Milton Keynes City Council has approved its first ever ‘Tech, Smart City, Digital and Creative Industries Strategy’ for the city. The strategy has been prepared to set out the way forward for Milton Keynes to build its leadership in tech and innovation.
With a strong and proven foundation in Smart City technology, innovation and tech employment, Milton Keynes has the potential to achieve a world class reputation across the digital, technology, Smart City and creative industry sectors.
The strategy explains how partners across the city will work together to take a future-facing, pro-active approach to harness the benefits of these sectors and promote what makes Milton Keynes unique and different.
The city is home to major tech employers and many businesses with significant data science and artificial intelligence (AI) interests and operations, including Red Bull Racing and Advanced Technologies, Santander, HMGCC, Milton Keynes University Hospital and the Open University.
These stakeholders, together with entrepreneurs, investors, educators and the wider tech community, came together in 2023 to provide input to the current opportunities and challenges for the Milton Keynes tech community.
Funding for development
The city has a strong start-up culture and so, the City Council has also partnered with the Milton Keynes Investor Group to provide local tech start-ups with seed funding to further develop their business ideas
MKIG is a not-for-profit angel network consisting of the wealthiest, most successful people in Buckinghamshire and beyond. The network is run by experienced founders who have successfully exited their start-ups and have a deep understanding of the challenges and rewards of building a business.
The group meets regularly to hear investment pitches from exciting start- ups, talks from notable speakers and to network. For founders, it is completely free to pitch, and there are no success fees.
Investment for improvements
Milton Keynes City Council has also announced that it is investing funding to buy a new state-of-the-art machine to fix more potholes.
As a city, we are at the forefront of growth in tech and AI and the City Council has ambitious plans to continue growing and connecting the tech ecosystem in the city and develop Milton Keynes’ global reputation as a Smart City and home of innovation.
The council will be investing £100,000 on a new Roadmender Elastomac machine. The system uses new technology that improves the quality and speed of repairs while being more sustainable and reducing carbon.
The council has been trialling the machine here in recent months and results from MK, and other local authorities, have been positive. Conventional repair methods can create lengthy disruption to roads due to requiring potholes to be excavated for repairs, this new technology uses a pioneering material which is poured into and over the top of defects, wielding itself to the surface and improving the road surface.
View the full Tech, Smart City, Digital and Creative Industries Strategy
For more information about Milton Keynes City Council visit www.milton-keynes.gov.uk
