Sponsors support region’s mission to transform lives with tech

25 October 2019

Leeds City Region’s plans for showcasing opportunities to transform lives with tech, at Smart City Expo, are gathering momentum with the announcement of a series of high profile sponsors from the public and private sector.

The primary aim of attending the annual expo is to attract new inward investors and investment to the region. Held in Barcelona from 19^th to 21^st November, Smart City Expo is attended by 20,000 delegates from over 700 countries.

Award-winning property developer Munroe K and the University of Leeds are the latest sponsors to join the delegation.

David Aspin, Owner, Munroe K said:

“I’m delighted that Munroe K is joining the largest ever Leeds City Region delegation to Smart City Expo and playing its part in showcasing how the region is transforming lives with tech.

“We have a growing reputation as a thriving tech hub and the demand for premium office space is high. This year, digital sports content media group DAZN announced the opening of a new office at our flagship White Rose Office Park for 350 staff.

“Alongside Channel 4’s choice of Leeds for its National HQ and Sky’s continued investment, there’s a great story to share with tech investors around the world.”

Earlier this year, the University of Leeds launched the Centre for Immersive Technologies to harness the power of new technologies and push the boundaries of research and education

Professor Lisa Roberts, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Innovation, University of Leeds said:

“Smart Tech is transforming how people interact with and within the cities in which they live and work.  The University of Leeds is at the forefront of shaping our understanding of what future cities should look like and developing solutions for the societal challenges we’ll all face.

“Our interdisciplinary world-class cities research combines deep expertise across a wide range of disciplines that come together with a solutions-focused approach; we are also home to cutting-edge facilities such as our Pedestrian and Driving Simulators, the Centre for Immersive Technologies and the work of the Leeds Institute for Data Analytics.

“The Smart City Expo World Congress is an excellent opportunity for us to demonstrate to a global audience of delegates how our capabilities can provide real impact to help them grow their tech business innovation, and to link them to Nexus, our award winning new university innovation hub.”

Roger Marsh OBE, Chair of the Leeds City Region Partnership (LEP) said:

“I’d like to thank our sponsors for their support to promote the region on the international stage. Together we can demonstrate how tech is creating opportunities to transform lives, whether by creating jobs, improving health or making our towns and cities better places to live.”

This builds on two years of previous Smart City Expo activity with a delegation of 50 representatives from West Yorkshire Combined Authority, Leeds City Council, The City of York Council, Harrogate Borough Council, Make it York, the University of Leeds, the University of Bradford, the University of Huddersfield, Munroe K, Shoosmiths, the Department for International Trade, Arup, Connexin, InTechnology, Lucy Zodian, Mott MacDonald, Slingshot Simulations, PwC, Avison Young, Parallax, aql, Bruntwood SciTech and Addleshaw Goddard.

This comes at a time of rapid growth for the digital sector which contributes £6.5 billion to the City Region’s economy and employs 102,000 people. Beauhurst’s Scale Up Index 2018 revealed that Leeds City Region has 209 scale ups attracting £108.8 million in venture capital, the most in the North by 82 per cent.

Find out more about Leeds City Region at Smart City Expo here.