Get to Know: Our Facilities Manager
Science parks are complex communities made up of multiple organisations and York Biotech Campus (YBC) is no exception, with a range of bioscience occupiers and over 1,100 employees onsite. We therefore need a top-tier facilities team to keep things running smoothly.
The person responsible for making sure YBC stays a well-oiled machine is Dan Sykes, our Facilities Manager. Dan is responsible for managing the hard services, which include the technical tasks like ongoing building maintenance which is delivered by Arcus Facilities Management. Dan also manages all of the soft services providers, which covers everything from landscaping, security, to the mail room, porterage and more.
We caught up with Dan to learn more about his role, and what he gets up to on a day-to-day basis.
How long have you been at York Biotech Campus?
“I started back when the site...
How to care for the NHS: Facilitating healthcare conferences
York Biotech Campus (YBC) is not only home to brilliant bioscience organisations but also to our Lakeside Conference Centre (LCC). Several of our occupiers onsite, including Abingdon Health and the UK Health Security Agency, work in the field of science related to preventing the spread...
Celebrating Women in STEM this International Women’s Day
We're celebrating women in STEM this International Women’s Day (IWD) (8th March). With the theme of ‘Inspire Inclusion’ for this year’s IWD, we're promoting some of the incredible, and successful women, that work onsite at the science park to inspire other women to explore...
Celebrating International Day of Women and Girls in Science
This Sunday (11th February 2024) marks the ninth International Day of Women and Girls in Science. Despite women having made significant global contributions to the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) across history to the present day, gender-inequality...
Campus Diaries: Looking to the future of bioscience property
In our latest instalment of Campus Diaries, our Innovation Campus Manager, Liz Cashon reflects on the year just past, the prospects for York Biotech Campus and trends in the property industry which we can expect to see in the year ahead. A year in review Our success in 2023 has...
Abingdon Health announces exciting new partnership with Morrama!
It’s been a major period of growth for Abingdon Health as it has strengthened its capabilities over the past couple of years. First in its pivotal role in the COVID-19 pandemic which saw the rapid scale-up of Abingdon’s capabilities in developing and manufacturing lateral flow tests....
Innovation, conferences and networking: campus update
Home to industry leading bioscience organisations and a thriving conference centre there’s always lots happening at York Biotech Campus. It’s been a busy year, so we’ve rounded up some of our fantastic conferences, events and occupier news so far… York & North Yorkshire...
Business is booming: campus update
It's been a busy year at YBC, from new bioscience organisations joining our campus to long-standing occupiers expanding their space onsite here's what we've been up to... Earlier this year University of York joined tour campus, taking on 2,750 sq ft of space to conduct research that...
Get to Know: Our Receptionist
Science parks are home to world-leading scientific organisations and institutions, as a biotech hub, we have organisations onsite that span the entire sector from agri-tech to healthcare. Nestled in an 80-acre parkland setting, York Biotech Campus (YBC) has plenty of space for our vibrant...
Celebrating bioscience this Yorkshire Day
From wily, windy moors to rolling dales, Yorkshire is known for its stunning scenery, diverse culture, and rich heritage. Our beloved county is known for many things, but adding to its list of accolades, is its reputation as a thriving hub for bioscience. With a variety of global...
Caring for the fostering community: North Yorkshire Council’s Fostering conference returns
In April, we hosted a one-day event for the North Yorkshire Council at our Lakeside Conference Centre (LCC). The Fostering North Yorkshire (FNY) 2023 Conference is an annual conference which invites the North Yorkshire fostering community to catch up, network and, most importantly, for...
Get Active at York Biotech Campus
One of the many perks of being based at a science park is the access to facilities onsite. It can be a challenge finding time to exercise around your schedule, but at York Biotech Campus (YBC), we make it easy to stay active, whether you’re trying to get in shape, boost your mental wellbeing or...
Occupier update: FPCR expands!
It’s been an eventful few years for leading design and environmental practice, FPCR, since they came to York Biotech Campus (YBC) back in 2017. Since we last spoke with them in 2022 the team at York has hired new team members, expanded its services and has been working on some varied...
A hive of innovation: welcoming the ICPPR to campus
Our Lakeside Conference Centre (LCC) was recently selected as the hosting venue for the International Commission for Plant-Pollinator Relationships (ICPPR) Bee Protection Group’s 15th symposium. This international event brought 129 delegates from global organisations across 17...
Get to Know: Our M&E Team Leader
Having diverse occupiers on campus means that we are also home to a wide range of state-of-the-art facilities, from the first fully-flow through field scale mesocosm facility in Europe to one of the largest mass spectrometry suites in the UK. In order to keep everything running...
