London’s first data campus to support creation of over 5,500 new jobs in sector

Newham Council has launched the third chapter in its journey to become a “leading destination” for data and digital innovation with the unveiling of plans for London’s first Data Campus at East Ham Town Hall.

These plans are part of the Council’s £1.2m investment in Newham Sparks, the digital and data programme aimed at unlocking growth and transforming local government delivery in the borough.

The Data Campus at East Ham Town Hall will become a focus for innovation, entrepreneurship and learning in “leading edge” digital and data technologies. The ambition is for the Campus to create opportunities for young people to develop skills and careers while providing an incubator for start-ups and businesses in high growth data industries.

Newham Sparks was launched following research conducted by Newham Council in collaboration with University College London’s (UCL) Institute for Global Prosperity quantifying the digital growth opportunity for the borough, London and the UK. It found that currently in Newham the data sector generates £23.1m in gross added value.

If the borough capitalises on all of the potential opportunities from the digital and data sector, this could increase by over four fold to £104m by 2035 including with creation of more than 5,500 new jobs in the data sector.

The Borough of Newham has a “unique opportunity” to become a centre for the data and digital economy due to its existing ecosystem of innovation that includes the Innovation District in Olympic Park; plans for the lower Lee Valley data centre; Royal Docks Enterprise Zone; and strong partnerships with UCL and University of East London.

Mayor of Newham, Rokshana Fiaz OBE, commented: “I am delighted to welcome more than 60 digital partners and over 100 students to our event today marking the launch of our plans to create London’s first Data Campus and the next chapter in our journey to deliver Newham Sparks.

“Our intention is for Newham to become a leading destination for the digital and data economy, capitalising on the unique opportunity our borough presents for innovators and investors while creating opportunities for our residents.

“Research shows that the data and digital industries will help us future proof our borough, above all in supporting our residents and young people to benefit from high quality local jobs while inspiring growth in businesses and supporting the transformation of how we deliver services as a local authority.

“I look forward to seeing businesses and young people together in our Data Campus collaborating on the ideas that will secure inclusive growth in Newham into the future.”

By Matthew Neville – Senior Correspondent, Bdaily

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