Valerie Kidd Managing facilities at Cranfield University Technology Park
DAY IN THE LIFE
Cranfield University Technology Park , Bedford , UK
Biography Valerie Kidd has managed Cranfield University Technology Park for the last 18 years . Her greatest achievements are her two children , her husband Steve and her cat Daxter . She ’ s a Northern lass who defected in 1972 , but plans to travel back at some point , as well as to other faraway places
Valerie Kidd Managing facilities at Cranfield University Technology Park
Aug
30
An early start as always – 7:15am brings a call from Security , alerting me of a plumbing issue in the Cranfield Innovation Centre . I ’ m in the door at 7:45 to assist with the clean-up and the place looks as good as new before any of our tenants get to reception . By 8:15 I have a coffee in hand and I ’ m ready for the day ahead .
Accelerating business By 9:00 the reception area is full of visitors ready to attend a Business Velocity course run by SEMLEP , our local business enterprise partnership . Cranfield University Technology Park is not only a place for businesses to operate from , it is dedicated to helping its businesses create , innovate and grow .
I ’ m in a monthly Mechanical & Electrical meeting at 10:00 with BAM , where we ’ re preparing the refurbishment schedule for the A / C chiller in Trent House .
Meeting over , and after a brief catch-up on emails , I take an enthusiastic group of prospective tenants to view a 6,000 sq ft office unit in Trent House . Our visit is followed shortly by a conference call
C r a n f i e l d helps its businesses c r e at e , innovate
with the Park owners and our letting agent , Richard Last of Brown & Lee , to discuss occupancy levels and future lettings . And all this before lunch ! I sit down to a bite to eat . My usual is a prawn sandwich on brown from the Serious EATS Café which is often taken at my desk in between answering more calls and emails .
Next is a meeting with existing tenants who have outgrown their current space so need to take on a larger office . Part of this process requires a design team to refit the unit . Luckily one of our businesses , Workspace , is perfectly equipped to handle this for us – the beauty of working in a Technology Park environment !
Tenants shape my day As the day closes I use the quieter hours to prepare for the end of month tenant accounts . Invoices out and monies in means we can continue to run the park to the highest quality standards .
No day is the same here , and I very rarely do what I set out to . One phone call from a tenant and one visitor can change the course of your day . But that ’ s what I love about it and that ’ s why I ’ ve looked after the Park for the last 18 years . ■
82 | UKSPA breakthrough | Winter 2017