Oxford Innovation Space, who manage Crawley Innovation Centre on behalf of Crawley Borough Council, has announced a new collaborative alliance with London Gatwick.
Aimed at fostering innovation, entrepreneurship, and strategic engagement between the newly launched Crawley Innovation Centre and the airport, the alliance reflects a shared commitment to drive economic growth and innovation across the region.
With 43 million annual passengers, London Gatwick is the UK’s second largest and one of Europe’s top 10 airports. Operating over 260,000 flights per year to over 220 global destinations and a declared capacity of 55 movements an hour, London Gatwick is the most efficient single runway airport in the world.
This alliance will see Oxford Innovation Space and London Gatwick collaborate on a range of initiatives to strengthen the regional innovation ecosystem and accelerate the development of cutting-edge technologies. Activities will include an annual innovation challenge for local businesses to encourage creative solutions to real-world airport and aviation challenges. Specialist colleagues from London Gatwick will also participate in networking events at the Crawley Innovation Centre, creating valuable connections for businesses.
Neil Griffin, Business Support Director at Oxford Innovation Space, comments: “Working with London Gatwick is a significant milestone for the Crawley Innovation Centre and Oxford Innovation Space. This collaboration will open doors for businesses at the centre – and potentially our wider network – to engage with one of the UK’s most important transport hubs, creating exciting opportunities for innovation and growth.”
Richard Lennard, Economic Partnerships Manager at London Gatwick, comments: “London Gatwick is delighted to be working in partnership with Oxford Innovation Space to provide opportunities for local entrepreneurs, startups and SMEs. As a regional economic anchor with an extensive supply chain, we recognise and value the need to help embryonic companies grow, which in turn provides a boost to the local economy and productivity by creating new high-value jobs. As an established industry partner of the Sussex and Surrey Institute of Technology, we are looking forward to further enhancing the local innovation ecosystem as the Crawley Innovation Centre helps local businesses to grow over the coming years.”
One of the first initiatives to emerge from the new alliance was a dedicated Gateway to Innovation event, which we hosted on 19 February. Featuring speakers from London Gatwick, Oxford Innovation Space and businesses already based at the Crawley Innovation Centre, the event gathered together local businesses to network, showcase their innovations and engage directly with industry experts.
More events like this, as well as other opportunities to work with London Gatwick are in the pipeline, so sign up to our mailing list to keep up to date.