Yesterday evening we celebrated the launch of the first phase of the MK Data Hub. This invitation-only exhibition took place at UCMK, in Central Milton Keynes and included a series of short talks and a showcase of MK:Smart’s innovative work.
The Phase 1 MK Data Hub Launch was a fantastic opportunity to share engaging demonstrations from the forward-thinking work being carried out in the various areas of this Smart City project. With 16 stands on offer to our invited guests, each demonstrated a different technology or community-focused sub-project inspired by ensuring the sustainability of Milton Keynes.
The event which took place in the leafy Atrium of University Campus Milton Keynes (UCMK) and included speeches from the Vice Chancellors of The Open University, Peter Horrocks and the University of Bedfordshire, Bill Rammell.
Mr Rammell praised the successful collaborative nature of the project, which is made up of academia, commercial companies and public sector organisations, as well as local government. While Mr Horrocks acknowledged last week’s award-wins for the MK Data Hub at the an industry-leading European conference and encouraged attendees to find out more about Smart Cities through the FutureLearn course produced as part of the project.
There was also short talk from the Leader of the Council, Pete Marland who spoke about the importance of encouraging the technological evolution of Milton Keynes to ensure its sustainability for future generations.
The talks were closed by MK:Smart Project Director, Enrico Motta, who highlighted that it was an exciting time for the project and thanked all exhibitors demonstrating the innovative work carried out to date.
Left to right: Paul Sant, Associate Dean, University of Bedfordshire; Pete Marland, Leader of MK Council; Peter Horrocks, Vice Chancellor of The Open University; Bill Rammell, Vice Chancellor of University of Bedfordshire; Enrico Motta, Project Director for MK:Smart, The Open University
Paul Sant, leader of the Enterprise element of MK:Smart also offered our guests the opportunity to visit the Apex Suite, a purpose-built environment for supporting Small Businesses’ interaction with data. This asset is based at University Campus Milton Keynes, where the MK Data Hub itself is hosted.
If you were unable to attend, further details, including exhibition posters, will be made available on this website in the coming week.