Science Minister Lord Vallance has doubled down on calls to promote and develop the area connecting Oxford and Cambridge into “Europe’s Silicon Valley” in an address to major industry figures in the region.
Speaking at the OxCam Supercluster Conference on Thursday, Vallance made the case for supporting previously announced intentions from the government to bet big on tech commercialisation in the region.
“With world class institutions, a deep base of talent and as home to innovative companies ranging from life sciences to semiconductors, there is an enormous prize at hand if we can unleash the Oxford-Cambridge Corridor’s growth potential,” Vallance said.
“We want this region to be the trailblazer for the growth mission that’s central to our Plan for Change, and an economic engine for the entire country.”
Vallance called for everyone with a stake in the success of the region to get involved.
“Achieving that needs all of us – government, academia, local leaders and industry – moving in unison. My message today is: let’s work together to seize this unique opportunity,” he said.
“This region has all the ingredients to be Europe’s answer to Silicon Valley or the Boston Cluster, but we have to work together to make that happen.”
As part of the development plan, new infrastructure – including flood defences – have been approved and Neale Coleman, who previously worked on the 2012 London Olympic Games and the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, has been appointed as chair of the Oxford Growth Commission.
Though the government has been keen on further developing tech ecosystem in the Oxford-Cambridge region, the plan has faced some criticism for being overly focused on historically successful tech hubs rather than growing the tech industries outside of Britain’s South East.
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