RSA Techisland UK

The RSA Techisland UK Project is designed to stimulate the debate about how to develop the Isle of Wight’s economy as a digital economy.

An RSA funded conference for stakeholders was held in October 2016 which identified several strands for change on the Isle of Wight:
1. Education and Community: Inspire and develop the talent of young people and the community through the innovative use of technologies to deliver learning;
2. Hub: Support the development of spaces for ‘tech’ start-ups which will enable them to thrive and grow;
3. Inward investment: Encourage more inward investment from the ‘tech’ industry to establish the island as place to invest and grow ‘tech’ jobs’;
4. Infrastructure: Establish the island as an important ‘tech’ cluster with a resilient infrastructure to support ‘tech’ expansion and growth.

RSA Fellows are lobbying to ensure these strands are being incorporated into the island’s Regeneration Plan led by the Council supported by SOLENT LEP. 
In conjunction with the work of the statutory authorities the RSA IOW (Christina Conroy – RSA Project Leader) plans to also support ‘grassroots’ activity by developing a Techisland UK website (www.techislanduk.com). The aim is to celebrate digital entrepreneurship on the island, inspire young people to consider digital careers and attract more digital businesses to move to the island. Case Studies are currently being collected to highlight examples of successful digital businesses on the island. The aim will be to have the site up and running and launch it at the SOLENTLEP Digital Conference which will be held on 26th September 2017 on the Isle of Wight. The project will have a featured slot at the conference which will attract businesses and public-sector agencies from across the SOLENT LEP area.

IOW RSA Fellows welcome support on this project from Fellows who work in the digital industries or have an interest in island economies.

To find out how you can get involved, contact Christina Conroy FRSA Christina.conroy@coralesce.com, or come along to the next Isle of Wight Network meeting on 28^th September.