Tag Archives: computing science

A day at Whitespace

On Tuesday I decanted myself for the day down to Whitespace Norwich a “not-for-profit co-working space”. Apparently “with a fast-growing network of entrepreneurs, investors, mentors and influencers, the Whitespace network encourages collaboration and growth within a supportive and like-minded community of tech and digital innovators”. Blimey.

To bolster our enterprise engagement and community profile the School of Computing Sciences at UEA, which is one of the places I hang out, have a desk there. So I thought I’d try it out.

Whitespace Building

Whitespace in Jarrolds Building

Whitespace takes up a floor in a classic old building by the river in Norwich, very close to the city centre and offering some nice views.

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View from the Whitespace stairs

View from the Whitespace stairs

Having had a quick tour of the facilities (well appointed kitchens and a games area) I got setup.

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Nice comfortable chair and plenty of power, it turned out the 5G WiFi wasn’t bad either.

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The only small issue I had was monitor poverty… used as I am to two 24 inch and my laptop screen as well… And the desk looked a bit empty.

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Other than my screen real estate issues all went well, even met and talked to a few interesting people (which for a computer scientist is quite something). Unfortunately I couldn’t capitalise on networking as I was up against it as usual. So, I’ll be back again when I’m not quite as busy.

There was a nice energetic buzz around and plenty of groovy people doing no doubt groovy tech stuff. It certainly seemed like the kind of place a new startup could grow and thrive.

Being an open-plan shared working place meant there was some noise, but this wasn’t really distracting. I did put headphones in after a while but only because I wanted to listen to some music rather than I needed to drown anything out. It was certainly quieter than a PhD lab.

All in all a really great place to work, good resource for UEA to use, and somewhere I’ll try my hardest to make use of again.

The Good

  • Friendly welcome
  • Nice kitchen and other resources
  • Fast WiFi
  • Chairs
  • Big desks
  • Centre manager on hand for any queries
  • Lovely setting (building + views)
  • Handy setting (so central!)

The Bad

  • The only one issue I had was heat. It was a very hot muggy day and there’s no air-con (it’s been suggested on the whiteboard). Everyone else seemed to have desk fans, I did not… but copious cold diet pepsi helped. Note: my UEA office would have been as stifling, but I do have a fan there.