Paving the Way for Technology Entrepreneurship Centre

The University of Nottingham marked the start of construction of its £5.2m Technology Enterprise Centre (TEC) in a ceremony attended by Business Minister Anna Soubry during November.

To be based in a 2,000m² 3-storey building at the University’s Innovation Park, the TEC will be the focal-point of its Enterprise Zone, providing office-based accommodation for local technology-driven start-up businesses and early-stage SMEs, along with spin-outs from the University.

The University was awarded £2.6m from government for the TEC through the University Enterprise Zone programme. Business Minister Anna Soubry said: “The University of Nottingham’s new Technology Entrepreneurship Centre will be a huge boost to Nottingham and will help make the Midlands the engine for growth I know it can be.

“The Government is committed to ensuring every part of the UK benefits from a growing economy and we want to be the best place in Europe to start and grow a business. This new centre will help provide small businesses and start-ups with the support they need to grow, create jobs and reach their full potential.”

The TEC Centre will also house the Haydn Green Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s ‘Ingenuity Lab.’ This is designed to help students develop and nurture entrepreneurial skills that will enable them to thrive as business owners and leaders.

It will focus on supporting businesses which operate in sectors of key local and national importance, such as Big Data & Digital, Advanced Manufacturing, Aerospace and Energy. The aim of the Centre is to create 50 new businesses by 2019, generating 350 new jobs and delivering a combined turnover of £25m by 2021.

Professor Sir David Greenaway, Vice-Chancellor of The University of Nottingham, said: “I’m delighted Anna Soubry, the Minister for Small Business, has been able to visit us today to mark the groundbreaking of the Technology Entrepreneurship Centre. We are very proud to be one of only a handful of universities in the UK to win University Enterprise Zone status.”

The TEC is being built by the Edwinstowe based construction company, Robert Woodhead, based on a design by the award winning architects, Bond Bryan.