Meet our member Sam Oates – Sam is the Partnerships Manager at the Knowledge Quarter, an innovation district in King’s Cross that brings together world-leading organisations like the British Museum, UCL, the Francis Crick Institute and more.
Sam thrives on connecting brilliant minds across research, tech, life sciences and culture. He’s a long-time collaborator with Impact Hub London, recently working from the new Euston Hub, which he describes as “welcoming” and “surprisingly productive.” He values the energy, collaboration and opportunities for cross-sector connection that the space provides.
Name: Sam Oates
Organisation: Knowledge Quarter
Organisation Mission: We work together to unlock our diverse neighbourhoods’ unique resources of knowledge and innovation, for the benefit of all.
Job role: Partnerships Manager
Tell us about your role and what you enjoy most?
We build connections between the research institutions, the tech, life science and cultural organisations within a one-mile radius around King’s Cross. Our partners include the British Museum, Central Saint Martins, the Francis Crick Institute, UCL and Wellcome, to name a few. This area, known as the Knowledge Quarter, is thought of as an innovation district; that is, a place full of exciting research, world-leading institutions and innovative businesses. Through our roundtables and events, I network some brilliant minds working in all manner of fields – that’s the most enjoyable part. It’s like living in a podcast.
How did you discover IHL?
Impact Hub London has always been a valued member of the Knowledge Quarter. We’ve run some interesting workshops over the years out of the King’s Cross space.
Which Impact Hub are you part of and for how long?
The Knowledge Quarter partnered with Impact Hub and British Land to open up the new Euston Hub. It’s been open since March 2024.
What was your first impression?
We used to be based out of the British Library, which is a very different environment. I’d had my same chair and desk there for more than five years. Working in a coworking space was completely novel to me. It’s certainly more varied. People are doing some fascinating things around me. One day I might speak to someone campaigning to ban the use of forever chemicals, and the next someone exposing illegal fisheries around the world. Impact Hub is quite literally named, as it happens.
What one word would you use to describe the hub? And why?
Welcoming.
Probably not an original thought. But it really is a welcoming, friendly environment. The Impact Hub staff do a lot to make it so. The atmosphere is surprisingly laid back and convivial considering the challenging subjects and problems people in the hub are working to solve.
Which aspects of membership do you use and why?
We use the meeting rooms and the events space frequently. It’s a neutral meeting ground to bring together our partners.
I also particularly enjoy the complimentary coffee.
What are the benefits of being part of IHL?
I’ve been able to draw on members’ expertise for our own roundtables. This light-touch collaboration has been encouraging. While the facilities are of course excellent and a great asset for us, opening up the Knowledge Quarter network to Impact Hub members and vice versa is quite a promising development.
What surprised you about IHL?
I had different expectations of what a coworking space would be like. I thought it would be much noisier and full of distractions, but actually you get stuff done, and you feed off the energy of others around you getting things done, too.
If you were to recommend IHL what would you say?
I imagine it’s rare to be part of an Impact Hub that works so closely with local Government, one of the UK’s largest commercial real estate developers, and a major research community like the Knowledge Quarter. Membership of the Euston hub is a greatly enhanced offer as a result.
Connect with Sam:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-oates-162559100/
