Could We Finally See The 'UK Google' Out Of The New Digital Catapult Centre?

The UK’s best ideas will soon get an added kick up the backside in the shape of a new Digital Catapult Centre set to open its doors on 5 November.

It’s planned that the new centre, in London’s Kings Cross knowledge quarter, will allow entrepreneurs, small and medium sized businesses [SMBs], researchers and organisations to meet and work together on development projects.

“When trying to address major challenges, for example the Internet of Things [IoT] in healthcare, businesses reach a point where they need help to cross some ‘chasms’ on the way to bringing their products or services to market,” explained Neil Crockett, CEO, Connected Digital Economy Catapult. “It’s at this point the Digital Catapult Centre will play a part.

There are a variety of different challenges it will address that include creating trust in the use of personal data and the IoT as well as everything that comes with the latter’s rapid growth.

A Convenient Hub

The Centre will have space for technologists, creatives, business and academia where products can be shown off to others in order to encourage networking and collaboration. There will be collaborative solutions, innovation labs, development spaces as well as a Data Sphere and showcase for the UK’s most enthralling innovations.

“Once the London centre is open, we will launch regional hubs across the UK. Our Euston Road location is easily commutable by rail from the rest of the UK so it’s a convenient central hub and is also in the heart of the fast growing ‘Knowledge Quarter’ and close to London’s world class digital clusters,” Andy Green, chairman of the Connected Digital Economy Catapult added.

The organisers hope to have made a difference to 10,000 UK organisations by 2018 by generating some £365 million of linked economic value and it’s the main element of the Connected Digital Economy Catapult programme.