Dundee 5G Centre Innovation Hub to Boost City's Tech Sector

A new Scotland 5G Centre Innovation Hub based in Dundee will join the country’s £4-million national network, the Scotland 5G Centre has announced.

Innovation and growth in the games, virtual reality, and interactive entertainment sector will be supported through the centre, as well as co-develop solutions for diverse sectors such as healthcare and manufacturing.

The Dundee hub will also work in partnership to create new tools and services to combat cybercrime activities.

The Scotland 5G Centre (S5GC), in partnership with Abertay University, Dundee City Council and infrastructure experts Scottish Futures Trust will establish the hub to accelerate innovation and investment in the city.

Scottish Connectivity Minister Paul Wheelhouse said: “Dundee has already established a dynamic technology-based economy and the Scottish Government’s investment of £4m through the S5GCConnect programme is providing the support to drive next-generation businesses in this sector. More widely, it will also create opportunities for the many SMEs across the city, including those in the services and public sectors.

“This 5G Innovation Hub will support job creation, investment and skills development in key sectors where Dundee already excels, and crucially, it will support innovation in healthcare and manufacturing.”

The launch is part of the S5GConnect programme, which aims to deliver a network of hubs to drive economic growth across Scotland, as part of the Scottish Government 2020/21 Programme for Government.

The Dundee hub will work with regional businesses and provide access to a 5G development platform, driving even more investment and interest to the area.

Experts from the Scotland 5G Centre will lead work in the new hub in collaboration with Abertay University’s Emergent Technology Centre and the InGAME R&D centre, with the physical site location due to be confirmed in the coming weeks.

CEO at The Scotland 5G Centre Paul Coffey said: “Dundee has a proud track record of partnership working with established tech networks to enable the city to flourish. The local team at the 5G innovation hub will support organisations, networks and communities to get involved in the acceleration of 5G deployment at an earlier stage.

“We will work closely with the city’s games industry to enable organisations to harness the many opportunities that 5G offers, such as truly simultaneous game play.”

The hub will offer collaboration and partnerships to bring together industry, academia, and government bodies, creating opportunities for businesses of all sizes. It will provide access to a Dundee City Council-led testbed, a unique demonstration and development environment, where organisations can test and develop new 5G applications and services for potential business models.

The Dundee hub will support research and development on enabling technologies for applications where mobile plays a key role such as service delivery, manufacturing, training, and marketing by diverse industries and sectors.

5G technology has the potential to enable immersive, interactive, Artificial Intelligence (AI), virtual reality, automation, and the Internet of Things (IoT). The latter will allow for new innovative deployments of sensor-based systems and products across the area to deliver solutions such as better management of buildings and places and improved citizen experiences such as healthcare.

Another focus area will be cybersecurity. The hub will encourage the adoption of proactive cybersecurity practices for SMEs who adopt 5G technologies through collaboration with Abertay University. New products, tools, services, and software will be designed and developed to ensure secure access to the 5G network.

The S5GC Innovation Hub will be operational from May.