UKSPA Spring Conference 2026
We thank our hosts, attendees, speakers, event partners and exhibitors for their vital contributions
in making the spring conference such a success
Presentations
Date for your Diary
UKSPA Summer Conference 2026
Norwich Research Park
2nd & 3rd July
The Latest News
Discovery Park Ignites Sixth Spark Cohort with New Wave of Innovative Startups
Discovery Park has launched the sixth edition of its Discovery Spark accelerator programme, welcoming 11 startups to its campus in Sandwich. The business growth programme has already supported 50 companies and 76 founders, with alumni securing £5.5m in UKRI funding...
Oxford North Scoops CoStar’s Most Impactful Development Award
Oxford North has been recognised as the most impactful commercial development in the South East for 2025 by CoStar, the leading global provider of commercial real estate information, analytics, and online marketplaces. The CoStar Impact Awards celebrate significant...
SKC Studios and Leeds Castle Unveil “AI Queen Eleanor of Castile” – An audience with the World’s First AI Queen
SKC Studios, which is based at The EpiCentre in Haverhill, has announced the launch of the world’s first environment-aware historical AI avatar at Leeds Castle in Kent, marking a major step forward in how audiences access and experience history. Developed using SKC...
Member News
Discovery Park Ignites Sixth Spark Cohort with New Wave of Innovative Startups
Discovery Park has launched the sixth edition of its Discovery Spark accelerator programme, welcoming 11 startups to its campus in Sandwich. The business growth programme has already supported 50 companies and 76 founders, with alumni securing £5.5m in UKRI funding...
Oxford North Scoops CoStar’s Most Impactful Development Award
Oxford North has been recognised as the most impactful commercial development in the South East for 2025 by CoStar, the leading global provider of commercial real estate information, analytics, and online marketplaces. The CoStar Impact Awards celebrate significant...
SKC Studios and Leeds Castle Unveil “AI Queen Eleanor of Castile” – An audience with the World’s First AI Queen
SKC Studios, which is based at The EpiCentre in Haverhill, has announced the launch of the world’s first environment-aware historical AI avatar at Leeds Castle in Kent, marking a major step forward in how audiences access and experience history. Developed using SKC...
Plans for 100,000 sq ft Lab Space at 1-12 Magdalen Street Approved
Oxford City Council approves plans for life sciences, innovation and technology space at site of former Debenhams in Oxford The Crown Estate’s plans to transform the former Debenhams in Oxford city centre, located at 1-12 Magdalen Street, into a new 100,000 sq ft home...
Pioneer Group Responds to Parliamentary Findings with New Insights into UK Innovation Economy
New parliamentary scrutiny of the UK’s innovation landscape has reinforced longstanding concerns about how investment in innovation is distributed across the country, with Pioneer Group, a specialist in technology infrastructure and venture building, urging swift...
New Milestone at Regional Superhub for Innovation Businesses
Pictured: from left, Jo Stevens, Managing Director at Oxford Innovation Space, which is an UKSPA member, and, from Fareham Borough Council, Andy Wannell, Chief Executive, and Councillor Simon Martin, Leader. A regional superhub for innovation businesses in south...
Sector News
UKSPA Partners with London Lab Live 2026
London Lab Live 2026 event is set to bring together visionaries, thought leaders, and professionals from various lab industries (pharma, chemicals & materials, food & beverage, FMCG, academia, biotech, real estate, and many more) to explore, collaborate and...
Plans for 100,000 sq ft Lab Space at 1-12 Magdalen Street Approved
Oxford City Council approves plans for life sciences, innovation and technology space at site of former Debenhams in Oxford The Crown Estate’s plans to transform the former Debenhams in Oxford city centre, located at 1-12 Magdalen Street, into a new 100,000 sq ft home...
UKSPA Partners with the UK Business Tech Awards 2026
The UK Science Park Association is delighted to partner with the UK Business Tech Awards 2026, a national celebration of organisations and innovators transforming industries through technology. The awards recognise the companies, teams, and individuals who are...
British Science Week, run by the British Science Association, is a ten-day celebration of science, technology, engineering and maths, featuring entertaining and engaging events and activities across the UK for people of all ages. British Science Week 2026 runs from...
UKSPA Welcomes Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park as a New Member
Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park began in 2015 with development led by Legacy Park Ltd, a not-for profit company, in collaboration with developers Scarborough Group International. The Park is backed by the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, Sheffield City...
Imperial’s Leap Incubator Attracts Five Innovative Startups in First Month
Leap, the new shared lab incubator space from Imperial Incubator located at ARC West London, has officially opened its doors and demand is already surging. Just one month after launch, five early-stage science companies have moved into the space. The first cohort of...
Association News
Latest Edition of UKSPA News Bulletin now available via LinkedIn. Be sure to subscribe.
Welcome to the latest edition of the UKSPA News Bulletin, your definitive source for updates on UKSPA events, publications and UKSPA member news. In this issue, we bring you all the latest dates for our next four conferences, the latest edition of Breakthrough and...
Forthcoming UKSPA Regional Meetings Announced
The next series of regional meetings for UKSPA Full and Associate Members, and key stakeholders have been announced. UKSPA regional member meetings provide a great opportunity to knowledge share, network with peers and shape the direction of UKSPA’S regional agenda....
Life Sciences: Translating, Scaling and Manufacturing
Andy Williams, chair of the Oxford-Cambridge Supercluster Board, led a discussion on translating, scaling and manufacturing in the life sciences sector as part of UKSPA’s 40th anniversary conference at Warwick University. He said: “We do have great science and we're...
Blog
How Dark Labs Will Influence the UK’s Science Sector
Author: Andrew Somerville, Partner, Cundall There has been a recent resurgence of interest in dark labs within the UK. They can be key to some very niche, but important, breakthroughs in science. The fascination, however, lies in how the buildings exist and operate....
Philip Macdonald, Managing Partner, Oberlanders Architects and UKSPA Board Director Looks Forward to the Forthcoming UKSPA Spring Conference in Glasgow
The UKSPA Spring Conference is one of the standout moments in the sector’s calendar and an event I look forward to every year. It’s a brilliant opportunity to reflect and build on the vital role our science parks and innovation districts play in sustaining the UK...
“Dark labs”: the Future of Science – and the Key to Radical Energy Savings?
Ed Hayden, Partner and Architecture lead for Science and Research at Ridge We are entering a new era of AI-powered “dark labs”, in which built-in robotics, product tagging and intelligent monitoring systems will remove the need for the majority of manual intervention....
Wondering How “Sustainable” Your Lab Really is? This Benchmarking Tool Can Help
Phil Kelly, Partner at Ridge, and Deputy Research and Technical Officer at I2SL’s UK chapter How do you define a “sustainable” laboratory? Net Zero, BREEAM, LEED, Ska, WELL, LEAF – the potential metrics go on and on, and each is continually evolving. It’s no wonder...
Cogent Skills: Helping Science Parks Grow and Keep Their Talent
Cogent Skills is a charity with one clear mission: to help businesses in the UK’s science, technology, and manufacturing sectors attract, recruit and manage the people they need to thrive. Strategic Workforce Support Cogent Skills works with businesses to identify...
Data drives the opportunity for the UK science and technology sector to meet the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard
By Simon Wyatt, Sustainability Partner, Cundall As an industry so heavily reliant on carbon, suggesting a building is net zero carbon is a big claim. The launch of the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard last September is the most significant advancement the...
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