Season3 Ep4 With the Oxford Trust Now Live
How Innovation and Education are Powering Oxford's Future
In this episode of Oxford +, host Susannah de Jager, sits down with Steve Burgess, CEO, and Nicki Campling, Director of Innovation and Operations, at the Oxford Trust.
Together they explore the organisation's unique role in nurturing startups and inspiring future scientists. From pioneering the UK's first innovation centre to investing over £20 million in state-of-the-art facilities, the Trust has quietly built an ecosystem where early-stage companies can thrive.
Discover how the Trust's dual mission—supporting deep tech startups and delivering hands-on STEM education—creates a virtuous circle that benefits the entire region. The conversation touches on everything from lab space pivots and impact metrics to angel investing, patient capital, and how philanthropic roots enable long-term decision-making. It's a rare look at a sustainable, mission-led model that continues to adapt in a rapidly evolving innovation landscape.
Learning from this episode:
Reinvest Surplus for Social Impact: If you run a commercial or semi-commercial operation, consider how reinvesting profits into mission-aligned programmes—like education or inclusion—can increase your impact and community support.
Build Innovation Spaces Around Flexibility: Adapt your property or infrastructure plans to reflect shifting market needs. The Oxford Trust's pivot from office space to lab space post-COVID is a powerful model for remaining responsive.
Create Clusters to Combat Founder Isolation: Founders often face loneliness and burnout. Creating intentional communities with events and collaborative space can foster resilience and innovation.
Track Success Beyond Revenue: Look at long-term metrics like company survivability, employee growth, or ecosystem contribution. The Trust's 95% survival rate over 20 years is a testament to this broader perspective.
Encourage Cross-Sector Philanthropy: If you're in a position to give back, consider how philanthropic investment beyond academia can strengthen regional innovation and diversify opportunity pipelines.
The Oxford Trust also talk about how their goals as an endowed charity differentiate them in their aspirations and deliverables allowing them to plan for the long term and keep values at the centre of everything they do.
See here how that virtuous cycle can pay off:
This is a must listen episode for anyone wanting to appreciate how innovation can impact a region in a lasting, positive and wide-ranging way.
With thanks as always to our Partner, Mishcon de Reya LLP, and Sponsor, Oxford North without whom the work would not be possible.
Susannah and the Oxford + Team