Getting Connected at the IoT Collaboration Event
TEAM SY was excited to support this event at Barnsley Digital Media Centre (DMC) on 19 November, bringing together members of the Internet of Things (IoT) community.
Tracey Johnson, Barnsley DMC, gave a warm welcome to Barnsley’s new digital campus, The Seam, and introduced the town’s smart city plans and ambitions. The DMC has recently hosted the third cohort of the IoT Tribe technology accelerator and CEO Tanya Suarez joined from Madrid to describe how the DMC has provided a fantastic platform for the programme.
The idea for the event came about after a visit to the new DMC 02 building by Kevin Hallas of InnovateUK EDGE and Nicole Ballantyne of InnovateUK KTN. With its new MakerLab and co-working facilities, they could see the potential for early-stage tech businesses to connect and grow.
Kevin brought a number of companies to pitch their businesses and SanCloud, JT Rehab, Additive-X, Additive Design and Product CDM all did a brilliant job. They were joined by some local DMC businesses and IoT Tribe alumni, including Binary Forge, Twin Dynamics and Ioetec. One of the graduates of the DMC’s summer 2021 IoT internship programme with the University of Sheffield, Yazan Khader, also spoke about his new IoT startup, PredicTech.
There is a wealth of businesses and technical support available to early stage IoT businesses and more established SMEs considering adopting digital technology in South Yorkshire. Judy Sidebottom, Key Account Manager at the DMC, which is part of Enterprising Barnsley, Barnsley Council’s business support service, outlined the Digital Innovation for Growth programme delivered in collaboration with Sheffield Hallam University.
Sandy Gunn joined us from CPI, part of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, to introduce CPI’s capability in assisting businesses in IoT and flexible electronics. Sandy said
“The DMC facilities were very impressive, and the ambition of the Barnsley team is very encouraging. We have already got one project underway as a direct result of the meeting.”
As part of TEAM SY, we are launching a dedicated IoT pre-accelerator programme called ‘IoT Engine’ in January, in partnership with Connexin, which is headed up by our Senior Technical Lead (IoT), Dr Rikki Coles. Businesses can receive dedicated support for IoT projects and developing IoT products and services. Follow this link to apply or find out more information about the support available.
To join the regional IoT community, please sign up to the South Yorkshire (SY) IoT Meetup which will keep you up to date on IoT news and activity – our new programme will be kicking off in the new year.
The event closed with a tour of the DMC 02 and new MakerLab from leads Ben Hawley and Paul Bennett. We’re grateful to the DMC team and all the participants for making it a special and lively event – thank you!