Third annual Internet of Things event goes online this weekend

Third annual Internet of Things event goes online this weekend

A University of Northampton event will aim to inspire students and budding entrepreneurs to devise ways to get the world moving.

The third Internet of Things (IoT) workshop, which takes place on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 February, will challenge participants to come up with ways to improve the way we travel.

This year’s workshop will cover many aspects of technology and focuses mainly on public transportation, logistics, emergency vehicles and autonomous vehicles.

The event will feature speakers from big industry names, such as IBM Watson, Open Space, Conigital Group, Transport Systems Catapult and Aurora Energy Research.

The participants will take part in a series of workshops and will eventually be separated into ‘startup’ groups where they will be provided with basic technical equipment to get started setting up their own technology business.

They will then be invited back in March to try to secure funding by presenting their ideas to a Dragons’ Den-style panel, competing against the other teams.

Dr Triantafyllos Kanakis, from the Faculty of Arts, Science and Technology at the University of Northampton, commented: “The rapid development of the internet in recent years and the huge acceptance of technology by the consumer has fundamentally had an impact of all our lives.

“In previous years the time between major technological breakthroughs was between 10 and 15 years but now it is less than five years. Part of this is played by the Internet of Things, which due to its vast size, it is still impossible to predict its impact on the market.

“This event is a great way for students and budding entrepreneurs to learn first-hand about creating a start-up business. The workshops and presentations will provide the knowledge they need to think about how to use technology to tackle projects, the art of business planning and how to reach customers. This is their opportunity to turn their ideas into reality.”

For more information and to register, visit the event page.