The Ironbridge Gorge can lead the world into the new digital industrial revolution just as it did with the first industrial revolution, says one of the top tech minds in the UK.
Tim Luft, a Government technology dealmaker for the Department of International Trade, said he believes that fast-paced advances in technology combined with the innovative and creative mindset of Ironbridge, which is famously the birthplace of the first industrial revolution, can see the Gorge leading a charge for change into the fourth industrial revolution.
鈥淚f you go back to Ironbridge during the first industrial revolution, people were innovating and experimenting with new materials and creating new products that they didn鈥檛 really know what they would be used for at the time,鈥� says Tim, who is also the founder owner of Telford鈥檚 VR Simulation Systems and the digital champion for the Telford Business Forum.
鈥淭here was no knowledge of smelting iron so that you could build a bridge or a tower 鈥� they were just experimenting.
鈥淚 think we can learn from that innovation here today. If you look at changing technology as a raw material as opposed to what was available in the days of the first industrial revolution, then the ability to actually create new products that don鈥檛 actually exist yet is really where there is a crossover.鈥�
Tim will be bringing a futuristic feel to the Festival of Imagination, a fantastical two-week celebration of the Ironbridge Gorge鈥檚 past, present and future which runs for two weeks this September.
The festival, organised by Telford & Wrekin Council, with funding from Arts Council England鈥檚 Cultural Destinations Tourism Fund runs between September 14-29.
It aims to engage, inspire and educate people about the Ironbridge Gorge, not only looking at its history and impact on the world, but looking at what is there now and how the area can affect change in the future.
鈥淔ifteen of the top 20 jobs in tech don鈥檛 exist yet for children when they leave school because they don鈥檛 know what they are going to be 鈥� technology is moving forward that quick,鈥� says Tim.
鈥淚f you look at the whole growth of artificial intelligence and technology around augmented reality, virtual reality and simulation then there are massive opportunities to come up with products.
鈥淚t鈥檚 only in the last 10 years or so that we have seen this platform where innovators are coming in with businesses which are becoming billion pound companies based on ideas, not from raw materials.
鈥淚t鈥檚 people saying 鈥榣et鈥檚 do something different and disrupt the technology that is there to try something new鈥�. That is the link back to the past 鈥� suddenly people are being more creative and being more disruptive.
鈥淵ou can argue that the US Silicon Valley started at lot of this, but where there is an opportunity for Ironbridge is for it to say 鈥榗ould we create an environment and encourage that creativity with our young people?鈥�.鈥�
Education through events like Festival of Imagination as well as school is key, believes Tim, who says the freedom of young minds and a fearlessness to experiment and explore is key to the Ironbridge Gorge being able to lead this change.
鈥淚t has to start with children and in schools. This level of imagination and creativity comes when you have no risk, no barriers and can start experimenting with ideas. It would be really great to see Ironbridge leading that,鈥� said Tim.
鈥淚ronbridge was a hotbed of smelting metal, noise and moving goods around, there was need for these goods to be exported around the world and that created a buzz. There was a supply chain and industry grew all around it, and the whole of this area and the Black Country grew 鈥� and we ought to be looking at where technology can offer that supply chain again.
鈥淭echnology is not just about building code or an algorithm for a piece of AI, you need expertise around that to make it work and that fascinates me.
鈥淭hese are going to be really innovative jobs, which we don鈥檛 even know what they are going to be yet. But we are going to need to look at how we use technology to solve big societal problems.
鈥淚t can be argued that Ironbridge created global warming, well can we turn that on its head an say that Ironbridge can solve global warming?
鈥淐ould we put the challenge out that we want Ironbridge to be the creative part of the world to help tackle big issues like climate change and plastics, using technology for good. It would be a great opportunity.鈥�
VR Simulation Systems will be bringing a futuristic feel to the Festival of Imagination using virtual reality and augmented 3D to help engage people and there will even by a 3D interactive recreation of Abraham Darby at The Furnace which will interact with visitors from Sunday, September 15.
鈥淭he festival is key to putting the Ironbridge Gorge on the map,鈥� says Tim. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 blow our own trumpet well enough and the festival is absolutely crucial to showcase to the world that innovation could be born in this area.
鈥淭elford is a little eco-system and it鈥檚 the fastest growing town in the country, it has the highest amount of people per capita population working in tech that any other town, it has some tremendously good tech companies and opportunities and innovations that are being developed in this area that no one knows about.
鈥淚f we are going to be an environment that attracts these entrepreneurs and encourages our students to stay in this area and develop businesses that works with large companies that finds real solutions to deal with their problems and that goes back to the roots of Ironbridge where there is no fear to try, test and develop new products and services, festivals like this are crucial.
鈥淭his will put a point in the sand and give people a focus, they will stop, pay attention, look at some technology, wowed by something snazzy and want to learn where it came from, they will get excited about the area.
鈥淚f you inspire just one child to do one thing then it can make a big difference. If we can inspire people to think they can be innovators and invent and think about doing things slightly differently then that would be wonderful.鈥�
There are many events across the two weeks from film and poetry to art and walks and for full listings and to buy tickets please visit聽ironbridgefestival.co.uk
