Manchester Science Parks (msp) chief executive, Jane Davies, is celebrating 10 years of success as head of the world renowned science park this October.
Jane, the first female chief executive in the 25 year history of msp, took over from previous chief executive and chairman of the board, Professor John Allen, in 2000.
At the time, msp was a two site science park* with 21,000 sq metres of space under management and playing host to 76 tenants.
Under Jane’s leadership, msp now manages more than 35,000 sq metres of accommodation on four sites in Manchester and Salford, has 132 tenants and has played a vital role in the emergence of the city region’s ‘knowledge economy’.
During her time at msp, Jane has received various accolades for her achievements, including from the University of Manchester for her exceptional contribution to the city region and the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic for her contribution to developing relations between Manchester and Italian centres of innovation. In June of this year, Jane received an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to innovation.
Commenting on her ten year anniversary Jane said: “I consider it a privilege to have served Manchester Science Parks, and in turn the city region, for the last ten years.
“There probably aren’t many people who still relish coming into the same job every day after ten years but I do, and that is largely down to the people I work with – colleagues, tenants and associates – and the constantly changing landscape of partnerships that we’re involved in.”
msp continues to set the standard for the science park community and recently held an international conference on ‘Measuring the success of science parks’. Other recent achievements include a ‘Foresight Report’ co-authored by Jane and Luke Georgiou from the Manchester Institute of Innovation Research. The report, entitled ‘An Innovation System for the Manchester City Region’ describes a vision of the Manchester innovation system in 2015 and will be officially launched at a forthcoming Commission for the New Economy business breakfast.
Ends.
*Manchester Science Park and Technopark
Please find below more detail on Jane’s accomplishments during her time at Manchester Science Parks.
Science Parks
Jane was President of the European Division of the International Association of Science Parks (IASP) and has recently been elected President of the IASP Advisory Council. She was also Chair of the UK Science Park Association and still sits on the board.
Manchester City Region
Jane is a director of Manchester's Commission for the New Economy and Chairs the Innovation Sub Group, Manchester Innovation Investment Fund Gateway Review Group and the Finance and Audit Committee. She is a board member of Corridor Manchester and a member of the Innospace Advisory Group.
Enterprise
Jane is a member of the UKBI Enterprise Panel and until recently was a board member of IKT. She has worked with the British Council and other agencies offering advice and support in countries where the science park movement is in its infancy e.g. India, New Zealand and Tunisia.
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