bulletin: The University of Sussex Newsletter Innovation Anniverary Friday 25th June 1999

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Innovation Anniversary

Celebrating Three Years of Innovation

The Innovation Centre has been at the forefront of new developments both in technology and business practice since it opened three years ago. With the double-punch force of this combination, the Centre has created real opportunities for small technology-based companies in the Sussex region. It combines ultra-modern office space with an even more up-to-date emphasis on communication and people-based business practice. Its management is as au fait with the latest forms of web-based business as the companies it houses. And it lives by the maxim 'think globally, act locally' - much to the benefit of Brighton and beyond.

Intended as a place where small, high-tech start-up companies could be nurtured, the Centre has been swept away by its own success. Three years is the anticipated incubation period for new businesses, so many of the companies are preparing to move on to expanded premises. However, the management is still working around the clock trying to accommodate all the new companies which are clamouring for space.

As Chris Hudson, Facilities Manager, points out, "Last week we had five approaches in two days. One was from an A-level student from Leeds who was about to start down here and wanted somewhere to run a software business from. Another was a company called Methylated Melodies, run by a student who had just finished his finals here, which specialised in recording music digitally and putting it on CD. His special target was going to be student bands. The range is huge."

In order to accommodate such bright ideas, the Centre will be taking over neighbouring Ashdown House, adding about 8000 sq ft of second-stage space. This, together with the planned extension, will effectively double the space of the Centre, and mean that second-stage businesses can be housed alongside the start-up companies. "This should promote the circulation of ideas even more," says Chris.

He points out that the Centre is more than just a building for the people who work there: "We give a very high level of support, from general business advice, to the technology brokering and the Skills Directory, to the offices themselves. When companies set up, they will find the offices are fully fitted with all the services they need, and that they have access to photocopiers and faxes, so they don't have to buy them. Mike Herd, the Director, can provide business advice, and since we aren't a big bad landlord, we go easy when people have cashflow problems. They get a level of support they wouldn't get anywhere else."

Chris has a vision of the Centre as the flagship enterprise of what will eventually become a new 'Silicon Fen' - the tag given to the area of high-tech business which cluster around Cambridge. "Those with the vision for the Centre took a gamble with this place, and it's paid off," he says "Who knows what could happen next?"

Focus on Innovation: Genpak

Genpak was set up in 1993 by Dr Julian Burke, a Senior Lecturer in Biochemistry at the University. He worked out of his garden shed until The Innovation Centre provided him with a more salubrious base. Genpak were one of the first companies to take root in the Centre. Six people now work in the office - four of them students on work placements, usually from Sussex. Dr Nish Patel, who joined Genpak in 1996 after a PhD in clinical biochemistry, is the company manager. "Joining Genpak gave me the chance to turn my scientific knowledge into something which worked commercially," he says.

genpack staff
Dr Nish Patel (left) and the team from Genpack

Genpak sells equipment and specialised reagents for use in genetic analysis. The sorts of people who use the company are researchers screening DNA for diseases or those attempting to catalogue the human genome. Indeed, Genpak can help with anything that involves DNA sequencing. They also have the lowest-priced high-specification machine in the UK. "This machine spots DNA from one place to another, very accurately," says Nish. 50,000 different bits of DNA can be 'spotted' onto a 1" glass slide.

The company has expanded rapidly since its garden shed days. There is now a subsidiary company called Genpak Inc, which is based in the US and was set up in 1996. There is also a branch called Genpak Marketing Services, which runs from an office in Brighton, and concentrates on sales. Over the last three years, Genpak has grown nearly 400%.

Genpak's website is: www.genpakdna.com.

Focus on Innovation: Rivendell

Rivendell was the brainchild of two enterprising COGS graduates, who set up the business while they were students in their second year, and haven't looked back since. Andrew Hardy and Aaron Figg have seen their ideas grow from undergraduate money-spinners to internationally respected projects. Since they established themselves in the Innovation Centre, they have employed two more people. They have also doubled their workspace and are looking to double it again.

The company provides software developments for corporate businesses. Their most ambitious project to date has been putting the 34-volume Dictionary of Art onto the web. "The content of the dictionary was the biggest challenge, rather than the pictures," says Andrew, "but we overcame copyright problems by installing hyper-text links to the Tate Gallery site and so on, so that access to the pictures would be widened further." They have also finished a Dictionary of Opera, which went out live onto the web on the Open Day.

andrew and aaron
Andrew Hardy and Aaron Figg of Rivendell

Aaron and Andrew hope to move Rivendell towards the intranet business, which they say as an area which is ready to explode. They say they've learnt some harsh realities about the business world since they've been in the Centre. But, says Aaron, "Being in the Innovation Centre gives a measure of prestige which is very important. And our business has just gone mad over the last 12 months. There's just too much work for us to do."

Profile of Anjuu Trevedi, Technology Consultant

My job title 'Technology Consultant' sounds more imposing than it really is. Basically, it's about identifying, gathering and disseminating information. If someone has a good idea and they want to tell others about it, I can do that for them. For example, I was contacted by someone who was looking to commission some academic research. I contacted the relevant department at the University of Sussex, and now they're talking to each other. It's all about opening doors.

Since I'm a technology consultant, I help those who are specifically involved in technology. In my opinion a consultant works as an intermediary between groups, communicating and creating links between tenants in the Innovation Centre, in academia and in the outside world. I work internationally as well as locally, developing contacts using web-based services. I also help people to become aware of technology - if someone says "I've got this, how can more people take advantage of it?" I can advise them as to who to talk to and how to promote their product to a wider audience.

I am able to do this because I have at my disposal the Sussex Skills Directory - a database of technology-centred Sussex companies, which can be accessed by anyone via the internet. Anyone who needs contact with a specialist company or academic can use the directory to find who and what they need quickly and easily. The Skills Directory is also a base for organising workshops and seminars.

I can also call upon the Sussex Know How Exchange. The Exchange was created to help businesses and individuals help each other, for free, by sharing 'best practices' and 'know how'. At present it contains over 150 member companies and organisations such as Business Link Sussex and the two universities. Companies can always benefit from sharing non-commercially sensitive information, and because there's such a local angle to the Exchange, so much of the benefit is ploughed back into the area.

There has been a slow, but sure, cultural shift from academics in both universities (Brighton and Sussex) who are more open to the idea of commercialising their research. I hope that this continues, because there must be a huge number of ideas out there, just on this campus alone.

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Friday 25th June 1999

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