AND Digital sets up shop in the heart of Halifax

With it’s burgeoning reputation as a growing digital hub, we’re delighted to announce the expansion of AND Digital in West Yorkshire with the launch of Club Spärck in Halifax.

Our latest move is testament to the success of Club Kilburn in Manchester and Leeds, where the team has been busy helping a variety of ambitious businesses accelerate the development of their digital capabilities - from Covéa Insurance to TalkTalk and Matalan.

Club Spärck strengthens and extends our ability to do this, enabling organisations in the North of England to build remarkable digital products and develop the talent they need to thrive.

At home in Halifax

Club Spärck is located in the heart of Halifax’s cultural quarter, close to the Piece Hall and the Square Chapel Arts Centre. Set within a stunning mill conversion, the clubhouse is part of a brand new business centre owned by Leeds Beckett University, designed to support local business growth in Calderdale.

We’re on track to bring 100 new digital jobs to the West Yorkshire region in 2019, and the whole team is looking forward to helping grow the digital economy across the North, and West Yorkshire in particular.

Behind the name: Club Spärck

Every AND club takes its name from a notable pioneer, from Ada Lovelace and Laura Dekker, to Tom Kilburn, Alan Turing and Tenzing Norgay. Our latest club is no exception, taking its inspiration from British computer scientist, Karen Spärck Jones.

Spärck Jones was a Professor of Computers and Information at Cambridge Computer Laboratory, where her research focussed on natural language processing and information retrieval. One of her most significant contributions was the idea of inverse document frequency (IDF) - a technology that underpins most modern search engines today.

In addition to her pioneering work, Spärck Jones was a vocal advocate of women in technology - an issue close to AND’s own heart, and reflected in our commitment to encouraging STEM careers amongst young women, and our drive toward a more diverse tech industry. Here’s one of our favourite witticisms from Spärck Jones:

"I think it's very important to get more women into computing. My slogan is: Computing is too important to be left to men."

We couldn’t agree more, Karen.