A new accelerator programme at MediaCityUK has been launched in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Tech accelerator UP Ventures Group, backed by MediaCityUK and The Connected Places Catapult, said its ‘Smart City Innovation Testbed’ aims to find tech-based solutions to improve the quality of life for people and businesses post pandemic.
It will use MediaCityUK’s technology infrastructure, and provide opportunities to pilot innovations within a real-life setting, it said.
Candidates will have access to online learning and workshops and will be supported by technologists, industry experts, dedicated coaches and investors drawn from UP’s international network.
Stephen Wild, managing director of MediaCityUK, said its ‘Smart City’ lab will be the “springboard” for some of “the greatest innovations of our time”.
“Our world is rapidly evolving and by supporting an important accelerator programme such as this means we’re able to invest in the talent who, going forward, can make a positive difference to the way we lead our lives in a post-Covid world,” he said.
The programme will take place from January 2021 and is set to last two weeks.
The programme is fully funded and there is no equity exchange with any partner.
Applications are now open and will close on October 23.
UP Ventures managing partner Steven Thomas said “Our mission with this programme is to find and enable the technologies that can have a profoundly positive impact on citizens and the places that they live and work.
“Our team and partners are hugely passionate about technology and how it can help people and businesses thrive again in such difficult times.”
