Digital Innovation Centres Opening Across UK

The Digital Catapult is to open three local Digital Catapult Centres in Brighton, Yorkshire and the North East and Tees Valley.

The organisation was established in November last year as an organisation that encourages businesses, universities and not-for-profits to get the most from emerging digital technologies.

A £9m combined inward investment has allowed the Catapult to create the new innovation centres which it hopes will help drive growth in the digital economy.

The new locations were chosen because they represent the “pioneering digital communications.”

The Digital Catapult is working in collaboration with three Local Enterprise Partnership-led consortia.

“The Digital Catapult is here to help create new opportunities across the UK and unlock innovation and value from sharing closed and proprietary data,” claimed the group’s CEO Neil Crockett.

“The truth is the most exciting digital innovation is happening in local communities, like the North East and Tees Valley, which is bringing together new ideas, businesses, universities and the public sector.

“As a national centre, it is important we support and collaborate with these local innovation communities, it is from these local hotspots that we will find the best innovation, create the most relevant products and reap the economic benefit for the UK,” Crockett added.

“Digital Helping UK Economy Thrive”

The announcement comes alongside the news that the country’s economy is continuing to grow as the influence of the digital industry grows.

According to a Tech Nation study, there was a growth of 91% in new digital companies between 2010 and 2013.

Of companies analysed in this research, 74% were based outside of London and the Digital Catapult aims to support these non-Capital City hotspots with its new centres.

“Our aim is to create a network of new centres across the nation to accelerate the growth of the UK’s Digital Economy,” claimed Digital Catapult chairman Andy Green.

“Building on existing clusters and supporting them with national resources will give digital entrepreneurs a collaborative environment with specialist support from universities and elsewhere to accelerate their ideas to market,” Green added.

© 24N.biz