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 Cambridge. The challenge is also being run in Peterborough, but entries from both cities will be judged 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 Cambridge’s new Gigabit City network. This is currently being rolled-out by CityFibre who have invested £20m to digitally transform Cambridge 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 will bring Gigabit-speed connectivity within reach of almost every home and business in Cambridge, 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 Cambridge’s future.”
Tom Hennessy, chief executive of Opportunity Peterborough which runs The Skills Service, said:, “The Inspire Your City challenge not only develops students’ understanding of how businesses work, but shows the potential that CityFibre’s Gigabit infrastructure can unleash in the very near future in places like Cambridge.
“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 Cambridge.
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/inspireyourcity
Entrants can also follow @inspireyourcity and @CityFibre via Twitter for additional tips and content to aid them with their submissions.
The Skills Service is a global award-winning team and part of Opportunity Peterborough’s economic development portfolio, providing a brokerage role between businesses, education and training providers in Peterborough, Fenland, East Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire, and South Holland.
- We work to develop the aspirations of young people, increasing their knowledge of local businesses, sectors, opportunities available and the skills businesses are looking for.
- We connect local businesses with skills experts to help with staff training for business development.
- We co-ordinate events with schools and colleges to develop employability skills in young people in line with local business needs.
The Skills Service is
Funded by: Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority Delivered by: Opportunity Peterborough
About CityFibre
CityFibre is the UK’s third national digital infrastructure platform. With existing networks in more than 60 towns and cities, CityFibre provides wholesale connectivity to multiple business and consumer service providers, local authorities and mobile operators.
CityFibre has network rollouts underway with plans to pass up to 8 million homes and businesses with open-access full fibre infrastructure. A growing number of Gigabit City projects have been announced for full-city rollouts and CityFibre continues to prime its existing network assets for expansion.
CityFibre is based in London and is jointly controlled by Antin Infrastructure Partners and West Street Infrastructure Partners.