Catalyst, formerly known as the Northern Ireland Science Park, was established in March 1999 to create a self-sustaining, internationally recognised, knowledge-based

science park A science park (also called a "university research park", "technology park", "technopark", "technopolis", "technopole", or a "science and technology park" TP is defined as being a property-based development that accommodates and fosters ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

offering a commercial and research driven centre for knowledge-based industries. The park is headquartered in the

Titanic Quarter Titanic Quarter in Belfast, Northern Ireland, is a large-scale waterfront regeneration, comprising historic maritime landmarks, film studios, education facilities, apartments, a riverside entertainment district, and the world's largest Titanic- ...

Queen's Island Titanic Quarter in Belfast, Northern Ireland, is a large-scale waterfront regeneration, comprising historic maritime landmarks, film studios, education facilities, apartments, a riverside entertainment district, and the world's largest Titanic- ...

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

, and hosts a range of international and local technology related companies. It currently has seven buildings in operation offering of workspace Belfast's Titanic Quarter. 2700 engineers, researchers, entrepreneurs and executives work across the four Catalyst sites in Belfast,

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

and

Ballymena Ballymena ( ; from , meaning 'the middle townland') is a town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 31,205 people at the 2021 United Kingdom census, making it the List of localities in Northern Ireland by population, seven ...

. The Chief Executive of Catalyst is Steve Orr OBE, who has held the position since November 2018. Orr succeeded the longstanding Chief Executive Dr

Norman Apsley Norman Apsley is the former Chief Executive Officer of Catalyst Inc in Belfast, formerly known as the Northern Ireland Science Park. Apsley is a board member of Matrix, the Northern Ireland Science Industry Panel. He is also a member of the A ...

, who retired in November 2018. 2008 marked the first year of commercial independence from Government. The Park was re-branded Catalyst Inc in 2016 and Catalyst in 2019.

Companies based at Catalyst

In November 2009 it was announced that software developers

SAP Sap is a fluid transported in the xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant. Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a s ...

were entering into strategic research collaboration with

Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and Delaware General Corporation Law, incorporated in Delaware. Intel designs, manufactures, and sells computer compo ...

at the site. At the same time,

BroadSoft BroadSoft, Inc. is a communication software and service provider that was acquired by Cisco Systems in 2018. BroadSoft was founded in 1998 and completed its initial public offering in 2010, and was headquartered in Maryland. It partners with carr ...

, which opened its European headquarters in the Science Park in 2006 and has since more than doubled its space requirement, announced further expansion to eventually bring total employment there to 23.

References

External links

* Science parks in the United Kingdom Buildings and structures in Belfast Science and technology in Northern Ireland Startup accelerators {{NorthernIreland-stub