Becky Gardner

Community & Ecosystem Manager, Innovate Cambridge

Becky Gardner is a community builder and partnership specialist with experience across higher education, skills, and the creative industries.

Before joining Innovate Cambridge, she worked in the Knowledge Exchange team at Leeds Beckett University, where she developed business growth and innovation programmes and secured Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Partnership funding to connect SMEs with academic expertise across manufacturing, healthcare, and the arts. She previously held a business engagement role at Queen Mary University of London, focusing on careers education and strengthening pathways between universities and industry.

Becky has experience managing complex multi-stakeholder partnerships, designing engagement programmes, and working alongside regional bodies including local councils and combined authorities.

At Innovate Cambridge, Becky focuses on community and ecosystem development, including the Cambridge × Manchester Innovation Partnership, helping to build connections across the innovation ecosystem and support collaborative growth.