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20th October 2007
Life at the Centre by Jenny Kartupelis

Jenny was owner of the first tenant company to take a unit in the Centre;
she is now Director of the East of England Faiths Council and a Partner in Elements PR, both of which are based in the Centre.

What did it take to be a tenant of St John's Innovation Centre when it first opened its doors in 1987?  Definitely, you needed to be the sort of person who would be positive about the avante-garde design with its emphasis on glass walls and suspended walkways; about the slight air of isolation as foxes chased rabbits around the wild lands outside; about the general feeling of being exposed to new opportunities rather than traditional certainties.

You also needed to be someone willing to share the vision - then largely unproven - that small R&D businesses could be actively nurtured to play a full part in the 'Cambridge Phenomenon' (a new concept attracting global interest).  But it was not essential to be a science and technology firm - from the very outset the College management team took the enlightened view that diversity was a positive strength and invited support firms such as my PR agency to take some of the units.

It is not easy, in retrospect, to convey the mixture of hope and trepidation that one feels on being the first into a new building that was, in a sense, a social and economic experiment.  But it turned out to be fun; to be valuable to my business; and now, 20 years later, to remain a source of continuity and support.

What has been fascinating?  Learning about the often revolutionary technologies being developed by innovators such as Mike Lynch, Steven Bacon and Tony Hooley, and watching these reach market and influence our daily lives (or in some other cases, fail spectacularly); meeting Prime Ministers from around the world and politicians of all hues on fact-finding missions (Tony Blair, Nigel Lawson, Paddy Ashdown and many others); being part of something that nurtures innovation in community enterprises as well in R&D.

And then there is Barney:  All the soothing friendliness and calm self-assurance that can be combined in the person of one large Golden Retriever provides the Centre's unique antidote to stress and anxiety.

What else has been valuable? The recognition-factor of a world-famous incubator; access to Walter Herriot's wisdom (always offered with wit); and an environment that has supported my own progress from building up a substantial consultancy, selling this, creating a new PR firm with partner Jane Heeney, and at the same time establishing a multi-faith forum for the region.

So it would really be fair to say that the Innovation Centre doesn't attract successful organisations as tenants - it finds a place for those who should be successful and nine times out of ten helps them turn that aspiration into reality.