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An ever evolving laboratory which reacts to, and grows with, the multiple opportunities and people that interact with the ecosystem. Bring academia together with industry and culture to become a centre of excellence in innovation; encouraging alternative approaches to tackling complex global issues. by creating an ‘Open Innovation Ecosystem’ we hope to identify the necessary steps and bridge the gap between cutting-edge possibilities and real-world applications.
Highlighting the delta between possibility and current practice - then utilising the ecosystem to build the missing pieces. Developing a deeper understanding of technologies and enabling efficient application. Through a meritocratic and inclusive framework, we empower global talent, redefine boundaries of collaboration, and inspire solutions that transform society for the better.
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At the intersection of Science, Technology and Design - The Cambridge Frontier Technologies Laboratory (FTL) aims to address the paradox and reduce the delta between what scientists and creatives believe is possible today and what is current practice in modern society.
We recognise that talent is everywhere but opportunities are clustered behind certain walls. We aim to use our ecosystem to bring these opportunities to global talent, in an attempt to deliver positive global impact. The flow of opportunity is captured and then distributed to where it can be best utilised, based on a meritocratic system championing passion/drive and ability. We are actively engaged in teaching and mentoring.
'Science for the sake of Science’ - FTL works by enabling students and staff within the university and beyond to explore what interests them most. Aggregating clubs, societies and communities we provide key mentors, educators and networks from industry to support talented individuals in independent research or commercial venture spin-outs. This work tends to be separate from their core studies and research. By providing an enriching ecosystem we become a desirable partner rather than an opportunistic accelerator. We envisage that scaling this opportunity creates a centre upon which the ‘fly wheel’ effect can take place; thus a large, continuous (therefore self fulfilling) ecosystem.
Encouraging a culture of collaboration - we run events and support partners within the ecosystem by co-hosting events. Above this we bring industry leading talent, people of influence, policy makers and key academics together to share each other’s skills and networks as well as lend these as support to the ecosystem. FTL is often asked to take on projects or represent at conferences and events - as these opportunities arise we share them with relevant, trusted, parties in the network.
The lab is structured to host projects across seven verticals. When a project is started, or brought into the labs, it is assigned to one of the verticals as its core (although one project may be relevant to multiple verticals). In the spirit of the “Open Innovation Ecosystem” many independent labs/ projects function together allowing for cross-sector innovation.