Cisco have launched a new centre for collaborative research and emerging technologies that builds on the existing partnership with Imperial College Business School’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Department and the Faculty of Engineering. Cisco CREATE Internet of Everything Innovation Centre, based in Hackney, is one of three facilities world-wide (the others being in Japan and Berlin) to link industry experience with university research and start-up development.
Phil Smith, CEO of UK&I, gave the keynote address at the Centre’s launch event. He emphasized Cisco’s role “in accelerating innovation with industry partners, start-ups, academia and the public sector”. He also spoke of the value of the partnership with Imperial and the work of the project’s lead researchers: Professors Erkko Autio and John Polak, and Dr. William Wu. Four start-up companies also presented on their experience of innovating with Cisco.
The Innovation & Entrepreneurship Department’s project examines Business Model Innovation, and is part of a wider collaborative endeavour with the Faculty of Engineering’s Centre for Transport Studies. I&E researchers are focusing on remodelling organisational activities to realise the firm’s potential for value creation, delivery and capture. They subsequently deliver case studies and reports on the creation of new business models and potential barriers to adoption.
The collaboration has also enjoyed other recent successes including publishing a report on Stations as a Service and Cisco winning a rail-industry innovation award.
Click here to learn more about the Cisco CREATE IoE Innovation Centres.