Our forum at Cambridge on science, tech hubs and knowledge quarters
Our science and health innovations hub forum will be held at Selwyn College Cambridge on 20th November 2019 where we will be discussing the best approaches to creating knowledge hubs within cities that are both economically and socially successful - and are well designed, especially in urban settings. We will also be looking at tackling health issues in cities and showcase innovation in medical care.
Selwyn College was built in the great age of European science advancement which included the invention of anaesthesia, and major advances in antiseptic surgery. It was designed by Sir Arthur Blomfield - who also designed the Royal College of Music and the nave of Southwark Cathedral - and building began in 1880 on six acres of land purchased from Corpus Christi College.
The UK government is currently putting a huge push behind supporting growth of life sciences R&D, a sector worth £70 billion to the economy annually, through the Office for Life Sciences. There is mounting interest in investment in both established science and knowledge hubs, such as Cambridge, Oxford and the Crick / Wellcome / UCLH quarter at King's Cross, as well as emerging districts like Whitechapel. There will also be a focus on development in the regions, exemplified by the L&G Capital and Bruntwood SciTech joint venture in the North West.
On a global level, there is also government, investor and developer interest in what makes these scientific and creative hubs successful. London, despite strong challenges from Paris, remains Europe’s leading destination for ICT with the number employed up by 20% over the last 10 years, and £4 billion in venture capital raised by smaller London tech firms in last 2 years (according to CBRE.
Our forum will comprise of networking to start and then panel discussions to follow. Please let us know if you would like to take a place in our exhibition area or lead one of our round table research workshops during the conference.
Future Cities Forum has covered the creation of knowledge hubs in our October 2018, January, February and April 2019 forums with input from Imperial College London, Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Trust, Royal College of Physicians, and the Royal College of Art.