British Science Week: celebrating success!
We’re home to a range of science organisations that are at the forefront of the industry. From making world-first discoveries in medicine and agri-tech, to launching new products that will help make our world a better place, their achievements are instrumental in helping to improve our...
Top five benefits of being based at a science park
In 1970, the UK’s first science park was opened in Cambridge by university academics and local consultancy firms to better facilitate the sharing of knowledge between industry, academia, and government. Fast forward to today, and these clusters of scientific organisations are now...
Celebrating Women in Science
The International Day of Women and Girls in Science (11th Feb 2023) aims to address the gender gap that throughout the years has persisted in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines of all levels. By profiling the amazing work of women and girls in STEM all...
Creating space for Cargill
We have adapted over 10,000 sq ft of space onsite, including the modification of 3,000 sq ft of laboratory space, in order to welcome an international organisation to the campus. Cargill Bioindustrial, which is part of Cargill, a provider of food, agricultural, financial and industrial...
Forward thinking: Forward Institute’s responsible leadership event triumph
Earlier this year, our Lakeside Conference Centre (LCC) hosted two, two-day events for the Forward Institute, a non-profit organisation dedicated to championing responsible leadership. The event was for participants of its 18-month Fellowship Programme, which brings together...
University of York join our campus!
We're excited to announce that the University of York has joined our campus to conduct research that aims to control mosquito-borne disease. The University of York has taken 2,750 sq ft of space for this research project, which includes two controlled-environment rooms and ancillary...
A Year in Review: 2022, a year to celebrate!
After a couple of what can only be described as uncertain years, it was great to finally return to a sense of normality in 2022. We saw our Lakeside Conference Centre (LCC) once again operate at full capacity, occupier expansions (including a first of its kind lab!) and plenty of...
Get to Know: Our Logistics Supervisor
York Biotech Campus (YBC) is home to over 10 bioscience organisations, 1,100 employees and has 80 acres of parkland, so it’s no surprise that it takes a whole host of people to keep our campus running. One of which is our Logistic Supervisor, Keith Alexander. Keith has been at YBC...
Campus Diaries: Prospects for property in Yorkshire
Innovation Campus Manager, Liz Cashon takes the wheel again for the next instalment of our Campus Diaries series. Liz discusses the opportunities for the property sector both in Yorkshire and bioscience following the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as her favourite past projects and sources of...
Meet the Occupier: UK Health Security Agency
Next in our meet the occupier series is the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), an official government agency that is responsible for protecting England’s public from a range of health threats, including diseases associated with the consumption of food and water. UKHSA provides food,...
Occupier update: Welcome to Abingdon Simply Test!
Abingdon Health has had a busy couple of years in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, playing a vital role in developing and manufacturing lateral flow tests. They even transformed an under-utilised grain store on campus into a leading rapid test manufacturing and research...
Yorkshire Day: why our region is best for bioscience
Home to stunning natural scenery, vibrant and historic cities and towns, and the birthplace of national treasures such as Marks and Spencer, Yorkshire Tea and Yorkshire puddings – the list can certainly go on as to why – in our opinion - Yorkshire is the best region! And adding to...
Our biggest event in two years!
At the end of March, we welcomed 130 delegates to our conference space, Lakeside Conference Centre (LCC), for The Society of Food Hygiene and Technology’s (SOFHT) Innovation Day, held in partnership with onsite occupier Fera Science. It was our largest event since before the pandemic...
Fera Science to launch £1m Insect Laboratory on campus
Fera Science has invested £1m into creating a UK ‘first of its kind’ insect research laboratory here at York Biotech Campus (YBC). The expansion involves converting a former storage unit on site into a purpose-built insect research unit and will see the business’s presence at...
What are the benefits of co-working space?
The concept of co-working space – which involves different companies working from a shared office space - was largely unknown 10 years ago or so, but it’s a way of working that many businesses, especially the likes of start-ups, SMEs and solo-workers, are beginning to take up more...
International Women’s Day: celebrating women on campus
International Women’s Day (March 8th) is a globally recognised day that celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. To mark the occasion, we’re profiling some of the many accomplished women based at York Biotech Campus (YBC) and finding out about...
Discover our Lakeside Conference Centre
What a lot of people might not know is that York Biotech Campus is home to a brilliant multipurpose event space called Lakeside Conference Centre (LCC). We haven’t been operating at full capacity since the pandemic hit, but we’re pleased to now be planning more events in person and...
