Economy Minister launches Digital Catapult Centre Programme
Date published:
Economy Minister Simon Hamilton has today launched an ambitious programme of activities to build the capability of Northern Ireland’s digital cluster.
Speaking at the launch of the Digital Catapult’s inaugural work programme the Minister said: “The Northern Ireland Digital Catapult provides a tremendous opportunity to increase the growth of our digital sector and act as a catalyst to drive productivity and competitiveness across all sectors of our economy.
“I particularly welcome the role which the Digital Catapult is playing in strengthening the connections between Northern Ireland’s digital cluster and others across the UK and beyond.”
During the next 12 months, Digital Catapult NI will deliver a wide range of activities that will support and help build on Northern Irelands digital capability and promote international collaboration. This will include showcasing outstanding digital companies to industry; pit stops where large non-digital companies can engage with digital start-ups; meet-ups where companies interesting in particular topics can explore and collaborate on challenges; and international outreach.
Speaking at the launch, Tom Gray, Head Digital Catapult NI said: “This ambitious inaugural work programme will help accelerate the growth of our areas of strength such as analytics and cyber security and increase our opportunities in emerging areas such as Artificial Intelligence and Immersive Technologies.”
Notes to editors:
- The UK Digital Catapult’s task is to support existing and emerging capabilities in the digital sector and to transform other key sectors. The UK government has placed Catapults at the centre of its investment in Innovation infrastructure. Northern Ireland has joined the other regions who are currently delivering the Digital Catapult in Bradford, Brighton, London and Sunderland. The Northern Ireland Digital Catapult Centre is based within Catalyst Inc (Belfast and Londonderry).
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