Catalyst, formerly known as the Northern Ireland Science Park, was established in March 1999 to create a self-sustaining, internationally recognised, knowledge-based

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 ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

offering a commercial and research driven centre for knowledge-based industries. The park is headquartered in the

Titanic Quarter Titanic Quarter in Belfast, Northern Ireland, is a large-scale waterfront regeneration, comprising historic maritime landmarks, film studios, education facilities, apartments, a riverside entertainment district, and the world's largest Titanic ...

Queen's Island Titanic Quarter in Belfast, Northern Ireland, is a large-scale waterfront regeneration, comprising historic maritime landmarks, film studios, education facilities, apartments, a riverside entertainment district, and the world's largest Titanic ...

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

, and hosts a range of international and local technology related companies. It currently has seven buildings in operation offering of workspace Belfast's Titanic Quarter. 2700 engineers, researchers, entrepreneurs and executives work across the four Catalyst sites in Belfast,

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

and

Ballymena Ballymena ( ; from ga, an Baile Meánach , meaning 'the middle townland') is a town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is part of the Borough of Mid and East Antrim. The town is built on land given to the Adair family by King Charles I i ...

. The longstanding Chief Executive Dr

Norman Apsley Norman Apsley is the former Chief Executive Officer of Catalyst Inc in Belfast, formerly known as the Northern Ireland Science Park. Apsley is a board member of Matrix, the Northern Ireland Science Industry Panel. He is also a member of the Adv ...

retired in November 2018 and was replaced by Steve Orr. 2008 marked the first year of commercial independence from Government. The Park was re-branded Catalyst Inc in 2016 and Catalyst in 2019.

Companies based at Catalyst

In November 2009 it was announced that software developers

SAP Sap is a fluid transported in xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant. Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a separa ...

were entering into strategic research collaboration with

Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 seri ...

at the site. At the same time,

BroadSoft BroadSoft, Inc. is a communication software and service provider that was acquired by Cisco Systems in 2018. BroadSoft was founded in 1998 and completed its initial public offering in 2010, and was headquartered in Maryland. It partners with carri ...

, which opened its European headquarters in the Science Park in 2006 and has since more than doubled its space requirement, announced further expansion to eventually bring total employment there to 23.

References

External links

* Science parks in the United Kingdom Buildings and structures in Belfast Science and technology in Northern Ireland Startup accelerators {{NorthernIreland-stub