Added value - Cambridge's best kept secrets
Cambridge is a hot bed of talent, knowledge and entrepreneurial spirit; recognised world-wide as a centre of excellence. The city is home to numerous globally significant organisations operating in the key sectors below.
University of Cambridge - Advanced Manufacturing - Agri-Tech
Bioscience and Healthcare - Cleantech - Digital - Tourism - Film
The University of Cambridge is one of the world's oldest universities and leading academic centres, a self-governed community of scholars. Cambridge University is comprised of 31 Colleges and over 150 departments, faculties, schools and other institutions.
The College is where students live, eat and socialise and where they receive small group teaching sessions, known as supervisions - it plays a far more significant part in an undergraduate's life than a hall of residence in a non-collegiate university. The College provides a 'community of scholars' in which the students live, work and study during their years at Cambridge University and a student must be admitted to a College before he or she can become a member of the University.
Each College is an independent institution with its own property and income. The Colleges appoint their own staff and are responsible for selecting students, in accordance with University regulations. The teaching of students is shared between the Colleges and University departments. Degrees are awarded by the University.
Teaching and research in Cambridge is organised by a number of Faculties. In addition, a small number of bodies entitled Syndicates also have responsibilities for teaching and research, and exercise powers similar in effect to those of Faculty Boards. The Faculties and Syndicates cover the whole of the academic programme in the University, each being responsible for a broad subject area. Each Faculty is governed by a Faculty Board which is responsible for the provision of adequate teaching and facilities for research.
The Faculties have different organisational sub-structures which partly reflect their history and partly their operational needs.Administratively there is great convenience in dividing the work of a large Faculty into separate Departments but it carries the danger that the academic programme may become too compartmentalised. The Councils of the Schools play an important role in ensuring that the natural academic links between different Faculties are maintained and developed.
Most scientific Faculties are divided into Departments, of which there are about sixty. Each Department has a Head, who is in most cases a Professor or another teaching officer in the Department appointed for five years at a time by the General Board. The term 'Department' is also used of some academic sub-divisions in the Arts and Humanities, but these institutions are not generally as administratively autonomous as they are in the scientific Faculties. There is also a small number of Sub-Departments, which are distinct divisions of scientific departments.
The University of Cambridge is therefore a confederation of Colleges, Faculties and other institutions. It functions with a relatively small central administration, and with central bodies consisting of, and mainly elected by, the current academic personnel of the Faculties and Colleges.
University of Cambridge
Advanced Manufacturing
Over 500 companies focusing on advanced manufacturing and high-tec manufacturing have made the city or the wider region their base. The excellent opportunities for networking and the wealth of skills and research institutions in the area have established the region as an important contributor to the UK's advanced manufacturing and materials industry.
The University of Cambridge's Institute for Manufacturing was established in 1998. The Institute combines research and education to develop solutions for real world applications. An integral part of the IfM is the Innovative Manufacturing Research Centre, its activities range from industrial photonics, through automation and production systems, to manufacturing strategy and economic policy. In 2016, the Maxwell Centre opened its doors. Its mission is to encourage truly innovative and original research and it will soon be home to the Cambridge site for the Sir Henry Royce Institute for Advanced Materials Research.
World renowned, The Welding Institute is based just outside of the city centre; it is the leading professional engineering institution for welding and joining. Its headquarters embraces a professional institution, a certification body, a training organisation and a world renowned research and technology centre.
Cambridge is home to the Cambridge Graphene Centre. The centre facilitates and effectively establishes joint industrial-academic activities to promote innovative and adventurous research with an emphasis on applications for graphene, carbon allotropes, layered crystals and hybrid nanomaterials.
The Inkjet Research Centre is also based at the University's IfM. The centre is supported by UK companies, working together to carry out research into the science which underlines this important technology.
Advanced manufacturing and materials organisations, based in Cambridge and the region, include amongst others Marshall Aerospace, Hexcel, Johnson Matthey, Domino Printing Services
Cambridge is situated in one of the most fertile areas of the UK. The Eastern region is home to a world-leading cluster of farmers, scientists, innovators, technologists and entrepreneurs working at the forefront of cropscience to find solutions to the world's major challenges of food security and climate change.
A Global Agri-tech Innovation Hub Agri-tech East is a business-focused cluster organisation based in Cambridge. The initiative has created a global innovation hub in agri-tech and acts as a catalyst for the region's agri-tech cluster, showcasing relevant new research, technology and innovation to farmers, producers and processors.Leadership in Agricultural Science and Technology
Exceptional research facilities in Cambridge and Norwich are surrounding by world-class, fertile ground; food and farming sectors. Cambridge is home to The National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB) a major international centre for plant research, crop evaluation and agronomy. Innovation Farm , also based in Cambridge, is NIAB's pioneering knowledge transfer initiative supporting the translation of scientific discoveries into practical applications.
As well as NIAB, Cambridge is also the base for world-renowned agricultural and plant science organisations such as, The Sainsbury's Laboratory, Cambridge , an institute concerned with the study of plant development; BayerCropscience, the world's largest lifesciences company and regionally, organisations such as the John Innes Centre and The Earlham Institute contribute to the success of this dynamic sector.
