Exclusive: ‘We must be brave and move away from the EU’s way of thinking’, says Tech Nation chair January 7, 2021 After what was a difficult year for tech firms, City A.M. sat down with Stephen Kelly, chairman of Tech Nation, the industry body that represents UK startups and runs Britain’s Tech Nation visa scheme for foreign entrepreneurs. Brexit has just taken place, how will this impact London’s startup space? Brexit is the UK’s opportunity to [...]
What to expect from sports technology in 2021 January 1, 2021 After the sporting chasm that was 2020, things are definitely looking up in 2021. In prospect are Olympics and Paralympic Games, football’s European Championship and the return of a plethora of iconic annual fixtures, such as Wimbledon, Royal Ascot and The Open. But as we embrace the new normal of live sport next year, what [...]
Tech jobs are an engine at the heart of our 21st century economy December 29, 2020 If the strength of UK tech was ever in doubt, just take a glance at today’s end-of-year report from Tech Nation and the Digital Economy Council. Despite an incredibly turbulent 2020, stat after stat speaks to the sector’s resilience. As a result of the pandemic, tech, the ultimate disrupter of other industries, has found itself [...]
The rush for Tech Nation visas is misguided — why limit recruitment by geography? November 30, 2020 Earlier this month, it was reported that applications for the Tech Nation visa into the UK spiked almost 50 per cent this year. Pandemic or no pandemic, Britain’s tech sector continues to attract talent from around the world. In the last two years alone, almost 2,000 people have applied for the visa, which grants tech [...]
JaxJox promises to revolutionise your home workout October 20, 2020 There couldn’t be a better time for a home fitness solution like JaxJox to hit the market. The unprecedented lockdown of society over the last seven months will have ripple effects that will be studied by scientists, psychologists and historians for decades to come. Among the most fascinating – if not alarming – will be [...]
Technology has changed our minds — now it’s time for brands to catch up October 12, 2020 Let’s begin with the pretty bold claim: that digital technology has altered us forever. Over the past decade, an enormous amount of research and literature has been produced on the subject — from the American writer Nicholas Carr, to MIT professor of social psychology Sherry Turkle, to the eminent British neuroscientist Susan Greenfield. Each in [...]
How can businesses empower women in technology in a post Covid-19 world? October 5, 2020 Everyone has felt the wrath of Covid-19. The pandemic blindsided businesses earlier this year and has forced organisations to rapidly step into the unknown. But what have we learnt? And can we apply these learnings to tackle existing issues in technology, like diversity and inclusion? Research from McKinsey Global Institute estimates that women make up [...]
Open source should always have been the way for the Covid-19 contact tracing app September 17, 2020 The government should have gone with an open source contact tracing app from the beginning, argues Tom Bianchi. The long-awaited Covid-19 contact tracing app will launch in the UK next week, marking a “defining moment”, according to health secretary Matt Hancock, in our response to the virus. While this is encouraging, the app should have [...]
DEBATE: Is there a future for tech hubs post-Covid? September 3, 2020 Is there a future for tech hubs after Covid-19? Gavin Poole, chief executive of Here East, says YES. For centuries, the success of London’s business landscape has been steeped in the clusters of industry across the city. Companies and entrepreneurs exist side by side, driven by a shared mission and passion, and an exchange of [...]
Science and tech has proved a damp squib in the fight against Covid-19 September 2, 2020 Few of us alive today have lived through a year so tumultuous, historic, and (yes, that word again) unprecedented as 2020. We are seeing the biggest health pandemic since 1918’s Spanish Flu; the biggest threat to the world economy since 1929’s Great Crash; and the biggest civil unrest in the US since 1967 — all [...]