Meet the Occupier: FPCR
Last year, we started shining spotlights on our occupiers at York Biotech Campus (YBC). Next to take the stage is our occupier FPCR, a leading design and environmental practice. Since FPCR was established back in 1957, it’s expanded its services to offer everything from environmental...
What’s coming up in 2022
We’re now well into the new year and gearing up for what’s set to be an exciting year for both the campus and the businesses onsite. Here's what's coming up in 2022... We don’t need to point out that the world has changed immensely over the past two years, and we’re making sure...
Occupier update: Labskin expands again!
It’s an exciting time for our occupier Labskin, who earlier this year doubled its lab and office space on campus so that it could expand its current services, as well as offer new ones. And they didn’t stop there. More recently, Labskin has undergone another expansion so it can...
Award nomination for the campus and Abingdon Health!
This year has been a difficult one for many, however we have some exciting news to share! We are very pleased to announce that we have received an award nomination, alongside our occupier Abingdon Health, in Insider Media’s Yorkshire Property Industry Awards. We have an award nomination in the...
Welcoming Oxxie and AgriSound to campus
We’re delighted to announce that two new start-ups have joined the site, Oxxie and AgriSound. AgriSound specialises in ecosystem management and beekeeping technology, whilst Oxxie is a lighting company that designs and produces lighting used in food manufacturing and the...
Meet the Occupier: Labcorp Drug Development
We pride ourselves at York Biotech Campus on being a base for some of the world’s leading bioscience organisations across a variety of fields including agri-tech, biotechnology, environmental, medical, healthcare and diagnostics. One of which is Labcorp Drug Development (formerly known...
Celebrating innovation & collaboration between Labskin and leading universities
One major benefit of being based at a science park like York Biotech Campus is being around like-minded people who work in similar fields. The campus is an environment where there are many opportunities to share best practice and ideas, and ultimately drive forwards innovation and...
Plant & Bean join us on campus!
We’re pleased that Plant & Bean, a major plant-based food producer, has joined us as a new occupier onsite. Plant & Bean Ltd is a developer and manufacturer of high-quality, plant-based food products and has taken on a large space for industry-leading research and development...
Labskin doubles in size here onsite
Labskin UK – a leading skincare testing company – has doubled its office space and lab space facilities here at York Biotech Campus, to launch new services that will further strengthen the region’s reputation as a leading bioscience hub. The new space follows an increase in...
A Year in Review: why 2020 wasn’t all that bad
Despite an uncertain year, we still had lots to celebrate at York Biotech Campus in 2020. From an exciting rebrand, to welcoming new occupiers to the site, we’ve rounded up our top five successes. A fresh new look In June 2020, we revealed our new identity as we rebranded...
Campus Diaries: A new dawn for working in biotech
In the first instalment of our new blog series, Campus Diaries, our Innovation Campus Manager, Liz Cashon, shares how working in biotech has changed since the start of 2020 and her thoughts on the future ways of working for the industry, including why science parks are set to become an...
Meet the Occupier: Labskin
Enabling high quality, animal-free skin research and testing with Europe’s leading 3D skin model Here at York Biotech Campus, we are home to many fantastic bioscience organisations, all working to find solutions to issues that our world faces. One of which is Labskin, who offer...
Introducing York Biotech Campus
We are very excited to announce that we have rebranded to become ‘York Biotech Campus’ (previously the National Agri-Food Innovation Campus – NAFIC). The rebrand represents our evolution from an agri-tech site to all-encompassing biotech and includes a new name, visual marque, and...
Abingdon Health expands onsite following rapid year of growth
Following a successful 2019, Abingdon Health is expanding its presence here onsite at York Biotech Campus, giving them the space and capabilities necessary to continue to drive forward rapid diagnostic testing innovation and create new jobs in the region. Abingdon Health, which...
Labskin doubles in size to attract multi-national companies to the region
Leading skincare testing company Labskin UK has embarked on a large expansion plan here at York Biotech Campus, which will see it launch a dedicated research and training lab, attracting multi-national cosmetic and healthcare companies to the region. The company based onsite creates...
We celebrate our largest event ever!
Lakeside Conference Centre, based here at York Biotech Campus, held its largest event to date, hosting Coeliac UK’s Gluten Free Food Festival. The event welcomed a record-breaking 1,300 people to the site earlier this summer, combining the charity’s AGM, a gluten free food...
Exploring tomorrow’s farming technology: Farmers Weekly’s event success
Lakeside Conference Centre, based here at the York Biotech Campus, was the perfect venue for the Farmers Weekly’s Arable Horizons Spray Innovations event, providing the ideal, parkland setting to demonstrate innovation and new technology in action. The meeting, which welcomed 120...