kingdom. It is located adjacent to

Aston University Aston University (abbreviated as ''Aston''. for post-nominals) is a public research university situated in the city centre of Birmingham, England. Aston began as the Birmingham Municipal Technical School in 1895, evolving into the UK's first ...

and the Eastside area.

Description

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

Science Park A science park (also called a "university research park", "technology park”, "technopark", “technopole", or a "science and technology park" (STP)) is defined as being a property-based development that accommodates and fosters the growt ...

Aston (BSPA) was founded in 1982 and as such is the UK's third oldest

. Located in its urban setting within central

, it offers 250,000 sq ft of accommodation over 14

acres The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial and US customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 10 square chains, of a square mile, 4,840 square ...

Two campuses

BSPA is wholly owned by

Birmingham City Council Birmingham City Council is the local government body responsible for the governance of the City of Birmingham in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. It is the most populated local council area in the United Kingdom ...

. To give the Park a new dimension, provide clarity and pave the way for a £35 million development zone, it is now presented as two campuses; the Science & Technology Campus and the Innovation Birmingham Campus.

The Science and Technology Campus

The Science & Technology Campus encompasses a range of multi-occupied and headquarters style single occupancy buildings owned by

and serviced by the Innovation Birmingham team. The Innovation Birmingham Campus is working in partnership with a wide range of stakeholders to help shape the

Smart Cities A smart city is a technologically modern urban area that uses different types of electronic methods and sensors to collect specific data. Information gained from that data is used to manage assets, resources and services efficiently; in retur ...

agenda and drive innovation-led regeneration across Greater Birmingham. Faraday Wharf – the flagship building on the campus – incorporates 70 office suites specifically designed for growing technology businesses.

The Innovation Birmingham Campus

The Innovation Birmingham team is actively looking to work with and bring together the

public sector The public sector, also called the state sector, is the part of the economy composed of both public services and public enterprises. Public sectors include the public goods and governmental services such as the military, law enforcement, inf ...

and

private sector The private sector is the part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government. Employment The ...

, creating interfaces for people with ideas, people with technologies, people with expertise and experience, and people with money. It is a one-stop-shop for

innovators Innovation is the practical implementation of ideas that result in the introduction of new goods or services or improvement in offering goods or services. ISO TC 279 in the standard ISO 56000:2020 defines innovation as "a new or changed entit ...

, entrepreneurs and investors looking to develop or fund tech start-ups with high growth potential.

The Innovation Birmingham strategy

The Innovation Birmingham strategy is focused on a service offering for founders of new technology ventures, as well as more established tech businesses. The campus facilities include the Entrepreneurs for the Future (e4f) multi-occupancy start-up centre with hot-desking facilities and a wide range of flexible office units (115-4,000 sq ft) within the rest of Faraday Wharf. However, the campus is far from just bricks and mortar; the team actively nurtures an interactive and supportive community within the place. The Campus strategy is about encouraging people to visit, engage with the businesses based there, and attract new tenants to join the thriving tech community. By creating a wide range of valuable opportunities, the missing aspects of a successful business puzzle can be resolved, helping

and tech entrepreneurs gain invaluable exposure and to succeed.

Innovation Birmingham Campus membership

For technology companies that are a little more established, or not suitable for a structured support programme, Innovation Birmingham also offers Membership packages. Members instantly become part of the community and gain access to a range of additional services and opportunities designed to accelerate the development of their business. There are a variety of different packages to suit the flexible requirements and budget of a growing tech company.

Entrepreneurs for the Future centre (e4f)

This ERDF supported incubation centre is specifically focused on creating new innovative technology ventures. It provides a flexible, highly connected and collaborative environment to fast-track the development and growth of tech start-ups. As the companies grow, they are then able to graduate into larger premises within Faraday Wharf, or elsewhere on the

. Since establishing in November 2009, e4f has supported the creation of over 100 new technology companies. The objective of the e4f programme is to diversify the region's economy through the incubation of innovative tech start-ups, creating new high-value jobs and so retaining more of the city's talented graduate population. Start-ups in the e4f incubator benefit from an initial nine months free access to a dynamic co-working centre, with full ICT support and meeting facilities. This includes free access to the Ideas and Communications Suite, which houses state-of-the-art