Agri-tech Innovation Hub
Bioscience and Healthcare
Cambridge is at the centre of Europe's leading bioscience and healthcare cluster, offering event organisers a wealth of opportunity to tap into expertise and research. With particular strengths in pharma and med tech, as well as both clinical and technical life science services, the region is a magnet for scientists, researchers and organisations wishing to collaborate and contribute to the global success of the UK in these fields.
The Cambridge Biomedical Campus is at the heart of Cambridge's biotechnology and healthcare cluster. Dating back to 1962, the Campus is currently undergoing a major expansion which will see it become one of the world's leading biomedical centres by 2020. The campus also accomodates the MRC Laboratory for Molecular Biology, Cancer Research UK Institute, the Insitutute of Metabolic Science as well as the Rosie and Addenbrooke's Hospitals; the new Papworth Hospital is due to open at the campus in 2018.
A number of world-class science parks are located on the outskirts of the city including the Cambridge Science Park, Babraham Institute, the Wellcome Genome Campus and St John's Innovation Centre. Over 339 of the world's leading biomedical and healthcare companies have made Cambridge their home, attracted by the thriving, knowledge intensive community of scientists, researchers and healthcare professionals. The sector employs over 12,000 people in Cambridge and has a collective turnover of over £2bn.
Organisations based in Cambridge include, amongst others, Astrazeneca which recently relocated its global headquarters to the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Napp Pharmaceutical Holdings Ltd, Illumina Cambridge Ltd, Amgen Ltd and Abcam PLC.
Cambridge and the Greater Cambridge area have a significant cluster of organisations, scientists and entrepreneurs working together to establish Cambridge as the leading cleantech community in Europe. The global reputation of Cambridge, for its expertise in technology, has attracted early-stage innovators and multi-national organisations to the area, all keen to colloborate in the cleantech arena.
The Clean-tech sector in the Greater Cambridge region has a market value of £1.15 billion, with 450 companies making the area their home. Particular strengths lie in Building Technologies, Recovery and Recycling, Alternative Fuel Vehicles, ICT in Cleantech, Biomass and Renewables.
Cambridge Cleantech is a membership organisation supporting the growth of cleantech companies in Cambridge and the Greater Cambridge area; it counts the following organisations as members, University of Cambridge, Anglia Ruskin University, Unilever, Ricardo, Aveva and Anglian Water.
Both of Cambridge's universities are at the forefront of the cleantech sector in this region. The University of Cambridge's Institute for Sustainability Leadership works with major organisations and whole sectors to develop strategies and solutions to shared global challenges and catalysing real systems change. At Anglia Ruskin University, the Global Sustainability Institute is committed to using research and education to develop practical solutions to sustainable challenges; locally and globally.
Cleantech
Digital
Cambridge is the third most densely populated cluster of digital tech businesses in the UK, and a top ten cluster for digital employment and productivity. The city is ranked 11th in the European Digital Cities Index. It was recently named as a top UK hotspot for growth of its digital economy.
The city's companies are leading the way in the development of 'the internet of things'; connected devices; enterprise software and cloud computing; application and software development; data management and analytics. The online gaming sector is also booming along with digital healthcare technology.
The opportunities that Cambridge offers for networking, graduate level talent and business support are cited as its top attractions as a location for digital organisations.Over 20,000 people are employed in the fields of information technology and telecomms in Cambridge. The city and the surrounding area is home to 2852 digital companies, with a turnover of approximately £3.71bn.
Cambridge is home to some of the largest technology brands. ARM plc is one of Cambridge's greatest success stories, its technologies reach 80% of the world's population. It is the world's leading semiconductor IP company and has a long relationship with the city and the University. Other notable organisations include, Jagex, AVEVA, Microsoft Research, Raspberry Pi, Samsung and Huawei.
Since 2010 tourism has been the fastest-growing sector in the UK in employment terms. The visitor economy is a key economic driver for Cambridge with 8.1 million visitors a year contributing around £835 million to the Cambridge economy and accounting for around 22 % of local employment (source: Cambridge Economic Impact of Tourism Report 2017).
Attracting Leisure and Business Tourists Cambridge has the edge when it comes to beauty, history and culture. This elegant yet compact city boasts spectacular architecture in the shape of Colleges, chapels, churches and courtyards combined with green parks, wide-open spaces and the River Cam, which winds through its heart. It is also a city for all seasons and a special city, a place where visitors can feel at home. Getting out and about is easy – be it by bicycle or on foot – and there is a range of accommodation to suit all budgets from stylish hotels to countryside bed and breakfasts. Further afield you will discover some of the region’s leading attractions and stately homes along with picture-perfect towns and villages, nestled in rolling green countryside. Cambridge and the surrounding area has something for everyone, a family-friendly destination with places to go and things to see all year round.
Tourism
Film
Cambridge has provided the setting to some great films over the years and it’s an incredibly photogenic city. In most Colleges and venues, you’re welcome to undertake photography, filming and illustration for private, non-commercial use.
Permission to photograph or film professionally, or for commercial purposes, must be sought in advance. To apply for permits, please contact the venue directly, with as much notice as possible. If you would like to film and take photographs of a College, please apply as soon as possible as some requests need will need to go to the College Council, which can take some time.
Read the blog - When Hollywood Calls?