DCMS blog

London Tech Week 2019: Cityflocks unlocks potential of pigeons

Dr Rick Thomas

Dr Rick Thomas, June 10, 2019 — Digital

Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham

Cityflocks, a research project from the University of Birmingham, builds on a long standing partnership between humans and pigeons stretching back to ancient Egyptian times when they were first domesticated. In this case homing pigeons carry sensors to capture extremely fast temperature fluctuations in the zone above Birmingham’s buildings,  where the individual microclimates of the…

London Tech Week 2019: Credas creates emerging tech for regulated markets

Emma Williams

Emma Williams , — Digital

Head of Marketing, Credas

Increasing numbers of businesses need to perform Identity Verification (IDv) on clients to comply with legislation such as Anti Money Laundering, Know Your Customer and Right to Work. Historically, this relied on using data bureaus to cross-reference personal data with manual ID document checks. Often, this time-consuming, offline process, resulted in merely photocopying an ID…

London Tech Week 2019: Ormeau Baths brings tech talent together

Steve Pette

Steve Pette, — Digital

Co-founder, Ormeau Baths

Ormeau Baths is the realisation of the entrepreneurial diaspora of Belfast and their collective desire to “Give Back” to the local tech ecosystem and also breathing life back into the iconic Victorian building that had been previously unoccupied. Attracting and supporting talent Since opening its doors to the Belfast business community in 2017, Ormeau Baths…

London Tech Week 2019: The Thunderbolt – using 3D modelling to transform lives

Peter Wyman, — Digital

Project manager, Greenbank Sports Academy

As part of Liverpool-based charity Greenbank, Greenbank Sports Academy (GSA) is the North West’s leading sports and leisure facility for disabled people. In 2018, we created a prototype of a first-of-its-kind dual-use sports wheelchair. We were aware of a similar product available in the US, but the model was solely designed for wheelchair football –…

London Tech Week 2019: Developing Connected and Autonomous Vehicles at Warwick University

Carsten Maple

Carsten Maple, — Digital

Professor of Cyber Systems Engineering in WMG, University of Warwick

  There is a national and global push to develop next generation transport and mobility solutions. Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs) are an important component of the effort to reach zero accidents, zero congestion and zero emissions on roads and the CAV sector is predicted to be worth £907 billion by 2035. Research and Development…

London Tech Week 2019: Encouraging more talent into the tech sector

Simon Bailie

Simon Bailie, — Digital

CEO of Digital DNA

The tech scene in Northern Ireland is as diverse and far-reaching as ever and Digital DNA is the premier events bringing people from across the tech sector together. With our world-renowned cybersecurity centre at CSIT, the UK’s Innovation and Knowledge Centre for secure information technologies, and U.S. firms such as Rapdi7 and Proofpoint already in…

A year in the role as the VCSE Crown Representative

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, June 7, 2019 — Civil Society

VCSE Crown Representative

It was just over a year ago that I took up my role as VCSE (Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprise) Crown Representative. It’s been an incredibly busy but rewarding year, and I have met with so many impressive individuals and organisations along the way, seeing first hand the vibrancy, success, and potential of these sectors.…

Speak With IT and Aphasia – a problem with words

Hattie Foreman

Hattie Foreman, June 4, 2019 — Digital

Volunteer and Fundraising Coordinator, Speak With IT

What is Aphasia? Aphasia is a word that 85% of our population are unfamiliar with, which is remarkable considering the disorder affects over 350,000 people in the UK. Following a stroke or brain injury, aphasia impacts the survivor’s ability to utilise and understand language, meaning every word can become as foreign as “aphasia” is to…

CyberDen: Cyber entrepreneurs compete in front of ‘Dragons’

Andrew Penpraze

Andrew Penpraze, May 2, 2019 — Digital

Policy Adviser, Cyber Security

In a room at the Scottish Exhibition Centre around 100 delegates gather for something different from the speeches and workshops abound in the CyberUK agenda. The Cyber Den. A competition modelled on BBC’s Dragon’s Den that sees 12 cyber entrepreneurs compete to receive a year’s material support from the NCSC. This is the fourth year…

A year of Creative Industries success

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, April 26, 2019 — Culture

Creative Industries Council Chair

One year on since the launch of the landmark Creative Industries Sector Deal, excellent progress has been made on the commitments from government and industry to drive the growth of creative businesses across the country. The UK’s creative industries are undoubtedly a real success story, worth over £100 billion per year, employing over two million…