Cisco Cisco Systems, Inc., commonly known as Cisco, is an American-based multinational digital communications technology conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develops, manufactures, and sells networking hardware, ...

video conferencing Videotelephony, also known as videoconferencing and video teleconferencing, is the two-way or multipoint reception and transmission of audio signal, audio and video signals by people in different locations for Real-time, real time communication. ...

equipment, together with other interactive technology. In addition to free use of the facilities, e4f provides

mentoring Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the personal and p ...

and support services – specific to tech start-ups – based on regional, national and international networks. Entrepreneurs in Residence provide personalised support to each start-up and direct access to the most appropriate expertise and experience to drive development of the fledgling businesses. ‘Visiting expert’ sessions also help to ensure that the entrepreneurs have all they need to launch, develop and grow. Within the first nine months of being enrolled onto e4f, the Innovation Birmingham team and mentor base works with the new business founders to create a value proposition, assisting with the process of becoming revenue generating and/or securing investment funding. Start-ups in e4f can take advantage of well-established links with funds such as Finance Birmingham's Tech Fund.

West Midlands Regional Innovation Centre

A new regional hub funded by Climate-KIC – Europe's largest public-private partnership focused on tackling

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

– was launched by Innovation Birmingham in 2014. The West Midlands Regional Innovation Centre receives in excess of €2 million of funding per annum, spread across a number of local initiatives. Innovation Birmingham has created 10 new jobs to run the centre. The centre's main initiatives are; Pioneers into Practice – a grant-funded European exchange programme for low carbon specialists; the Low Carbon Accelerator Programme for start-up businesses; and a range of grant-funded education programmes aimed at students, professionals and organisations.

Cisco's National Virtual Incubator

Innovation Birmingham is a founding node in this pioneering network, which connects business incubation centres and research institutions around the UK via state-of-the-art

technology. Mentoring sessions and multi-location live events are being delivered across the NVI network, enabling initial introductions and follow up meetings to take place irrespective of geography. The high-definition quality available through Cisco's video conferencing equipment ensures valuable ‘ face time’ can be orchestrated without the need for costly and time-sapping travel.

LAUNCH

Over 20 gaming companies have already been nurtured in the e4f centre, with many more established studios relocating to the Innovation Birmingham Campus over recent years. The Innovation Birmingham team run a year-round programme of events for those working in the gaming or mobile app industries. The events are also targeted at students, graduates and anyone looking to launch a career in gaming. There are at least seven LAUNCH events per year, with speakers drawn from gaming companies, such as

Codemasters The Codemasters Software Company Limited (trade name: Codemasters) is a British video game developer based in Southam, England, which is a subsidiary of American corporation Electronic Arts. Founded by brothers Richard and David Darling in Oct ...

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washin ...

, Playground Games, Rebellion Developments and

Vodafone Games Vodafone Group plc () is a British multinational telecommunications company. Its registered office and global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It predominantly operates services in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Oceania. , Vodafon ...

. Innovation Birmingham has invested in infrastructure to increase its broadband connectivity to 30

Gbit The bit is the most basic unit of information in computing and digital communications. The name is a portmanteau of binary digit. The bit represents a logical state with one of two possible values. These values are most commonly represented ...

/s. This ensures each tenant can have a dedicated, resilient broadband connection of up to 100 Mbit/s. The super-fast broadband service is powered by WarwickNet; a specialist business and cience park nternet Service Provider WarwickNet has installed three lines separately routed from London and

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

£35 million development zone

The £35 million development zone will enable significant expansion of the Innovation Birmingham Campus. The two-acre plot is situated next to Faraday Wharf, at the gateway to the Eastside knowledge quarter. It is accessed off Holt Street and A38 Aston Expressway. The site is one of 26 covered by Greater Birmingham and

Solihull Solihull (, or ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the wider Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in West Midlands County, England. The town had a population of 126,577 at the 2021 Census. Solihull is situated on the River Blyth ...

