Why Cambridge is important to HMGCC

HMGCC is among the leading names at Cambridge Tech Week, and I am proud to be there, representing this fantastic organisation as its new Chief Technology Officer.

I have always been inspired and intrigued by what this mysterious and long-time secret organisation gets up to as it creates seemingly impossible technology for use by the UK’s national security community, at home and across the globe. 

We work in support of a broad range of discerning partners across the national security, defence and law enforcement communities.

 Now my role is public, I have been told to expect more than the occasional jokes and quips about covert gadgets in everything from Aston Martins to innocent looking fountain pens. 

But let’s concentrate on the serious. Why is HMGCC now talking to industry and why have we come to Cambridge?

The answer is Cambridge has what we need. The vision we have mapped for ourselves is to create ever bigger and bolder partnerships with those tech creators who are at the forefront of the most game-changing technology. 

Cambridge technology is vital to this goal. It is home to one of Europe’s leading deep tech ecosystems. It is not only natural, but crucial, that we form strong and collaborative links with this great city.

We want to build a broad and deep network with tech leaders – including those from the smallest start-ups. Where the tech innovation lies, that is where we will go.

And why should industry in Cambridge care? In national security and defence there are, for many, untapped markets where original ideas can find their customers and dual-use technologies can find functions never imagined at their inception. We can show some tech leaders how much of a difference their technology really could make – and we can help them find routes to market.

Problem solving and tech creation is nothing new to Cambridge, with its marvellous history of world-changing ideas and successful entrepreneurs. Our links with Cambridge go back almost to our foundation in the 1930s. King’s College Cambridge is of course Alan Turing’s alma mater and, as we all know, he solved critical communications technology problems for the British government, both at Bletchley Park and at our own home at Hanslope Park, arguably changing the face of World War 2.

We are here again asking for Cambridge’s support in building UK tech resilience, asking you to consider working with us as a streamlined route into potentially providing tech solutions for  national security and defence customers. The relationship is mutually beneficial.

 We are living in an age where democracies are facing growing and critical pressures to secure their peace and prosperity. And we are living in an age in which the pace of technological change is extraordinary. As we meet with the emergence of incredible inventions, we recognise their potential and the risks they could pose if used against us. It is only by working with outside industry and putting ourselves where the best innovation happens that we believe we can stay ahead of adversaries.

But the relationship isn’t one-sided. For several years now, as part of HMGCC Co-Creation, we have been publishing public challenges, through our own website, social media and a network of collaborators. Many of the hundreds of participants we have worked with have been from small, start-up companies, looking for their first opportunities.

HMGCC Co-Creation is attractive for many because we not only offer funding for a project, but we work in a highly collaborative way, without taking on a company’s IP and, thanks to the knowledge we have built up through our work with industry, we have fast contracting times – as fast as two weeks.

We recognise that investment is important for companies and we work closely with important investment arms such as NSSIF,  a vital source of funding for so many who want to find a home for their technologies in national security and defence.

So, if you are interested in how you could work with us, as a way in to seeing your technology making a real difference to national security and defence, come and see us at our Cambridge Tech Week stand and make sure you drop into the Sovereign AI panel in which our CEO Simon Fabri is participating on Tuesday.

As a former student here myself, Cambridge is close to my heart. I have spent nearly 30 years here as a student, then in a start-up and in a consultancy. I know the city and the amazing things it does well. The oft-repeated mantra that ‘Cambridge ideas change the world’ rings true. I know the tech challenges faced by UK national security and I recognise that those ideas could make all the difference. I’m excited to be back here with my work hat on, forming new connections and strengthening old ones.

The views expressed in this Sponsor article are the author's own and do not necessarily represent those of Cambridge Tech Week.