According to a new report from The Financial Times, Tim Cook tomorrow will announce a new dedicated space for start-ups at Oxford University. The report explains that Cook will be joined by several tech entrepreneurs tomorrow as he announces “The Foundry.”
The Foundry is a converted ice factory at the center of Oxford. It’s been repurposed to offer meeting rooms, free WiFi, and free desk space to Oxford students, alumni, and staff who are in the early stages of start-up life.
Apple’s specific role in this project is somewhat unclear at this point. It’s not apparent as to whether Apple had a hand in the creation of The Foundry or if Tim Cook will simply be used to announce it.
The workspace was funded with £3.2m ($4.2M USD) of gifts from the likes of LinkedIn co-founder Reid hoffman, entrepreneur Mohamed Amersi, and several other. The Foundry will be open to anyone who has been to one of Oxford’s 38 colleges:
However, the location for The Foundry, away from the business school, was deliberately chosen as neutral territory for all of Oxford’s 23,000 students.
It will be freely available to anyone who has been to one of the university’s 38 colleges, according to Peter Trufano, Saïd’s dean.
As The Financial Times explains, Oxford has created some 177 tech ventures over the last 30 years, which is more than any other higher-education institution in the U.K. Jony Ive last year was awarded an honorary doctorate from Oxford University.
Cook has recently been in Europe to meet with the president of France, visit iPhone suppliers and developers, and more. We’ll have all of the details from Cook’s Oxford announcement tomorrow.
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