We’ve officially made it halfway through 2021. Whether you’ve found the year has zoom-ed by or travelled at a snail’s pace, it’s safe to say that the tempo of the city has been on a steady incline as we inch back to normalcy. Our June was similarly energising thanks to a number of successful events and some exciting developments to grow the DG Cities team. So, today on the blog we’re rounding up the highlights that made this an especially memorable month.
We had our hands full juggling plenty of events this June, including the well-attended Endeavour Birmingham Showcase. This was a two-day event hosted by the Project Endeavour partners to share updates on the project, and even offer audiences a (virtual) front-row seat to a live stream of two of the project’s autonomous vehicles driving on the streets of Birmingham. Piqued your interest? You can read more about the showcase from last week's blog post here. This event has also got us thinking about the third and final Project Endeavour showcase we’ll be hosting on our own turf in Greenwich very soon, and we’ll be sure to keep you updated on its progress. Another event highlight of the month was our Head of Research & Service Design - Ed Houghton - presenting at Westminster Insight’s Connected and Autonomous Vehicles Digital Conference. Ed shared the latest AV public research from Project Endeavour with an impressive array of industry stakeholders and policymakers in attendance.
While perhaps a little unusual, this month also saw us spending time researching what drives people to fly-tip. It’s been an informative - albeit surprising - line of enquiry that has left us with some intriguing facts. For instance, did you know that leaving a bin bag next to a full council refuse bin constitutes fly-tipping? Or that Greenwich spends £1 million a year to deal with fly-tipping alone? There’s your next dinner party icebreaker sorted.
To end the month on a high note, we learned that we successfully secured two exciting new research projects in the electric vehicle (EV) sector. And on the topic of EVs, did you know that we’re looking for an Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Specialist to join the DG Cities team? Applications for the position close July 3rd, and in the meantime you can learn more about the role here. This isn’t the only expansion we have lined up for DG Cities. We recently selected an amazing candidate to join the team as our newest Project Manager, and we’re looking forward to having her officially on board this August.
So, with a growing team, more events on the horizon and plans for further public engagement, this summer is looking like it will be an exciting one, and we can’t wait to see how it unfolds.