sbarc|spark celebrates its third anniversary
26 March 2025
Earlier this month, the seven-floor community of sbarc|spark came together to celebrate three years of being Cardiff University’s home for innovation, research, and enterprise.
sbarc|spark houses both SPARK – the Social Science Research Park – and Cardiff Innovations, bringing together world-leading researchers, businesses, and entrepreneurs under one roof. The community continues to grow, with SPARK now home to over 15 research centres and over 15 member organisations occupying the building. Cardiff Innovations houses over 30 businesses across office, lab and co-working spaces.
The anniversary event was a fantastic opportunity for colleagues and partners to connect, reflect, and look ahead. Attendees enjoyed free professional headshots, delicious food, and the much-anticipated reopening of the sbarc|spark café. The event took place under blue skies and sunshine, adding to the celebratory atmosphere.
A key highlight of the event was the display of banners showcasing the entire sbarc|spark community. Informative floor plans and slides detailed who occupies each level, helping attendees better understand who they share the space with and encouraging networking and collaboration.
Over the past three years, I've seen the incredible growth of our building community, encompassing a diverse range of external businesses, organisations, Cardiff University Research Centres, and Professional Service Teams. The third-year birthday event was a pivotal moment to showcase the breadth of our community, highlighting who we are and what we do. It was so impactful to see the vibrant floor plans, informative slides, and bold, colorful banner stands come together. Our aim was to help our building community understand who they share the space with and to foster networking and collaborative opportunities. The buzz was amazing, and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. I am very proud to have seen our building fill and our community flourish over the past three years.