post
Peterborough residents have been asked to share their revolutionary ideas for using digital technology to transform lives across the city in a challenge launched by CityFibre and The Skills Service.
In a bid to keep imaginations flowing during lockdown, CityFibre and The Skills Service have moved the Inspire Your City programme online and opened the challenge up city-wide to students, families and households across Peterborough. The challenge is also being run in Cambridge, but entrants from both cities will be judge separately.
To be in with the chance of winning one of nine “smart” prizes, entrants must submit their most imaginative, high-impact products or services that use the speed and power of Peterborough’s new Gigabit City network. This is currently being rolled-out by CityFibre who have invested £30m to digitally transform Peterborough into one of the best connected locations in the world.
Originally launched in schools in November for students aged 7 – 18, some of the creative ideas shared include the likes of bionic support pets, wearable medical devices and hologram maps.
Rebecca Stephens, City Manager at CityFibre, said: “CityFibre’s full fibre network brings Gigabit-speed connectivity within reach of almost every home and business in Peterborough, creating opportunity and potential for innovation and growth, as well as enabling far greater use of smart technology, home working and access to online entertainment.
“The Inspire Your City programme has worked brilliantly in schools; the students have been really imaginative and have come up with smart, integrated solutions for challenges they’ve identified in their communities, neighbourhoods and everyday lives. Full fibre infrastructure will transform our lives and we want the future generation to inspire Peterborough’s future.”
Tom Hennessy, chief executive of Opportunity Peterborough which runs The Skills Service, said:, “We’re passionate about retaining local talent and the Inspire Your City challenge not only develops students’ understanding of how businesses work, but shows the potential that Peterborough, and CityFibre’s Gigabit infrastructure, provides for the very near future.
“Digital speeds, capabilities and smart, integrated technologies were always going to be an important part of our future. With the outbreak of coronavirus the importance of digital connectivity has been heightened, and as we move into life after lockdown, there is added impetus to change how we live.”
The challenge will run until 28 August 2020 and winners will be notified within three weeks of the closing date.
Entries can be submitted across three categories: young people aged 7 – 12; young people aged 13 – 18; and families / households in Peterborough.
The winners will be able to choose one of a selection of prizes including:
- Drone with HD720p recording and streaming
- Fitbit Versa Lite Smart Watch
- Sony 20MP Digital Camera
- Amazon Echo Show with video calling
- 2 Philips Hue Play Light Bar Pack
- Amazon Fire HD 32GB Tablet
- Vector Interactive Smart Robot
- Lego City Police Station
- 12 Month Spotify Premium Subscription Gift Card
For more information visit https://www.theskillsservice.co.uk/inspire-your-city
Entrants can also follow @inspireyourcity and @CityFibre via Twitter for additional tips and content to aid them with their submissions.