UKSPA members and stakeholders will gather for the Spring Conference at The University of Southampton Science Park on Thursday 16th & Friday 17th March 2023. Following on from the last UKSPA Conference at Circle Square, Manchester in December, the two days will consider and debate current national and regional trends.

The Conference will start at lunchtime on Thursday, with tours of the campus for delegates arriving before lunch, and conclude with keynote speeches on Friday afternoon. Throughout the two days, leading speakers from the UKSPA network and key partners and stakeholders will discuss in depth the challenges, opportunities, and innovative ways the sector continues to further engage, inspire and grow.

Conference Programme

The full conference programme is now available - click here to download.

Informal Drinks Reception and Dinner

There will be a drinks reception and informal networking dinner on Thursday 16th March from 19:00-21:30 in the Old Coach House at the Best Western Chilworth Manor Hotel, which is also the designated Conference hotel, and is conveniently located on the Science Park campus.

Sponsorship and Exhibition

To discuss sponsorship and exhibition opportunities please contact Adrian Sell - adrian.sell@ukspa.org.uk. Please note that space is limited so early registration is strongly recommended to guarantee your place.

Hotels

The designated Conference hotel is the Best Western Chilworth Manor Hotel, which is conveniently located on the Science Park campus.

Rooms are available at discounted rates, from £90 per night (breakfast included) for conference delegates on both the Wednesday and Thursday nights. Room numbers at the hotel are restricted, and are likely to sell out well in advance of the Conference, so it is recommended to make your reservation as early as possible to avoid disappointment.

To book your room at the Chilworth Manor Hotel please call the hotel directly during office hours, on either of the numbers below, quoting Booking Code ‘UKSPA’:

Tel: 023 8076 7333
Tel: 023 8076 3030

Alternative hotels in the locality are as follows:

DoubleTree by Hilton Southampton: Bracken Place, Chilworth, Southampton, SO16 3RB.

Tel: 023 8070 2700
Email: events.southampton@hilton.com

The Village Hotel Eastleigh: Bournemouth Road, Chandler’s Ford, Eastleigh, SO53 3YJ.

Tel: 02382 027 760
Email: reception.eastleigh@village-hotels.com

About our Hosts

Southampton Science Park is the South of England’s innovation hub. Set across 72 acres, it offers a wide range of commercial offices, laboratories, meeting and conferencing facilities for new start-ups and leading technology businesses.

It is committed to fuelling innovation and helping to ensure that British science and technology has a presence on the world stage. The leadership team has decades of experience and a deep understanding of the complex needs of science and technology businesses at all stages of development from start-up to multinational. They understand the importance of flexibility, a joined-up approach to commercialising research, connecting businesses with mentors, advisors and investors, and of sharing best practice with peers to drive further breakthroughs.

Their deeply engrained relationships with the University of Southampton, the SETsquared Partnership and the UK Science Park Association enable us to fulfil these roles for the benefit of their business community.

They also support new and early-stage technology businesses with their self-funded Catalyst business accelerator programme, designed to give promising new enterprises the best possible chance of success.

All UKSPA Members are entitled to up to two free places at the Conference. There are a limited number of non-member places (or for the booking of an additional delegate place for Members) with delegate fees shown in the booking details.

Please be aware of bogus organisations currently targeting our industry, offering data list sales. Under no circumstances do we sell or rent attendee information to any third party. We would strongly advise not working with any company that claims they have this data.

UKSPA Spring Conference: 16th-17th March 2023, Southampton Science Park