Why the UK is a digital dynamo

by Matthew Hancock and Brent Hoberman

Yesterday marked the end of London Tech Week, the largest free-to-attend celebration of technology in Europe. It is the perfect time to celebrate our incredible progress in tech and look at how governments and businesses can work together to take it to the next level.

From the first diode to Turing’s pioneering computers to the world wide web, we have created some of the world’s most important tech inventions on our shores. The UK is a digital dynamo; a nation of pioneers which is striving be a global leader in the technology that is transforming the world. 2017 was a standout year for UK tech. And 2018 shows every sign of being just as strong.

Last year, UK venture capital investment exceeded Germany, France and Sweden combined. We have the third highest global investment in tech after the US and China. And a few weeks ago London was once again ranked as the leading tech hub in Europe.

We are and remain the natural destination for the largest and most innovative companies to operate and invest.

Salesforce will invest ￡1.9bn in the UK over the next five years, which will include the opening of second UK data centre in 2019. It joins Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Google, IBM and many more companies expanding their bases here, choosing to grow here because of the incredible talent and dynamic culture which is keeping UK tech ahead of the pack.

These big companies thrive alongside our rich and diverse ecosystem of tech startups and scale-ups, the innovators pioneering the transformation of our economy, right across sectors, from fintech to medtech to edtech.

For this success to continue the government and tech businesses must keep working together. That is the foundation of the UK’s industrial strategy, our long-term plan to build a Britain fit for the future.

As part of this strategy, government and businesses joined forces to launch a billion-pound deal last month to make sure we stay at the first rank of artificial intelligence economies. We start from a very strong position. We have some of the best minds, the best companies and the best universities in the world.

These are the optimum conditions for tech and huge work is taking place to create this climate all across the UK.

Billions is being invested in the most hi-tech infrastructure, such as full fibre and 5G. While digital skills are being placed at the heart of the education system, including making coding compulsory at school and funding more PhD places.

And this week the government has committed to producing a national data strategy to unlock the power of data in the UK economy and government, while building public confidence in its use. We have appointed Roger Taylor as the chair of the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation and published the new Data Ethics Framework which sets out clear principles for how data should be used in the public sector. We are establishing tech hubs in Brazil and South Africa to join a growing global network of hubs to drive growth in investment in the UK.

We have announced new plans to attract the best talent from around the world by releasing thousands more Tier 2 visas for the brightest and best business talent, and are establishing a new startup visa for entrepreneurs, founders and innovators just as the US moves to scrap its scheme.

A Dragons’ Den style approach will see accelerators and entrepreneurs choose who has the best ideas to benefit.

Homegrown talent is vital. A new artificial intelligence masters programme will be developed with the British Computer Society, the Alan Turing Institute, universities and major businesses, and we are more than doubling funding for the Tech Talent Charter to build on the momentum it has gathered to improve gender diversity in tech.

The world is increasingly seeing what we all know: that we offer the talent, the ambition, the research excellence and the regulatory environment to develop technology that can drive growth and change lives for the better.

We will not let this lead slip. We are confident and proud of UK tech because tech is what shows our country at its best.

Solving problems, supporting enterprise and enhancing freedom and opportunity across the world. This is the message the government and businesses must send to the world; beyond London Tech Week and in the years ahead.

For the original article, see City AM at https://www.cityam.com/287696/why-uk-digital-dynamo