NEWS - UK NEWS
Showcasing the opportunities in the tech sector at London Tech Week
In June , the UK marked the UK-Singapore Digital Economy Agreement coming into force as high-tech companies from around the world gathered at London Tech Week , with the largest ever delegation from the fast-growing Asia Pacific region in attendance .
The UK tech sector was valued this year at $ 1trillion (£ 764bn ). According to new research from Tech Nation , the UK is fourth in the world for tech investment at £ 32.6bn , having achieved a record year in 2021 . Tech plays a significant role as a driver of jobs and economic growth up and down the country . Last year , tech vacancies made up 12 % of all available jobs in the UK , with just over 50 % of these jobs available outside of London and the South East . Two of our business committee chairs ( and one former chair ) participated in a packed panel session at London Tech Week at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre . Energy & Utilities Business Committee Chair , and Managing Director of Energy Strat Asia Pte Ltd , Tim Rockell , was invited by LTW sponsor , the Singapore Economic Development Board ( EDB ), to run a session on the opening day of the event addressing the developments of technology in infrastructure .
London Tech Week saw an amazing gathering of 20,000 international leaders in technology , with a significant focus on Southeast Asia and opportunities for existing and new UK businesses in Singapore , and vice versa . In a year that UK and Singapore put in place the Digital Economy Agreement , there is unsurpassed government support and focus on enabling businesses from both nations to connect and achieve their goals . The British Chamber is a key enabler in providing connections and sharing knowledge to advance capabilities for all member organisations . Contact our Energy and ICT committee chairs for more details . The panel discussed opportunities in Asia for smart systems , including energy for urban planning , mobility and built environment , the R & D to commercialisation journey for infrastructure tech start-ups , and how project developers can balance leveraging new technologies and ‘ playing it safe ’ with traditional ways of doing business .
Panellists ( L-R ):
• Derek Murray , Head of Digital at technical consultancy Mott MacDonald and Chair of the ICT Business Committee
• Prof Phil Blythe of Newcastle University , Professor of Intelligent Transport Systems . Former Chief Scientific Adviser , Department for Transport
• Dr Amy Hochadel , Director of Global Business at Connected Places Catapult
• Mark Gainsborough , former EVP New Energies , Shell and Chairman Low Carbon Advisors , former Chair , BritCham Singapore , Energy & Utilities Business Committee
• Dennis Poulsen , Chief Growth Officer , and Founder , Valuer . ai
• Tim Rockell , Managing Director , Energy Strat Asia Pte Ltd and Chair of the Energy & Utilities Business Committee
Developing Asia will need to invest $ 1.7 trillion per year in infrastructure until 2030 to maintain its growth momentum , tackle poverty , and respond to climate change . Tech will play a major role in determining how quickly and sustainably , nations and businesses can bridge infrastructure gaps and power green economies .
Topics that were explored on the panel included an examination of the latest innovation in infrastructure including smart systems for urban planning , mobility , and the built environment . The panel examined how project developers could balance accessing new technologies with ‘ playing it safe ’ by sticking to traditional ways of project development . The discussion also focused on innovation in finance in the Asian region , particularly for early-stage project development and enabling new technology to get established as well as the R & D-to-Commercialisation journey and the opportunities in ASEAN as the region reopens .
The session can be found on SG Innovate ’ s YouTube channel .