Join Newcastle City Council to gain an insight into the most dynamic new initiatives of their Smart Cities Programme. The morning will consist of three talks delving into different aspects of the city ecosystem:

Newcastle Helix

Michelle Duggan – Partnership Manager at Newcastle Helix

In a long-term partnership between Newcastle City Council and Newcastle University, Newcastle Helix is here to help us all live better lives. Easier, healthier, smarter and longer. Helix is Newcastle’s flagship development and is the only city centre quarter of its kind in the UK.  Home to world leading academic institutions, including the National Innovation Centre for Data and National Innovation Centre for Aging, it will also be home to businesses and progressive homeowners living and working side-by-side.

But it’s so much more than a collection of cutting-edge buildings. It’s a 24-acre testbed and collaborative ecosystem for public and private bodies that’s unlike anything else in the UK.

The UK’s Smartest Street One Year On with Cisco

Stu Higgins – Head of Smart Cities and IoT, Cisco UK

Come and hear Stu Higgins talk about how Cisco is helping towns, cities, regions and other communities explore how they can digitise their environments and use technology to address the challenges experienced by their residents, visitors and local employees.

He will also reflect on the legacy and lessons learned from the UK’s Smartest Street project in Newcastle one year on from the Great Exhibition of the North.

The World’s Largest Collection of Urban Sensing Data

Dr Luke Smith – Deputy Director and Lecturer in Data-Centric Civil Engineering, Urban Observatory

The Urban Observatory is a ground breaking project to monitor Newcastle and other urban areas using live, real-time data from on-the-ground sensors and holds the world’s largest collection of open urban sensing data with over 2 billion records and 4000+ additional records created every minute.

The Urban Observatory’s research tracks everything from air quality and bee hive activity to transit flows and flood risks so that we can make informed, evidence-based decisions about the future development and management of our cities, we need a baseline to work from, and that’s what we’re doing for the first time here in Newcastle.

Participcation is free, but registration is essential to reserve your place.