Emma Fletcher joined the Steel City Stadium Workspace team in September 2024, after Scarborough Group announced an exciting new partnership with Sheffield Technology Parks, where Emma has been integral to building a strong and vibrant business community. We caught up with Emma to learn more about her role, the impact she’s had so far and how she’s helping strengthen the innovation ecosystem across Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park.
Can you tell us about your role as Community Manager and what you enjoy about it?
I’m here to build a community by bringing together tenants, people from around the Park, and others who are innovating in sport, health and wellbeing to create a vibrant, collaborative space and informal professional networks.
I love connecting people. I enjoy the small wins – bringing people together and seeing collaborations and partnerships form from those introductions.
What’s the vision behind the Workspace, and how does it support the mission of Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park?
The goal is to be a hub where start-ups, scaling businesses and established companies can connect, work, and grow – supporting a thriving business ecosystem. That fits with the Park’s mission to turn sporting success into economic regeneration, environmental improvements, and community benefit.
How do you build a sense of community among businesses and individuals at the Workspace?
The most important thing is to get to know our members; what stage they’re at in their business, challenges they’re experiencing and what they need. This helps us to tailor support, signpost, make useful introductions, and celebrate their wins.
A good way of doing this is at our monthly Stadium Social networking events, which are free and open to everyone – not just those at Steel City Stadium, but across the Park and wider local business community. One month it might be an informal morning meetup over coffee and pastries, the next an early evening gathering with refreshments. It’s a great way for people to meet and learn about each other’s work, at a time that suits them. Plus, it gives me a chance to check in with members, meet new team members and find out what is happening in their worlds.
Can you share an example of a recent event that brought people together?
Our first networking event in December 2024 brought together UK NEQAS, a tenant at Stadium Workspace, and a representative from the UTC Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park. While the senior UTC team knew about Stadium Workspace, many staff just thought it was a football pitch (which it is also is)!
Jen, the Company Secretary at UK NEQAS, and Ifatghar, Curriculum Director of Computing at the UTC connected at the event and discussed student placements. UK NEQAS, closely linked with the NHS, had been looking for placement students – and that initial chat led to a partnership. Students from the UTC’s healthcare course will now get placements in a professional setting. It’s a fantastic result.
What makes this community different from other coworking or innovation spaces?
It’s focused on sport, health and wellbeing – making it unique in our region. And we’re building something more than a typical coworking space. As the community grows, we’re expanding the support and opportunities on offer, including:
– Access to mentors and advisors
– Accelerator and incubator programmes
– Free drop-ins with investors, legal experts, and tech consultants
– Regular workshops, pitch nights and social events
– An environment that supports skill-sharing and peer learning
Why is collaboration so important for businesses in healthtech, sportstech and medtech?
Because it’s essential. Collaboration accelerates innovation, improves best practice through the input of others, builds trust, and helps deliver life-changing technologies to the people who need them most.
Have you seen any interesting collaborations or ideas sparked here?
Yes! As mentioned, UK NEQAS and the UTC are now working together on placements. A start-up from Sheffield Technology Parks (STP), Darwinist, met representatives from the Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre (AWRC) during a networking breakfast, a great example of the Park’s ecosystem expanding to include startups based elsewhere.
Wursch Electronics is also hosting an event at Stadium Workspace soon, following a session at STP. They’re keen to enter Sheffield’s growing health and medtech sector and, after learning about our connections across the Park, they were excited to meet some of the innovative businesses based here.
What kind of businesses thrive here, and why?
Start-ups, innovators, early-stage founders, and anyone working in health, sport or wellbeing. Being part of Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park – a hub for these sectors – makes the Workspace an ideal base for those wanting to innovate in these fields.
How do you connect businesses with the wider Park ecosystem – researchers, academics, clinicians and industry?
We support connections through tailored advice, signposting, introductions, community engagement, and shared spaces. While we’re still growing, we’re adding funding support, more networking, and a new coworking space and café to help build these all-important informal networks.
What are some of the unique opportunities that come with being based at the Park?
The Park is a centre for innovation in sport, health and wellbeing, with facilities like Canon Medical Arena, Steel City Stadium, and open spaces for elite and community sports. It’s home to the Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre, focused on preventative interventions and healthier communities.
Being here means being part of something bigger – close to pioneering research, surrounded by innovation, and inspired every day by your surroundings.
What are your priorities for growing the community over the next year?
Expanding Stadium Workspace’s reach, making sure its benefits extend across the Park and beyond, and contributing to the Park’s legacy in sport, health and wellbeing. We’re focused on strengthening partnerships, increasing engagement, and promoting Stadium Workspace’s facilities and opportunities.
Soon we’ll be opening our new business lounge and café, with an ‘open-house’ week beginning 30 June, where anyone can come and try out the coworking facilities for free. We’ve also got lunch and learn sessions and drop-ins coming up, delivered in partnership with STP, open to everyone on the Park. And of course, we’ll continue our monthly Stadium Social events – we can’t wait to welcome more new faces!
