The Science of M-SParc; Delivered on time and budget.
M-SParc, Wales’ first dedicated Science Park, opened its doors on St David’s Day on time and within budget.
The £20m facility, part funded by European Regional Development Funding through the Welsh Government has been in development for 5 years and on March the 1st the vision becomes reality – all on time and within budget.
The building boasts laboratory, office, and clean workshop space, created with input from companies of all sizes who work in the science and technology sectors with a focus on Low Carbon. Businesses and projects who develop their own technologies, processes and science based endeavours are welcome. “We want to attract the brightest and the best from the region” said Ieuan Wyn Jones, M-SParc’s Managing Director.
In addition to tenant space, this incredible new building offers meeting rooms, and a fantastic boardroom built to impress, which will be available for any business or company in the area to book. The Tanio cafe and working area has Wi-Fi and informal meeting spaces, to encourage young people and workers from the region to sit with a coffee and take advantage of the inspiring atmosphere. Desks within a hot desking office are also available for renting for short periods of time, starting from one day up to a month.
The focus is on low carbon, energy and environment, and ICT, and 11 companies in these sectors are expected to move in between now and the summer. These businesses will all receive business support from a dedicated Business Support Officer, as M-SParc’s goal is to encourage and assist all tenant companies to develop and grow.
Director Ieuan Wyn Jones said “M-SParc is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bangor University, meaning we ourselves are an SME. We run with a team of 6 staff, many of whom have experience running their own businesses, and each of whom is dedicated to making M-SParc a success. The team has worked very hard to deliver the building on time and budget, and our work now focuses on helping our tenant companies reach their best potential.”
The doors officially opened on the 1st of March and on the 5th, Google will be there to give a workshop to businesses on reaching new customers. This is part of a series of ongoing workshops M-SParc offers its tenants, and this workshop is open to the entire business community. On March the 24th M-SParc will be having a community open day, for the general public to come along and see what the building has to offer.
Not only have M-SParc delivered this project on time and on budget but they’ve delivered life changing opportunities as part of the build process. “The community have been very supportive of our work, following public consultations in the early years.” Mr Jones continues “In return, we have provided local apprenticeships, work experience for school pupils, safety talks and workshops for the local college, internships for Bangor University students, and changing room facilities for the local football team. We will continue to work with the community as we operate.”
Prof. John G. Hughes, University Vice Chancellor, said “The work done to date has been impressive. M-SParc has already taken on Virtual Tenants, some of whom have taken advantage of the link to Bangor University, and are working with researchers in some of our departments.
M-SParc will benefit our students too, as some of our masters courses are being tailored to ensure our graduates have the skills employers at M-SParc will be looking for. This will go some way to plugging the skills gap in the region, and M-SParc will do its best to ensure the job opportunities are brought to the region to make use of these skills.”
Mr Jones recently announced his retirement, and in spring the Park will announce a new Director to lead the new operational phase.
Further information can be found on M-SParc’s website (www.m-sparc.com) or by emailing post@m-sparc.com.
Publication date: 2 March 2018