About this report

The Cambridge cluster is home to a vibrant life science community and the University plays a significant role in providing academically rigorous ideas, innovation, talent and skills to the cluster. In order to deliver the transformative therapies of the future, the life science sector is dependent on the effective inter-connection of physics, technology, engineering, biology and medicine.

The Cambridge UEZ, Connect: Health Tech, was set up to build an interdisciplinary bridge between two hubs of world-leading research in Cambridge. The science and technology hub anchored at the Maxwell Centre in the west and the biomedical hub anchored at the Milner Therapeutics Institute in the south. The bridge will bring together and integrate a community to identify shared research goals, equip scientists with a common language and embed new ways of working which would enable scientists to apply their research in diverse settings.

Creating Connect: Health Tech has provided us with the opportunity to consider future growth of the cluster in the life sciences. It has enabled us to work with the Cambridge community to identify and articulate current challenges and create a roadmap to shape the future, so that interdisciplinary academic research is amplified and translated into commercial and clinical success. The aim is to deliver a supportive and dynamic ecosystem which accelerates the design, development and testing of diagnostics and therapies, and aligns with the needs of the community.

This report, including our roadmap, was developed through a consultation process with key stakeholders from across the University and wider community and defines an over-arching strategic plan to deliver Connect: Health Tech. We discuss some of the challenges and solutions that may be unique to Cambridge and also those with broader application to other life and physical science hubs. The report focuses a lens on one of the most historically interesting clusters in the world.