St John's Innovation Centre Ltd

St John’s Innovation Centre was established by St John’s College, part of the University of Cambridge in 1987 as part of St John’s Innovation Park, which now hosts a number of other buildings occupied by knowledge companies and professional services firms. The site (wholly-owned by St John’s College, Cambridge, since 1534) provides a campus setting close to both the city centre and major transport arteries. St John’s Innovation Centre has been granted full membership of the European Business and Innovation Centre Network (EBN) and thus became the first accredited “BIC” (Business and Innovation Centre) in the East of England, joining a network of only 10 such accredited organisations within the UK. It has been a member of the United Kingdom Science Parks Association since 1987, and a member of United Kingdom Business Incubation (UKBI) since 1998. The idea for the innovation centre in Cambridge was first proposed by Dr Chris Johnson, Senior Bursar of St John’s College, following a visit to the USA in 1984, during which he visited universities and science parks, which included an innovation centre in Salt Lake City, Utah. Returning to Cambridge, he convened a small group including architect Ian Purdy and Walter Herriot, a banker working with early-stage companies, to plan the St John’s Innovation Centre. The publication in 1985 of The Cambridge Phenomenon: The Growth of High Technology Industry in a University Town by Segal Quince Wicksteed, demonstrated to the College that investment in this sector was likely to be successful. St John’s Innovation Park was subsequently established on a 21 acre plot of land, owned by St John’s College since 1534. The Innovation Centre was opened in 1987 and visited by HRH Duke of Edinburgh in 1988. It was the first innovation centre in Europe to focus on supporting knowledge-based businesses. It is the oldest such business incubator in the United Kingdom.

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