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The Aberystwyth Innovation and Enterprise Campus (AIEC) will cover 7500m2 and house a range of laboratories, pilot processing areas, offices and meeting spaces co-located at the Aberystwyth University. The Campus will host and facilitate collaborative projects with industry and academic staff which de-risk innovation in future foods, biorefining and the bioeconomy. By filling a technology provision gap, and promoting entrepreneurship and innovation, AIEC will host an enhanced community of growing companies engaging in translational development work and create a meaningful regional hub for fostering start up/spin out company formation and new inward collaborative activity in Mid Wales.
The Aberystwyth Innovation and Enterprise Campus will be operated by AIEC Ltd, a company majority owned by Aberystwyth University with Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) as a minority shareholder. The Campus will be operated as a ‘development hotel’ and AIEC Ltd plans to employ up to 10 members of staff to operate the campus facilities and to market the offer to businesses. AIEC investors are the European Regional Development Fund through Welsh Government, Aberystwyth University and the BBSRC.
The project will benefit all local authorities across Wales.
A full range of 28 key performance indicators for AIEC include numbers of start-ups and spin out companies arising from AIEC activities, number of impact case studies involving AIEC facilities and numbers of business visitors to the AIEC facilities. The aim of AIEC is to establish a thriving bioscience centre to improve the translation of the knowledge base in food, animal health and the bioeconomy into industrial application.
Progress to end Aug 2019
AIEC construction is progressing well – with two buildings completed and open for occupancy in 2019. A new Seed Biobank was completed on June 5th 2019 and the new Biorefining Centre opened on 5th August 2019. Both buildings are now operation and hosting researchers from Aberystwyth University working on collaborative projects with industry.
Progress is on time for completion of the largest building – housing the Future Food Centre and Advanced Analysis Centre – in late summer 2020.
Tenancy of the AberInnovation office accommodation has started – with ten new tenants moving in over 2019. Virtual and Associate Membership is steadily growing and business engagement is increasing in particular in biorefining and food and drink sectors.
A new website has been launched: http://www.aberinnovation.com/
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