Tom El-Shawk joined Future Space earlier this year as our new Centre Manager.
He came from the Growth Hub in the Forest of Dean where he helped small businesses to highlight areas that needed attention and could help them grow. Since joining, it has been a period of big changes for the centre. We caught up with him to find out how his first three months in post have gone and his thoughts on the future.
“Before joining I knew Future Space would be an interesting place to work because everyone’s story is different, and they’ve got a purpose for what they’re doing. Everyone is changing the world in some way through STEM – which I knew was my area of interest from the previous work I’d done at Growth hub,” he explains.
“I think it’s fair to say that I joined Future Space when it was in a state of flux”. He’s not wrong – as well as the lasting impact of Covid-19 making it difficult to hold events, there have also been a lot of changes to the Future Space team.
“The guys here have done an incredible job of keeping everything moving while there has been so much going on behind-the-scenes. The pandemic led to a reluctance by many to hold events, so that’s an area we’re reviving.”
Photo: Tom with the new Future Space team for 2022
And it shows – the recent birthday party Fiesta saw over a hundred members get together to celebrate, and the team held not one, not two, but three events for the Bristol Tech Festival.
“Just getting everyone together for beer and pizza again so our community can connect with each other has been a priority for me. There are so many interesting people here and when they talk to each other they find they can help each other.
“There are startups and small teams here, and their time is extremely precious. It can be difficult for them to take time away from their business, so we want to make sure we add value with our events.
“You get to know businesses in such a close way – there’s a camaraderie that gets built in a community like this because everyone is trying to make some sort of breakthrough – whether that’s through research or accessing funding.
“I’d say this is what has struck me most since I started – the enormous scope of work that gets done here and how everyone is driven by their own story. It’s more than just work, and it’s more than a passion project either. You just need to ask them their reason why.”
Photo: The team speaking with our support providers at the FS Birthday Fiesta
This personal drive has been well promoted among Future Space members. Zeke Steer founded Milbotix to support people living with dementia after his grandmother was diagnosed with the disease.
“The most surprising element of my role has been the scope of our community here. Beyond our members we also have UWE Bristol on our doorstep and it’s a priority for me to interact with the university as much as possible.
“It’s a huge institution with around 30,000 students; we are part of a small village. That can bring challenges, but there are far more opportunities and there is definitely work for us to do to make sure we make the most out of what that brings.”
This is an opinion that is shared by his team. Ask any of them what the USP of Future Space is and they will tell you it’s the relationship with UWE Bristol. Members benefit from access to university equipment as well as talent – more than 50 interns have now been funded by the university.
“The amount of engineering and science equipment owned by the university is staggering. A startup can’t usually afford to buy equipment like this, so to have it on their doorstep is truly unique.
“There are opportunities like this, but it’s not just about looking inward and getting what we can for our members”, Tom continues. “We are the core of the University Enterprise Zone and need to be outward facing – there is so much innovation happening here everyday that the university can tap into and vice versa. We just wouldn’t be able to offer this level of knowledge and support if we were based in the middle of town.”
Photo: Tom and Assistant Innovation Manager Abi at the SPARKies Awards earlier this year.
A tour of the engineering campus organized by the Future Space team highlighted this to some of the members, who were overwhelmed by just how much support there was for them to tap into.
“There’s a contrast between people who are busily working away on their computers, and then there’s lab and workshop space where people are physically making things, experimenting, and doing work that to the layman like me is quite mind blowing!
“People within the centre take it for granted that there’s such awesome stuff being worked on, stuff that could literally change the world. I know it sounds cliché but it’s true.”
So, with plans for the centre to grow in size in the next 18 months, what does Tom see as the main focus for the future?
“From our members’ perspective I’d like us to be in a position where there’s a clear symbiotic relationship with the university – everything flows easily and they’re all aware of the amazing opportunities.
“From an ecosystem perspective I get that we’re out of town and we’re part of a big campus – so we need to break down the mental barriers people have to accessing the space. We want people to come here and use the space, even if just for a day. They could get a tour or choose Future Space as the place for their event.”
“We should be more than a space where people come and work. That’s what I want this place to be – somewhere where people come to share ideas.”
If you have any questions for the team at Future Space, you can contact us: info@futurespacebristol.co.uk