(Office hours 9.00am-5:00pm)

Scale your business in our thriving community of innovation & technology

A bold new home for tech businesses in Essex

01206 405 500
Office hours 9am – 5pm

Innovation Centre
Knowledge Gateway, Boundary Road
Colchester, CO4 3ZQ

The Innovation Centre is the focal point for the University of Essex’s Knowledge Gateway; a research and technology park situated on their Colchester campus.

A creative hub for technology innovation

ICKG is a place where start-up and early stage technology businesses can rent flexible, socially distanced office space to rent, book impressive meeting and conference facilities, benefit from business support, and have access to research expertise –  as well as student and graduate talent.

The Innovation Centre is based at the University of Essex’s Colchester Campus, which is an official University Enterprise Zone designated by the Government as a centre for nurturing and supporting new digital and creative businesses.

People working in workspace

A catalyst for growth

By supporting early stage innovative businesses, the Innovation Centre is helping the University to drive economic growth in the East of England, and establish this area as a globally-recognised centre for innovation. Combined with the excellent facilities on the University campus, the thriving hub of the Knowledge Gateway is an essential place for entrepreneurs and business owners to base themselves and develop new ideas.

A strong partnership

Innovation Centre, Knowledge Gateway is a partnership between the University of Essex (University of the Year at the Times Higher Education Awards 2018) and Oxford Innovation (the UK’s leading Innovation Centre operator). Their joint aim is to make high-tech and creative start-up and scale-up businesses into sustainable and commercial successes, which has a continuous positive impact on the local economy.

Oxford Innovation logo
University of Essex logo
Benches Outside Innovation Centre
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What our customers say

“The Innovation Centre is a great location for young thriving tech businesses. The facilities, business community and support have been invaluable to us and would benefit any business. ICKG is located in the University of Essex’s Enterprise Zone, and this has been of particular benefit to us as we work closely with the University’s academics, students from the drama school, and we are also looking to hire interns and graduates to build our human resources capacity.”
Angela Knox
Angela Knox
Keep Fit Eat Fit
“Have found the staff, facilities & professional experience at ICKG of real beneficial support to the development & growth of my business. Great value for money with a very high standard of customer care, plus positive engagement - especially in these current challenging times - with good safe working practices deployed to ensure business as usual”
Tony Parker
Tony Parker
Borland Insurance

Meet the team

Kathryn White

Kathryn
White

Innovation Director

Georgina Watts

Georgina
Watts

Centre
Manager

Penny
Horey

Customer Experience Assistant

Natasha Miller

Natasha
Miller

Customer Experience Assistant

Interested in joining our tech community?

Find out how our customers are thriving at ICKG

Grow your innovative business at the University of Essex’s Knowledge Gateway.

For more information about pricing, availability, or to arrange a virtual or socially distanced tour, please get in touch.

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10 minutes from Colchester High Street

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26 miles from Chelmsford on the A12

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46 minutes from London Liverpool Street

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30 miles to London Stansted Airport

Kathryn White

Innovation Director

After working in innovation for over a decade, Kathryn has developed a specialism in supporting entrepreneurs and developing the Innovation Ecosystems that help them to grow. Her career has spanned all aspects of innovation, from Corporate Innovation in the financial services to SME support in the South West; a leadership role in a big data healthtech startup to global research into Innovation Ecosystems.
Kathryn White

Georgina Watts

Centre Manager

Georgina comes to Oxford Innovation with a wealth of knowledge and experience in operations and customer service, within the retail sector. She is looking forward to working with the team, managing day-to-day centre operations and helping the centre to flourish. Georgina really enjoys meeting people and loves spending time with her family camping and going on bike rides.
Georgina Watts

Natasha Miller

Customer Experience Assistant

After working in innovation for over a decade, Kathryn has developed a specialism in supporting entrepreneurs and developing the Innovation Ecosystems that help them to grow. Her career has spanned all aspects of innovation, from Corporate Innovation in the financial services to SME support in the South West; a leadership role in a big data healthtech startup to global research into Innovation Ecosystems.
Natasha Miller

Book a Tour

Join an inspiring community of innovators and entrepreneurs at ICKG.

  • Book a tour of our innovation centre
  • Get more information on sizes, pricing & availability
  • Have your questions answered
  • Secure your choice of office, coworking space or meeting room
Innovation Centre Knowledge Gateway Boundary Road Colchester CO4 3ZQ
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