Pictured above: (l-r) Phil Smith- vice president and CEO of Cisco UK and Ireland, Cllr Mike Whitby- leader of Birmingham City Council and chairman of Birmingham Science Park Aston and Dr David Hardman, managing director of Birmingham Science Park Aston

Birmingham Science Park Aston has announced a UK first by installing state-of-the-art technology to pioneer its 'science park without walls' concept. Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and start-up businesses will be able to communicate with leading innovators, academics and investors from across the world as if they are sitting in the same room. 

The initiative, which will break down distance and provide access to resources beyond geographical boundaries, is being made possible due to Birmingham Science Park Aston's (BSPA) relationship with technology giant Cisco and through being welcomed onto its Global Exchange for Growth programme. The Ideas and Communications Suite that will be launched at BSPA in January 2011 will feature Cisco TelePresence equipment and will create direct links to other centres of creativity locally and in locations such as San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Toronto, Paris, Barcelona and Dubai. 

BSPA's Ideas and Communications Suite will include two 52 inch screens to enable real time, highly interactive meetings to take place around the clock. The new technology will use the Park's advanced broadband facility, which has a connection and response time that equals the best on offer anywhere in the UK. 

BSPA's Ideas and Communications Suite relies on three further organisations; JANET (UK), the University of Warwick and Tata Communications. 

Cllr Mike Whitby, leader of Birmingham City Council and chairman of Birmingham Science Park Aston comments: "The announcement that Cisco, JANET (UK), the University of Warwick and Tata Communications are working with us to create the UK's first science park without walls in Birmingham is hugely significant for our city. The key to driving our economy out of recession is the region's fledgling knowledge-based economy and this pioneering concept will truly demonstrate that Birmingham is 'a global city with a local heart.' Furthermore, on a national level, this partnership is a prototype of the model the Government is developing to drive the innovation agenda forward."

Dr David Hardman, managing director of Birmingham Science Park Aston comments: "We have reviewed the way in which a leading science park needs to operate to support the high-tech ventures that are so vital for the future of this region. The epicentre of Birmingham Science Park Aston is our entrepreneurial high-tech community that is being continually fostered and developed, and from January our community will have state-of-the-art technology to communicate in the most effective fashion with innovators, commercial partners and investors from across the globe."

David Hardman continued: "By delivering our science parks without walls concept, we are addressing the aspirations and work patterns of the next generation of digitally savvy creative minds; those who will be behind the new businesses of 2020 and beyond. While the proposed Local Enterprise Partnerships will focus on relatively small geographies, our model of helping new entrepreneurial businesses to prosper recognises the importance of interaction across a worldwide network of like-minded businesses and individuals." 

JANET is a publicly funded initiative that connects 18 million end-users across UK education and research institutions. Universities, further education colleges, research councils, specialist colleges and local government are connected to each other through the JANET network, enabling the traditional boundaries of teaching, learning and research methods to be extended with high performance computing facilities and large data storage facilities. 

BSPA will be linked into the JANET network through specialist exchange equipment donated by the University of Warwick. This equipment has been donated specifically to provide unrivalled access amongst educational and research institutions, SME's and start-up ventures, who have previously encountered commercial or technical barriers to utilising these technologies.   

The University of Warwick will be installing a number of its own Cisco TelePresence suites simultaneously to the creation of BSPA's Ideas and Communications Suite, which will be directly linked to the Park. The unique access to the academics at the university - which is ranked as one of the top 35 in the world - will give BSPA's SMEs and start-ups a leading edge in driving their businesses forward. It will also provide the first local connectivity that will help drive regional innovation-led regeneration.

In addition, Tata Communications is working with BSPA to connect to an even wider community. Through Tata's 'Communications Global Meeting Exchange' the science park without walls will be able to schedule virtual business meetings between any of Tata's Public Telepresence suites located throughout 21 major cities across the globe. This network reach creates a truly global collaboration platform. 

Phil Smith, vice president and CEO of Cisco UK and Ireland comments: "Cisco's Global Exchange for Growth programme links entrepreneurs and governments across three continents, providing an interactive network for collaboration and growth. Birmingham Science Park Aston's involvement now brings the reach of this programme into the heart of the West Midlands, creating a benchmark for other cities to emanate. Our work with BSPA sits alongside our extensive Network Academy training programme, in which Birmingham forms the hub for northern Europe, all contributing to the economy of the region."