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Silicon Fen (also known as the Cambridge Cluster) is the name given to the region around
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, which is home to a large
cluster
may refer to:
Science and technology Astronomy
* Cluster (spacecraft), constellation of four European Space Agency spacecraft
* Asteroid cluster, a small asteroid family
* Cluster II (spacecraft), a European Space Agency mission to study t ...
of
high-tech businesses focusing on
software
Software is a set of computer programs and associated software documentation, documentation and data (computing), data. This is in contrast to Computer hardware, hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work.
...
,
electronics
The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...
and
biotechnology
Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used ...
, such as
Arm
In human anatomy, the arm refers to the upper limb in common usage, although academically the term specifically means the upper arm between the glenohumeral joint (shoulder joint) and the elbow joint. The distal part of the upper limb between th ...
and
AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca plc () is a British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with its headquarters at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus in Cambridge, England. It has a portfolio of products for major diseases in areas includi ...
.
It is called "Silicon Fen" by analogy with
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo Coun ...
in
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
, because it lies at the southern tip of the
English Fenland. The local growth in technology companies started with
Sinclair Research
Sinclair Research Ltd is a British consumer electronics company founded by Clive Sinclair in Cambridge. It was originally incorporated in 1973 as Westminster Mail Order Ltd, renamed Sinclair Instrument Ltd, then Science of Cambridge Ltd, then ...
and
Acorn Computers
Acorn Computers Ltd. was a British computer company established in Cambridge, England, in 1978. The company produced a number of computers which were especially popular in the UK, including the Acorn Electron and the Acorn Archimedes. Acorn's ...
.
Business growth
More than 1000 high-technology companies established offices in the area during the five years preceding 1998.
Some early successful businesses were
Advanced RISC Machines and
Cambridge Display Technology.
In 2004, 24% of all UK
venture capital
Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to start-up company, startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth poten ...
(8% of all the EU's) was received by Silicon Fen companies, according to the Cambridge Cluster Report 2004 produced by
Library House and
Grant Thornton
Grant Thornton is the world's seventh-largest by revenue and sixth-largest by number of employees professional services network of independent accounting and consulting member firms which provide assurance, tax and advisory services to private ...
.
The so-called ''Cambridge phenomenon'', giving rise to start-up companies in a town previously only having a little light industry in the
electrical sector, is usually dated to the founding of the
Cambridge Science Park
The Cambridge Science Park, founded by Trinity College in 1970, is the oldest science park in the United Kingdom. It is a concentration of science and technology related businesses, and has strong links with the nearby University of Cambridge. ...
in 1970: this was an initiative of
Trinity College Trinity College may refer to:
Australia
* Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales
* Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...
,
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...
and moved away from a traditional low-development policy for Cambridge.
The characteristic of Cambridge is small companies (as few as three people, in some cases) in sectors such as
computer-aided design. They are spread over an area defined perhaps by the CB
postcode or 01223
telephone
A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into e ...
area code, or more generously in an area bounded by
Ely,
Newmarket,
Saffron Walden
Saffron Walden is a market town in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England, north of Bishop's Stortford, south of Cambridge and north of London. It retains a rural appearance and some buildings of the medieval period. The population was 15, ...
,
Royston and
Huntingdon
Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver Cromwell was born there ...
.
In 2000, then
Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in Tony B ...
set up a research partnership between
MIT
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...
and Cambridge University, the
Cambridge–MIT Institute
The Cambridge–MIT Institute, or CMI, was a partnership between the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 2008 CMI issued a "final report" describing it ...
, in order to increase international collaboration between the two universities and to strengthen the economic success of Silicon Fen.
In February 2006, the
Judge Business School, Cambridge University reported estimates that suggested that at that time, there were around 250 active start-ups directly linked to the university, valued at around US$6 billion. Several of these companies have grown into
multinationals:
Arm
In human anatomy, the arm refers to the upper limb in common usage, although academically the term specifically means the upper arm between the glenohumeral joint (shoulder joint) and the elbow joint. The distal part of the upper limb between th ...
