Cambridge Wide Open Day is centrepiece of a week showcasing city’s science and tech
Prashant Shah reports that this year’s Cambridge Wide Open Week, which started on Monday (9 June), is enjoying the best response of the event to date.
The “week of life sciences festivities at the home of life sciences” has already seen educators, investors, prospective employees, students and scientists visit some of the city’s most notable labs and premises. Talks by Hermann Hauser on our AI/quantum future, Shaun O’Grady (chair of AstraZeneca UK) and Lord Andrew Lansley all boosted proceedings.
On Cambridge Wide Open Day today (11 June) the city was buzzing with a mass networking event like none other.
At just one location - Allia Future Business Centre on King’s Hedges Road - there were stalls and demonstrations taking place in the foyer/cafe area.
They included a Form The Future stand, where Gwen Bergius, business development manager, with Matthew Sage, marketing executive, were on hand to explain what the CIC has been up to.
“We’re based here at Allia now,” said Gwen, “and we’re sharing the impact of what we do. It’s our 10th anniversary this year, and in that time we’ve impacted 170,000 young people’s lives, all thanks to the support and time of people volunteering, backed by schools and other organisations. It’s been a huge collaborative journey.,
“We’re here to ask more people from businesses to volunteer, and there’s been all sorts of different businesses getting involved, wanting to help deliver the services we offer to schools - that would be careers services, mock interviews, enterprise days and the like.”
Right next door to Form The Future is Orca Scan, which makes bar code technology available to everyone.
“We’re trying to make people’s lives easier,” says Harry Eastwood, quality assurance engineer, “by tracking anything in the world with a bar code. Our software saves time and money - it’s tech for good.”
Orca Scan’s bar code technology is now available in 22 languages, says partnership manager Tim Hill.
He adds: "It's always an honour to be demonstrating Cambridge innovation alongside other awesome Allia ventures and be able to showcase the ways our users are making positive social and environmental impact by tracking barcodes more efficiently with Orca Scan - for example helping the Aquaculture Stewardship Council track water samples to certify responsibly farmed seafood."
The event’s organiser, Prashant is co-founder and co-CEO of o2h.
“Straight out of the blocks,” he says, “Cambridge Wide Open Week has been a whirlwind of inspiring pitches, thought-provoking keynote speeches, and buzzing investor conversations - a true celebration of Cambridge’s flourishing life science ecosystem.
“We've seen first hand the energy and ambition of our startups, matched by the wisdom and support of global leaders in science and innovation. Hermann Hauser powerfully captured both the promise and growing pains of the AI/quantum future, underscoring the urgent need to close our scaleup gap with more experienced leadership. We also welcomed Shaun O’Grady, chair of AstraZeneca UK, who reaffirmed the strategic significance of moving their HQ to the heart of Cambridge’s life sciences hub.
“And on Day 2 of the 2025 Ventures Tour, we were honoured to hear Lord Andrew Lansley offer compelling insights on the future of life sciences and the innovation landscape ahead. It’s been a remarkable week - not just a showcase, but a catalyst for what’s next.”
Find out what’s on next here.