LEP's Enterprise Zone. The collection of buildings will be among the first within the Enterprise Zone to get underway, enabling future occupiers to benefit from Business Rates relief. Innovation Birmingham is developing the new buildings in partnership with Stourport-on-Severn headquartered Thomas Vale Construction Ltd, which is part of one of the world's leading construction groups, Bouygues Construction. Three to five buildings are proposed in total, delivering 11,500 sq m (120,000 sq ft) of new space for

’s tech community.

iCentrumTM

The first phase of the development zone will be the delivery of the £8 million iCentrumTM building. It will encompass 3,874 sq m (41,700 sq ft) of open work space promoting mobile working, a new Serendip incubator offering, self-contained offices, tech demonstration and event facilities and a café. The building is being developed speculatively and will be available for occupation in March 2016. In addition to flexible office space, a wider membership offering will be provided at iCentrumTM, promoting a cross-sector innovation exchange to generate new products and services across Greater Birmingham’s enterprise community. iCentrumTM will bring together agile and smart working environments with the business incubator culture, creating a statement facility that will enable

to reach out to the world.

Serendip incubator

A new tech incubator concept will be delivered within the iCentrumTM building, called "Serendip". It will promote unique collaborations across sectors, supported by corporate mentors from:

Built Environment The term built environment refers to human-made conditions and is often used in architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, public health, sociology, and anthropology, among others. These curated spaces provide the setting for human a ...

; Internet of Things; Intelligent Mobility; and igital Health This new concept in incubation will ensure iCentrumTM is a lighthouse, promoting and driving

’s

Smart City A smart city is a technologically modern urban area that uses different types of electronic methods and sensors to collect specific data. Information gained from that data is used to manage assets, resources and services efficiently; in retur ...

agenda. The Serendip space will strike a balance between order and chaos, with proactive and energetic management used to catalyse interaction between start-ups, SMEs, public sector organisations and large corporates to drive delivery of innovative new products and services.

History

Birmingham Science Park Aston is owned by Birmingham Technology Ltd., which was jointly owned by Lloyds TSB, Birmingham City Council and Aston University, until 2008. During 2008 there was restructuring, and the science park is now wholly owned by Birmingham City Council. Aston University continue to sit on the board and provide services such as management support and equity capital to firms at the

. The science park was opened in 1983 and was designed to overcome the reluctance of London-based firms to invest outside of

South East England South East England is one of the nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It consists of the counties of Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Berkshi ...

. The first building to be opened was the Business and Innovation Centre, in 1983 by

Prince Philip Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...

, Duke of Edinburgh. The building was refurbished in 1994. Within one year, there were fifteen companies on site and ten years later, there were 80 companies on site. By 2001, there were 1,400 employees and 110 companies on site. Visitors to the site included then-Prime Minister

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...

in 1985,

Prince Edward, Duke of Kent Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, (Edward George Nicholas Paul Patrick; born 9 October 1935) is a member of the British royal family. Queen Elizabeth II and Edward were first cousins through their fathers, King George VI, and Prince George, Duke ...

in the same year,

Charles, Prince of Wales Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...

in 1988, European Commissioner Bruce Milan in 1989,

Jeremy Morse Sir Christopher Jeremy Morse KCMG (10 December 1928 – 4 February 2016) was an English banker, cruciverbalist and chess composer who was Chancellor of the University of Bristol from 1989 to 2003, and was chairman of Lloyds Bank. Early life ...

in 1990, chairman of the TSB Group Plc. Nicholas Goodison in 1992,

Patricia Hewitt Patricia Hope Hewitt (born 2 December 1948) is an Australian-born British government adviser and former politician who served as Secretary of State for Health from 2005 to 2007. A member of the Labour Party, she previously served as Secretar ...

in 2001, Digby Jones, Frederick Crawford and former Polish Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek.

Access

The Science Park is near the end of the A38(M) motorway – which takes traffic from the M6 into

. It is located alongside the

A4540 road The A4540 is a ring road in Birmingham, England, also known as the Middle Ring Road, or the Middleway. It runs around the centre ( St Philip's Cathedral) of the city at a distance of approximately . Birmingham City Centre is the area within ...

, on a site adjacent to the

campus and the Eastside area. The

Digbeth Branch Canal The Digbeth Branch Canal in Birmingham, England is a short canal which links the mainline of the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal at Aston Junction and the Grand Union Canal at Digbeth Junction (or historically, at the adjacent Warwick Bar) in ...

runs through it.