The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has announced that it will be investing in a Digital Economy ‘Catapult’ Centre to help spur innovation and adoption of new technologies. The centre will help transfer knowledge and experience from the digital industries to non-digital businesses and help them see the value that it could add to their business.

The centre is also likely to be involved in researching what impact new technologies, such as augmented reality, will have on existing platforms and the potential infrastructure changes needed to support them, and also in looking at how our devices, our clothes, our cars, and other consumer goods become better connected to enhance the physical nature of our lives.

The funding for the Centre will come from a £200m pot allocated for a network of new Catapult Centres across a number of different industry sectors. As yet though, there has been no decision as to where the Digital Economy ‘Catapult’ centre might be located…..anyone else thinking Bristol would be ideal?

In partnership with BT and Citizens Online we are offering basic Internet courses around Bristol for people aged 55 and over, as well as adults who have a disability. Please complete this form and we will contact you with details of courses which may be suitable for you.

A new three-year initiative to help Bristol people access the internet, learn new skills and find out more about computers and technology is to be launched on 24^th January.

The Get IT Together project in Bristol is funded by BT, supported by Bristol Council and delivered by national charity Citizens Online. The project is part of the nationwide Get IT Together programme, backed by BT, Nominet Trust and a variety of local partners.

Get IT Together Project Coordinator, Marius Jennings, will be working in partnership with local charities, libraries, schools and community groups to make sure basic IT courses are available across the city, particularly focusing on helping older people and people with disabilities.

Marius is hosting a launch event at The Pavilion, 12A Harbourside, Bristol from 10:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday the 24^th of January. The event is open to all community groups in Bristol, as well as any individuals who would like to discover the benefits of the internet and IT.  Individuals are invited to take part in a relaxed, free taster Internet session, enjoy a cup of tea or coffee and find out about other projects in the area.

Community groups including Wecil, The Vassall Centre, Link Age, Age UK Bristol, Bristol Older Peoples Forum, Action for Blind People, CSV Avon, and Slivers of Time, will be attending to find out how the Get It Together project can help their members become more digitally savvy.

Do come along on the day to see how the inetrnet and IT could be useful to you. If you have any questions contact Marius on 07785 462568 or email marius.jennings@citizensonline.org.uk.

Wikimania is an annual international conference for users of the wiki projects operated by the Wikimedia Foundation. The conferences have been running since 2005 and have been held in Germany, USA, Taiwan, Egypt, Argentina, Poland and Isreal…but not as yet in the UK.

Support is growing to hold Wikimania 2013 right here in Bristol. The City has a strong relationship with Wikimedia, a pedigree of holding international digital/ creative events, and a dynamic cohert of businesses in the digital realm.

You can support Bristol’s bid to host Wikimania 2013 by adding your name to the list of supporters on the wiki page (you will need to be a wiki editor).

According to a new report by the Work Foundation, innovation ecosystems in cities could be critical in driving sustainable economic growth. Becasue of their relative size Cities can bring people together, provide infrastructure for the exchange of ideas and enable access to large markets.

Local Government can contribute to the development of this type of  innovation ecosystem by providing leadership around innovation and ensuring that educational opportunities are of the right calibre, and the right support is available to enterprise.  Authorities can also adopt procurement policies that encourage and foster local innovation and stimulate the market for new goods and services.

Broadly speaking the recommendations for Cities which are identified like Bristol as Service Sector Innovators are;

• build an evidence base – identifying those parts of the service sector in which they have a particular strength (for Bristol these would include financial/professional services and creative industries)
• develop university-business links
• use public procurement to create markets for new goods and services – leveraging private investment as well as making public services more efficient
• develop effective networks of local firms, intermediary institutions and universities.

The Technology Strategy Board is running a competition to encourage developers to create games that support their work in addressing power distribution and the management of demand. There are looking to support work around cognitive design and social gaming to generate novel, demand side, consumer focused technologies.

Some of the ideas they suggest as examples include;

• A multi-platform app on smart phones or tablets that talks to individual smart meters
• A Sim City style game featuring real time data
• A vertical application for smart meter data with gamers demonstrating real-world energy usage, related carbon emissions and efficiency

To explore the possibilities, Creative Industries KTN and the Pervasive Media Studio are hosting a ‘Partnering for Innovation’ event at the Watershed Media Centre in Bristol on 16 January 2012. It will bring together people from the games and design sectors with businesses and organisations in the energy supply chain to:

• Network with other organisations
• Gain an understanding of developments in Smart Energy space
• Explore the themes for the competition and the potential role of creative businesses
• Make contacts and discuss potential collaborations

If this is a challenge that interests you and you would like to take part in the event, please register your interest with anita@creativeindustriesktn.org

The South West iNet has announced that there will be three new funding opportunities for South West Microelectronics in 2012, with the first launching on 16th January.

The competition is being run to support the innovative use of microelectronics technology in new products and services. It offers grants of up to £10,000 to enable expertise to be used by a company.

More information will be made available on the South West Microelectronics iNets website when the competition opens.

Bristol will be in the first wave of Cities starting up local TV services. The Government has announced that an initial cohort of 20 Cities could have stations operating by 2014, with a further 24 to follow later.

These local TV channels could deliver a range of new content to viewers such as;

• “hyper local” news
• Student films
• Local music, comedy and theatre
• School and college sports reports

The legislation enabling the stations to operate is still to be passed, but the Government hopes that the first local stations will be licenced around summer 2012.

BT have revealed that more than one million South West homes and businesses will have access to super-fast broadband by the end of next year. Some of the communities to be added to the roll out include Bedminster, Bishopsworth, Eastville, Henbury and Kingswood.

Barbara Janke, Bristol City Council leader, said:

“Bristol is well-known as a digital leader amongst cities.  It is very welcome news that more communities and companies across Bristol are going to have access to super-fast broadband. The investment means faster connections, better access to online services and more incentive for people to get online.

“We are keen to work with partner providers such as BT to make sure the infrastructure is there for our companies to thrive and grow, and all our residents have the opportunities to benefit from using the internet.”

For more information on Openreach’s super-fast broadband programme visit www.superfast-openreach.co.uk