5G Innovation Region Event: Ayrshire

Last week, The Scotland 5G Centre hosted a launch event for the 5G Innovation Regions Project at HALO in Kilmarnock with the Ayrshire Councils, University of the West of Scotland, Ayrshire College, National Manufacturing Institute Scotland & Vodafone.

Ayrshire is just one of two areas in Scotland to be successful in the bidding process and the team are using the funding received to build on technologies at three of the key strategic Ayrshire Growth Deal sites with The Scotland 5G Centre Innovation hub in HALO Kilmarnock serving as the catalyst for 5G innovation where testing can happen in a 5G private network environment. The three sites are:

Digital Processing Manufacturing Centre (DPMC) at i3 Enterprise Area in Irvine
Aerospace Innovation Hub, Prestwick International Aerospace Park
Ayrshire Innovation Park, Moorfield, Kilmarnock

The launch event attracted over 60 regional organisations (from aerospace to manufacturing) as well as a number of public organisations with presentations on the services the Scotland 5G Centre offer to regional businesses, 5G use cases, the 5GIR bid vision and Private Networks, and breakout groups to explore the key challenges businesses are facing and how 5G could help.

This collaborative initiative is ultimately exploring the potential of 5G for Ayrshire and how advanced wireless technologies can improve connectivity and boost productivity for businesses in the region.

Ayrshire businesses can submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) to signal interest and readiness to participate in the 5G Innovation Region Project in Ayrshire here: https://ow.ly/2XgR50QuSll

The key purposes of this EOI include

Interest and Commitment
Understanding and Addressing Challenges
Evaluating Potential Partners and Stakeholders
Informing the 5G Use Cases used for demo centres
Laying the Groundwork for the 5G Innovation Region

The EOI is a tool for the 5GIR working group to assess the opportunities and challenges in Ayrshire’s businesses and will be followed by an in person Challenge Workshop to address some of them (date tbc).

Find out more about the Innovation Regions Project here: https://scotland5gcentre.org/major-tech-boost-as-ayrshire-named-innovation-region/