Podcast: EG Cities Live: There’s more to Cambridge than life sciences and an affordable housing problem

Recently I was asked to join a panel discussion on the Cambridge Tech scene, the commercial property situation, and the changing workspace demands post pandemic. Hosted by EG.

Think of Cambridge, think of grand universities, cyclists, gridlock, punting. In the real estate world, these stereotypical views of the city expand further into issues around the provision of housing for all, infrastructure and, of course, that the city is the UK capital of life sciences. But there’s so much more to this city than just life sciences.

For decades it has been a hub of technological innovation. Acorn Computers began its life in Cambridge in 1978, Raspberry Pi in 2021 and Darktrace — the cybersecurity firm that last year listed on the London stock exchange with a £1.7bn valuation — was set up in the city 2013. Amazon, Google, Apple and some of the coolest games developers such as Jagex and Frontier Developments call the city home. It was also recently named as the best place in the UK for women seeking jobs in the tech industry, with more jobs and higher average salaries than Manchester, Edinburgh, Bristol and Leeds.

In this EG Cities podcast we will look at what tech has done for development of the city, the growth opportunities for the sector, what Cambridge is doing to retain and grow talent, plus the unique role this sector may be able to play in creating a more equal workplace.