Construction BUSINESS

Sandyford has been pinpointed as a Smart Region capable of driving Dublin on as a Smart City at Ireland’s first Smart Cities Summit in Leopardstown. The Summit, which was organised by Sandyford Business District and Alchemy Event Management, heard that there is currently 450,000 sq ft of available office space in the Sandyford and a further 2.4million sq ft of Smart Office space is on schedule to be completed within 36 months.

Mary Mitchell O’Connor, T.D., Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, said; “Ireland is well placed to be a world leader in Smart Cities. We have the companies, we have the relationships in those companies and we have world class research facilities to make this work but to always be mindful of privacy and the misuse of data. These are the challenges, and we will always put the citizens first in that regard but the government understands the huge opportunities in this area.”

Sharon Scally, Chairperson, Sandyford Business Improvement District, said; “Sandyford is well positioned to drive Dublin on as a Smart City. Sandyford is already a designated Smart Region and this is helping to attract significant FDI and some of the world’s best companies to the region. We have 1,000 businesses in the District and workforce of 25,000, which will rise to 35,000 over the coming years. The District has the infrastructure and educated workforce to service the world’s best smart technology companies.”

Fred Kent, Founder & President, The Project for Public Spaces, said; “We have moved from places we wanted to be an enjoyed being to places where we are not engaged with life around us. People want to be in natural and organic areas, when they live and work and and when we start to focus on the place, we create opportunities. People attract people attract people!”

Jamie Cudden, Smart City Programme Manager, Dublin City Council, said; “No one has cracked the idea of a smart city just yet. Dublin is primed to be a test bed for smart city technology, we have the relationships with the companies and we can test out smart technology in our city and on our streets. There will be more changes in the next 10 years than in the last 50 years and if we can get it right, Dublin can lead the way as a global Smart City.”

The Smart Cities Summit also heard from representatives from UBER, Amazon, Cubic Telecom, Huawei, Microsoft and IBM who discussed topics from “The Connected Car” and “Urban Mobility” to “Building a Smart City” and the “Cognitive Internet of Things for Buildings”.

The Sandyford Business District (SBD) is a designated Smart Region, guaranteeing that businesses, which choose to locate there will benefit from a network of intelligence, excellent technological infrastructure and a highly educated workforce.