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London’s Digital Catapult takes its data sharing initiative to Northern Ireland

Euston-headquartered Digital Catapult is to open a new centre in Northern Ireland, Enterprise Minister Jonathan Bell has announced today.

The new Digital Catapult Centre is to be based in Northern Ireland Science Parks in Belfast and Londonderry, and will help link the Northern Irish digital sector with Great Britain’s market and the wider Digital Catapult network,

Joining centres in London, the North East, Yorkshire and Brighton, the Northern Irish centres mark the first time the concept has expanded outside of England.

Beginning in November 2014 with the first centre in Euston, London, the Innovate UK-linked Digital Catapult network aims to encourage local data sharing and collaboration amongst digital businesses and communities by providing a shared space for networking and development.

Centres across the UK have collaborated on a range of projects, including intiatives with the likes of Barclays, Nissan and American Express. So successful has the data sharing drive been, that the organisation recently put out a call to add more centres to its network nationwide.

Jonathan Bell said: “This is another key success for Northern Ireland. Our Innovation Strategy aims to put us in the top four regions of the UK within the next 10 years.

“Our long term partnership with the Digital Catapult will provide businesses with the opportunity to collaborate to solve key problems and develop new products and services by sharing data in a much better way.

“I am delighted to announce that Northern Ireland is now formally part of the Digital Catapult Centre network.”

The Digital Catapult, Chief Executive Officer, Neil Crockett, added: “We have experienced some of the most promising innovation through our work with our local centres, bringing together businesses, universities and the public sector to develop breakthroughs in the UK’s data sharing movement.

“I am thrilled to see Northern Ireland join our network of centres and look forward to working with the local innovation community and support projects within our focus areas.

“The wealth of experience and expertise within Northern Ireland is a valuable asset to our network and we look forward to building a range of relationships both locally and across the UK.”

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