Plexal, Europe’s largest innovation centre of its kind, hosts inaugural Live Connected forum
1,000 technology advocates attend event at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park to explore how technology can improve our lives through connected products
LONDON, UK; 27th October 2016: Plexal, the Innovation Centre based at Here East on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, hosted its inaugural Live Connected forum tonight ahead of its opening in spring 2017. The event was attended by more than 1,000 technology advocates who gathered at the space to explore how technology can improve our lives through connected products.
With speeches from Plexal’s CEO Claire Cockerton, as well as Britain’s most decorated female Paralympian, Dame Sarah Storey; the UK’s National Technology Adviser, Liam Maxwell; Tech City UK CEO, Gerard Grech; Simon Jones, Head of Innovation & Performance, Team Sky and Jess Butcher, Co-founder, Blippar among others; the event explored the following themes:
· The connected products that are improving our lives and enabling us to learn more about the world around us and helping us make more informed decisions
· The connected leaders and teams that are working across disciplines – and sometimes even across company boundaries – with diverse skill sets, using data, new ways of working, and mobility to deliver creative solutions and achieve high performance
· The connected companies that are pioneering new and more open business models and redefining organisational structures to thrive in a digital world
· The connected ecosystems that are setting up the foundations to promote the growth of these vital sectors.
As Europe’s largest innovation centre of its kind, initially covering 68,000 sq ft of space, Plexal will provide a wide range of services including practical intrapreneurship and entrepreneurship education courses, a state-of-the-art testing and prototyping lab, acceleration and incubation programmes, events, networking opportunities and a range of funding alternatives. With an initial focus on technology innovation applied to sports, wellbeing, fashion and mobility, the centre will have capacity for 800 members, becoming the home for corporates and startups that are designing and creating the connected products that will improve our lives.
Claire Cockerton, CEO of Plexal, said: “Together, with our members and partners, we will deliver the UK’s next technology and innovation cluster; a launch pad for scaling firms and a soft landing pad for companies coming to London for the first time. We will shape new industry verticals that will make life better for everyone. Businesses that improve engagement in sport; tools for preventative healthcare; the design of intelligent and functional fabrics; applications that improve connectivity; sustainability and mobility in urban environments; and much more.”
Cockerton continued: “At Plexal we take inspiration from the Olympic values: respect, determination, inspiration, courage and excellence. Using these, together with our members and partners, we are creating an international stage for opportunity, innovation and performance.”