,
Autonomy Corporation
HP Autonomy, previously Autonomy Corporation PLC, was an enterprise software company which was merged with Micro Focus in 2017. It was founded in Cambridge, United Kingdom in 1996.
Autonomy was acquired by Hewlett-Packard (HP) in October 201 ...
and
AVEVA
AVEVA Group plc is a British multinational information technology consulting company headquartered in Cambridge, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. The company started as the Comp ...
are the most obvious examples, and more recently
CSR has seen rapid growth due to the uptake of
Bluetooth
Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is limi ...
.
It was found in 2012 that strong employment growth was hampered due to the concentration on
research and development. This was because of limited competition in manufacturing capability and its consequent cost.
Cambridge Ahead, the business and academic membership organisation dedicated to the successful growth of the city region in the long-term, reported that in 2015–16, growth of Cambridge companies continued at around 7% on a one, three and five-year view. Global turnover of Cambridge companies increased by 7.6% to £35.7bn, up from £33bn the previous year, and global employment grew by 7.6% to 210,292. The number of companies with their home base within 20 miles of Cambridge grew from 22,017 to 24,580.
Area characteristics
The
Cambridge Network The Cambridge Network is a commercial business networking organisation for business people and academics working in technology fields in the Cambridge area of the UK. The businesses and organisations that make up its membership are typical of thos ...
is an organization facilitating networking in the area.
Other possible factors include a high
standard of living available in the county, and good transport links, for example to London and with
Cambridge Airport
Cambridge City Airport , previously Marshall Airport Cambridge UK, is a regional airport in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the eastern outskirts of Cambridge, south of Newmarket Road and west of the village of Teversham, from the ...
having a full service business jet centre. Many graduates from the university choose to stay on in the area, giving local companies a rich pool of talent to draw upon. The high-technology industry has little by way of competition, unlike say in
Oxfordshire where many other competing industries exist. Cambridgeshire has only recently become a high-technology centre, which has meant that commercial rents were generally lower than in other parts of the UK and thus giving companies a head-start on those situated in other more expensive regions. However, the recent technology boom has changed the situation and Cambridgeshire now ranks as one of the highest costs of living in the UK outside London, which is home to an even bigger technology centre.
People and companies associated with Silicon Fen
People
Companies
See also
*
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo Coun ...
*
List of places with 'Silicon' names
This is a list of technology centers throughout the world. Government planners and business networks often incorporate "silicon" or "valley" into place names to describe their own areas as a result of the success of Silicon Valley in Califor ...
*
List of city nicknames in the United Kingdom
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
*
Oxford-Cambridge Arc
References
*''The Cambridge Cluster Report 2007'', Library House 2007
Download*''The Cambridge Phenomenon: The Growth of High Technology Industry in a University Town'', Segal Quince & Partners 1985,
*
*''The Cambridge Phenomenon Revisited – a synopsis of the new report by Segal Quince Wicksteed'', Segal Quince & Partners 2000
Download
*''The Cambridge Cluster Report 2003'', Library House 2003
Download*''The Cambridge Cluster Report 2004'', Library House in association with Grant Thornton 2004
Download*''The Cambridge Cluster Report 2006'', Library House 2006
Download*''The Cambridge Technopole Report 2006'' An overview of the UK's leading high tech cluster, St John's Innovation Centre 2006
*''The Impact of the University of Cambridge on the UK Economy and Society'' A high-level study commissioned by EEDA and the Cambridge Network in 2006,
*''INSIGHTS & RESEARCH , WHAT IS SILICON FEN?'' bidwells.co.uk,
External links
Cambridge Corporate GatewayCambridge Technopole
{{Science and technology in the United Kingdom
Economy of Cambridgeshire
Economy of Cambridge
High-technology business districts in the United Kingdom
Information technology places
Science and technology in Cambridgeshire
History of Cambridge