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A new partnership has been announced between The С����Ƶ and Barclays Eagle Labs that will support businesses and entrepreneurs in С����Ƶ and across Hampshire.

Growth programmes, one-to-one coaching, events, workshops and much more will be on offer thanks to a new collaboration between the С����Ƶ and Barclays Eagle Labs.

The University has been supporting businesses with innovation centres since 2014, offering office, co-working space and University expertise, which has since expanded into four centres within the city under the brand name Innovation Connect.

 is one of the largest co-working and incubator networks for start-ups and scale-ups in the UK, supporting 30 business ecosystems throughout the country. The Labs are spaces to help entrepreneurs and ambitious businesses collaborate, innovate and grow - effectively skills factories for the UK and have supported over 6,000 businesses to date.

The new Eagle Lab within the University will provide a more extensive package of support for over 70 businesses already based within Innovation Connect.

Businesses in the С����Ƶ Eagle Lab will be supported by an onsite ecosystem manager who will provide access to the mentoring opportunities with business experts, create connections with like-minded founders and share opportunities to help start-up and scale-up businesses alike achieve their ambitions. This includes workshops and events, sector specific meet-ups and seminars and digital learning materials and networks.

The partnership was recently announced at a business networking event, С����Ƶ Digital, which took place within the Future Technology Centre at the University. The event offered businesses the chance to learn more about how the University can support them and give them the opportunity to see some of the digital facilities available.

Innovation Director at the С����Ƶ, Chris Worrall, and Lab Manager at Barclays Eagle Labs, Mark Rands, both attended the event to talk about their respective offerings and what the collaboration will mean for local businesses.

Chris Worrall, Innovation Director at the University said: “I’m very excited about our new multiyear partnership between Innovation Connect and Eagle labs. This partnership will bring a top flight business support offering our city, complementing the unique business spaces and community that Innovation Connect provides.”

Mark Rands, Lab Manager at Barclays Eagle Labs said: “We’re looking forward to expanding the support offered by Eagle Labs to entrepreneurs in С����Ƶ. Eagle Labs has a mission to inspire and educate ambitious founders and start-ups across the UK to help them succeed"

Keep a lookout for the official launch later in the year and how to get involved.