Innovation and Enterprise in Southampton

Southampton is one of the largest cities outside of London in the South East and has a population of around 234,600 and a student population of just around 40,000.

Southampton is an innovative and enterprising city with thousands of thriving organisations and tens of thousands of productive people working within it; its economy was worth £4,953 million in 2006. (link to up-to-date economic stats).

It is a city known not just for it’s past inventions, such as the Spitfire, the Circular Saw, the Hovercraft, and Fibre Optics, but also much more recent innovations in the areas of Semi-Conductors, Geothermal Heating & Cooling, Autonomous Underwater Vehicles, and Biochemistry (e.g. Swine Flu ID test Kits).

The city has a growing culture of innovation and creativity and welcomes interest from new start-ups and expanding high tech companies or knowledge based industries. There is a large amount of support available, from specialist advice with experts at the Solent Innovation and Growth Team, through to knowledge transfer relationships with our two Universities, and also specialist facilities (including testing facilities, incubation and laboratory space).

Southampton benefits from many innovative resources, with two very well respected universities, and specialist accommodation including the Southampton Science Park, SETsquared (a collaboration between the universities of Southampton, Bath, Bristol, and Surrey), and the new Innovation Centre, at Ocean Village, which is due to open this summer.

The wider South Hampshire area is internationally renowned for its expert clusters in aerospace, defence, marine, automotive and business services; with advanced manufacturing in specialised sectors such as marine, aerospace and defence-related industries being a particular strength.

Whilst traditional manufacturing industries within south Hampshire have declined, there has been growth in service sector jobs and businesses in the ‘knowledge economy’.

Southampton is home to a number of companies with strong foundations in R&D including, SELEX Galileo, ABP Marine Environmental Research Ltd, BMT ARGOSS, British American Tobacco plc,. A host of world class, knowledge-driven companies, such as EADS Astrium, IBM UK, Pall Europe, Siemens Roke Manor and Lockheed Martin are also located around the Southampton area.

Whether you’re an established knowledge based company, or looking to start up a business in a high tech field of expertise, Southampton can offer you the perfect location to base and grow your business.

Kenneth Dibben House, Southampton Science Park

Southampton’s new Innovation Centre provides 3,500 sq m of office accommodation for new knowledge based industries which will benefit from links with the National Oceanography Centre based nearby.


Southampton’s new Innovation Centre

The city has two universities, The University of Southampton and Southampton Solent University, who together offer access to research and teaching for around 40,000 students.

The University of Southampton is a leading UK teaching and research institution with a global reputation for cutting-edge research and scholarship across a wide range of subjects in engineering, science, social sciences, health and humanities. Real-world applications are at the core of this research, from pioneering the technology that led to the development of the Internet, to establishing the Institute of Web Science that will ensure that the UK remains at the forefront of developments in the World Wide Web.

The University of Southampton offers a huge range of services for businesses, from innovative research and consultancy to state-of-the-art testing facilities and conferencing. It is also developing a Maritime Centre of Excellence (MCE) - a new world-leading centre for innovation, business and education in maritime disciplines and is a hosting partner of the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) – one of the world's top five oceanographic research institutions.

One of Southampton Solent University's many strengths is its excellent training, consultancy, research and development that it provides for business. Specialist facilities include the internationally renowned Warsash Maritime Academy, Solent Productions – its dedicated media production centre, The Centre for Innovation & Design, and its city centre Conference facilities.


University of Southampton

Southampton Solent University